Jon Palmer

Jon serves as General Counsel and Corporate Vice President at Microsoft Corporation. He sits on the Senior Leadership Team of Microsoft’s Corporate, External and Legal Affairs (CELA) Department and leads Microsoft’s Corporate Legal Affairs team, which includes the company’s core legal and compliance functions related to litigation, employment, competition, immigration, corporate governance / securities, mergers & acquisitions, intellectual property, global trade, and compliance & ethics. Before taking the General Counsel position, Jon served as Deputy General Counsel and Head of Litigation.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Jon was a litigation partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, and before that, at Heller Ehrman LLP. From 2005 through 2008 he was based in Asia, where he was managing partner for Heller Ehrman’s offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, and Shanghai.

Jon has an active pro bono practice—particularly on immigration / political asylum issues and clemency. He is also a passionate advocate for legal reform—particularly in the areas of civil justice reform and alternative dispute resolution. He sits on the Board of Directors of Lawyers for Civil Justice and the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR Institute). Jon received his BA from Stanford University in 1988, and his JD from University of California, Berkeley, in 1993.