Top Microsoft Lawyer Carolyn Frantz Jumps to Orrick
Frantz, who was the tech giant's deputy GC and corporate legal department leader, said she'll remain "closely connected" to Microsoft as the newest member of Orrick's Supreme Court and appellate group.
April 08, 2019 at 05:30 AM
4 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The Recorder
Carolyn Frantz, Microsoft Corp.'s deputy general counsel and head of the technology giant's corporate legal group, has joined Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
Frantz joined Orrick's Supreme Court and appellate practice group Thursday as senior counsel, and as the group's only Seattle-based member, she said in an interview. While she said it's hard to predict what she'll be working on just two days into the new gig, she predicted she'll handle ”a lot of matters involving technology … and maybe some matters involving tax.”
Her experience at Microsoft, where she most recently served as vice president, deputy general counsel and corporate secretary, gave her new insight when it comes to clients and legal approaches, Frantz said.
“Even when I look back at myself maybe four or five years ago, before I had the chance to work at Microsoft, I think there were just so many more things I didn't understand about how an in-house corporate department really works,” Frantz told the Recorder. “I just have a much better, intuitive sense of what my clients care about now than I would have four or five years ago … once you've lived it you develop a much better instinct of what may be important to a corporate client.”
Frantz's latest move isn't the first time she's switched gears in her legal career. Along the way she's been a partner at Bartlit Beck, an assistant professor at the University Chicago Law School, an Alexander Fellow at New York University School of Law and as a U.S. Supreme Court law clerk for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
She is also a Rhodes Scholar and graduate of University of Michigan Law School, where she graduated first in her class.
“I haven't been afraid to do something I've never done before,” Frantz said. “Which I do think is just incidentally great advice for young lawyers.”
Microsoft was Frantz's first in-house role. She joined the Redmond, Washington-based tech company in 2016 as associate general counsel of litigation, according to her LinkedIn profile, after working as Microsoft's outside counsel. She was promoted to her most recent role in January 2018.
As deputy general counsel and head of Microsoft's corporate legal group, Frantz oversaw legal matters related to securities, insider trading compliance, compensation and benefits, real estate, subsidiary management and procurement law. On some matters she worked with outside counsel from Orrick, introducing her to members of the firm's Seattle office.
She most recently reported to Microsoft general counsel Dev Stahlkopf and, in her role as corporate secretary, the company's board of directors. Frantz said her role at Orrick will allow her to stay “closely connected” with Microsoft.
“Orrick is gaining an incredible lawyer and wonderful colleague,” Stahlkopf said a statement. “We'll certainly miss Carolyn's leadership and expertise, but we couldn't be more excited to see what she'll accomplish in the next phase of her career.”
While Frantz's move to Orrick is a new step in her legal career, she described joining the appellate group as “coming back to my roots,” due to her law clerk background. Josh Rosenkranz, the head of Orrick's Supreme Court and Appellate Practice, said in a statement that Frantz is a “truly distinguished legal talent” who will help the firm grow its “bi-coastal team.”
|Read More
Microsoft Seeks Diversity in Its Outside Counsel
Ashurst Infrastructure Pro Returns to Orrick in NY
Public-Private Partnerships Pro Rejoins Orrick's NY Office
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllLitigation Involving Failed Banks: What Litigators and In-House Counsel Should Be Thinking About
5 minute readCoinbase CLO Paul Grewal Blasts SEC for 'Enforcement-First' Crypto Crackdown
Los Angeles Lakers Ex-General Counsel Jim Perzik Dies From COVID Complications
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1The Rise of AI-Generated Deepfakes: A New Cybersecurity Threat for Law Firms
- 2Litigation Leaders: Labaton’s Eric Belfi on Running Case Investigation, Analysis and Evaluation In-House
- 3Spoliation Sanctions
- 4At FDA, Flavored Vape Products Go Up In Smoke
- 5Arguing Class Actions: CAFA’s Local Controversy Exception
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250