Richard J. Wallis

Richard J. Wallis

Former Vice President & Deputy General Counsel

Microsoft Corporation

Richard J. Wallis recently retired after nearly 20 years at Microsoft Corporation, headquartered in Redmond, Washington. During his time at Microsoft, Rich led legal teams supporting almost all of the major lines of business for the company. He was most recently Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for the Azure business, the Company’s cloud computing and storage offerings. Prior to taking that role, Rich served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for the Office Product Group, which develops the business, communications and productivity applications that create user experiences that run on all devices and across platforms. He previously led the legal teams supporting Microsoft’s Business Development and Corporate Strategy & Operations teams working across Microsoft to forge strategic partnerships and deepen relationships with existing partners. Rich also helped build the case for and launch Microsoft’s corporate venture fund. Rich also led the legal work for Microsoft’s Devices Group supporting the company’s hardware businesses including engineering, design, sourcing and manufacturing for Xbox, Surface, mobile phones, wearable devices and accessories. Prior to that, Rich led the legal team for the Interactive Entertainment Business where he was a member of the executive team that launched Xbox One and Kinect. Rich and his team supported Microsoft’s first party game publishing studios, which includes the Halo and Forza franchises as well as games for PCs, tablets and phones. From 2007-2010, Rich led the Litigation Practice Group at Microsoft. Previously, Rich managed antitrust and commercial litigation for the company and led the defense of antitrust class actions and competitor lawsuits.

Rich began his career in private practice at the Seattle, Washington law firm of Bogle & Gates, PLLC, from 1979 to 1999. He specialized in antitrust and complex commercial litigation, handling high profile cases for Champion International, the Pacific 10 Conference, Exxon and Sage Manufacturing. He served as Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer of the firm from 1993 – 1999.

Rich is a frequent speaker on a variety of antitrust, litigation, diversity and equity and other legal and business topics and is a recognized leader in Bar Association and civic groups. Rich currently serves on the Board of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. He previously served as Chair of the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association of the Western District of Washington, the Antitrust Section of the Washington State Bar and the Disciplinary Board of the Washington State Bar. Rich is an active participant and former Board member of Friends of Youth, an organization devoted to helping young people in challenging circumstances get their lives back on track. He is also an active supporter of East King County Habitat for Humanity and Agros International, a group committed to breaking the cycle of poverty for rural families in Central America and Mexico through land ownership, community building and agricultural and economic training. Rich has also served on and assisted a number of other non-profit boards supporting national parks, hiking trails and public television.

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