Spinning the press has always been part of the job for savvy lawyers in high-profile cases. But for Covington & Burling’s Charles “Rick” Rule, it’s recently been pretty much the only job. At least in the Microsoft trial.
Rule, a former top gun in the Department of Justice’s antitrust division, was hired by Microsoft Corporation about a year ago as a “legal consultant,” which is how the press describes him. His role in the trial is simple, if unconventional: While his teammates at New York’s Sullivan & Cromwell do the heavy legal lifting to defend Microsoft, Rule talks to reporters. Every day.
