Ex-Microsoft GC Said to Be Ready for Another Legal Fight, This One Involving MLB
Former Microsoft general counsel Bill Neukom spent 15 years in an antitrust battle with the federal government, fending off an effort to break up the company.
Now Neukom, 68, has a new career as managing general partner of the San Francisco Giants, but that doesn’t mean he’s finished with legal fights. He is said to be prepared to take legal action to prevent the Oakland Athletics from moving to San Jose, the New York Times reports.
“Neukom is happy to talk about how he sneaks away from work when the Giants are at home to watch batting practice and how he often brings a glove to a game to try to catch foul balls,” the paper says. “But when the Athletics come up, conversation quickly comes to a halt.”
The newspaper said Neukom had “the tone of an angry politician” when asked about the dispute. “I am steadfast in protecting our rights because they are fundamentally important to the health of this enterprise,” he said. “I have nothing more to say beyond that.”
Neukom, a former ABA president and former member of the ABA Journal Board of Editors, still sports his trademark bow tie. The Times says Neukom’s wealth “grew exponentially after Microsoft.” He is giving some of his money away through a foundation and has formed an organization that rates the rule of law in various countries.
“I believe it’s my job to give the money back and to other causes,” he told the Times. “But I’m no saint and I have guilty pleasures, and the Giants are one of them.”