Brad Smith (American lawyer)

{{Infobox person

| name = Brad Smith

| image = Brad Smith - Microsoft - 01.jpg

| caption = Smith at the Web Summit in 2017

| birth_name = Bradford Lee Smith

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|1|17}}

| birth_place = Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| education = Princeton University (BA)
Graduate Institute of International Studies (Diploma)
Columbia University (JD)

| spouse = Kathy Surace

| children = 2

}}

Bradford Lee Smith{{cite book |date=2018 |title=Directory of Corporate Counsel |edition=Mid-Year|publisher=Wolters Kluwer Law & Business |page=899 |isbn=978-1454889250 }} (born January 17, 1959){{cite magazine|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2004-05-30/online-extra-r-sum-bradford-l-dot-smith|title=Online Extra: Résumé: Bradford L. Smith|magazine=Bloomberg Businessweek|date=May 31, 2004|access-date=May 1, 2019}} is an American attorney and business executive who became vice chairman of Microsoft in 2021, and president in 2015. He previously was a senior vice president and general counsel from 2002 to 2015.

Early life and family

Smith was born January 17, 1959, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/technology/article/in-a-world-under-cyberattack-on-all-sides-microsoft-wants-to-fight-back-zjn0h735l|title=In a world under cyberattack on all sides, Microsoft wants to fight back|last=Frean|first=Alexandra|date=April 1, 2017|work=The Times|access-date=December 6, 2017}} His father was an engineer and manager at Wisconsin Bell and moved the family around the state several times .{{cite news|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft/microsoft-appoints-general-counsel-brad-smith-as-president/|title=Microsoft appoints general counsel Brad Smith as president|last=Greene|first=Jay|date=September 11, 2015|work=The Seattle Times|access-date=December 5, 2017}} Smith graduated from Appleton West High School in Appleton, Wisconsin, where he was student body president and editor of the school paper; while class president, he brokered one of his first deals, a school hall pass system.

Smith met his wife Kathy Surace-Smith while they were undergraduates at Princeton University. Smith studied in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and graduated with a B.A. in 1981 after completing a 199-page long senior thesis titled "The Politics of Refugees: The Development and Promotion of International Refugee Law".{{Cite thesis|last=Smith|first=Bradford Lee|editor-last=Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs|title=The Politics of Refugees: The Development and Promotion of International Refugee Law|url=https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/dsp01mk61rh71r|language=en}} Smith and his wife graduated from Princeton together in 1981 and both continued to Columbia Law School. They married in 1983, and spent the school year of 1983-1984 studying international law at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Switzerland, before returning to Columbia to graduate in 1985.{{cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradsmi/|title=Brad Smith, President and CLO at Microsoft Corporation|work=LinkedIn|access-date=December 4, 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathy-surace-smith-58076813/|title=Kathy Surace-Smith, Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, NanoString Technologies, Inc.|work=LinkedIn|access-date=December 4, 2017}} Surace-Smith is vice president and general counsel of Seattle biotech company NanoString Technologies. They have a son, born in 1992, and a daughter born in 1995.

Career

Smith's first job after graduation was as law clerk to United States federal judge Charles Miller Metzner. In 1986, he joined the Washington, D.C. law firm Covington & Burling. He had one condition for the job: to have his own personal computer. He was the first person in the firm with one; it ran Microsoft Word version 1.0. Smith worked for three years in Washington D.C., and four in London, running Covington's software practice there. By 1993 he had become a partner.{{cite news|url=http://fortune.com/2015/09/14/microsoft-president-brad-smith/|title=Meet Microsoft's new president: Brad Smith|last=Nusca|first=Andrew|date=September 14, 2015|work=Fortune|access-date=December 4, 2017}}

= Microsoft =

File:Brad Smith - Microsoft - 42.jpg in 2016]]

Smith joined Microsoft in 1993 and oversaw the resolution of the company's antitrust cases.{{Cite web |last=Novet |first=Jordan |title=Microsoft makes top lawyer Brad Smith its vice chair |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/14/microsoft-makes-top-lawyer-brad-smith-its-vice-chair.html |access-date=2023-03-13 |website=CNBC |date=September 14, 2021 |language=en}} For three years he led its Legal and Corporate Affairs team in Europe, then five years as deputy general counsel, before being named general counsel in 2002 and senior vice president.{{cite news |last1=Stross |first1=Randall |title=Why Bill Gates Wants 3,000 New Patents |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/31/business/digital-domain-why-bill-gates-wants-3000-new-patents.html |publisher=The New York Times Company |date=31 July 2005}} As Microsoft's general counsel, Smith worked as lawyer, politician, and diplomat. In 2001, Microsoft had just settled United States v. Microsoft Corp., a four-year antitrust battle about bundling the Internet Explorer web browser with the Microsoft Windows operating system. Smith's application for the general counsel position in late 2001 included a PowerPoint presentation of a single slide that said: "time to make peace." Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer agreed.{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2004-05-30/teaching-microsoft-to-make-nice|title=Teaching Microsoft To Make Nice?|date=May 31, 2004|last1=Greene|first1=Jay|last2=Reinhardt|first2=Andy|last3=Lowry|first3=Tom|work=Bloomberg Businessweek|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|access-date=December 5, 2017}} Smith has been described as conciliatory toward competitors and regulators. He led negotiations to settle cases with several of Microsoft's competitors, including AOL Time-Warner, Sun Microsystems, and Be Inc., paying $5 billion to plaintiffs, aiming for win-win resolutions, and garnering praise from their chief counsels. Smith also oversaw negotiations with the European Commission over antitrust accusations, meeting foreign leaders, lobbying, and settling most issues in 2010.

Internally, Smith pushed for diversity within the company's legal division, making executive bonuses dependent on Microsoft and associated law firms' increasing employment of racial minority, women, and LGBT employees, and committing pro bono hours for immigrants.{{cite news|url=http://old.seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2011097992_msftbradsmith21.html|title=Microsoft's chief counsel Brad Smith sharp, able to relate to people|last=Pian Chan|first=Sharon|author-link=Sharon Chan (journalist) |date=February 20, 2010|work=The Seattle Times|access-date=December 4, 2017}}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/microsofts-chief-legal-officer-talks-about-the-companys-diversity-benchmarks/2013/03/22/60b58162-919f-11e2-9cfd-36d6c9b5d7ad_story.html|title=Microsoft's chief legal officer talks about the company's diversity benchmarks|last=Ho|first=Catherine|date=March 24, 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=May 4, 2018}} In 2008, the goals were not met, and Microsoft executives donated their bonuses to charity; the diversity goals were met every subsequent year. In 2013, the National Law Journal named him one of "The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America".{{cite news|url=https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/almID/1202593197565/|title=The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America|date=March 22, 2013|work=National Law Journal|access-date=January 1, 2018}} Online copy seems broken, but a followup confirms Smith's presence on the list: {{cite news|url=https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/almID/1202594097887/correction/?back=law|title=CORRECTION|date=April 1, 2013|work=National Law Journal|access-date=January 1, 2018}}

By 2014, Smith was the longest running member of Microsoft's top leadership, and considered "a de facto ambassador for the technology industry at large,"{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/21/technology/microsofts-top-lawyer-is-the-tech-worlds-envoy.html|title=Microsoft's Top Lawyer Is the Tech World's Envoy|last=Wingfield|first=Nick|date=July 20, 2014|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 6, 2017}} Also printed as {{cite news|url=http://old.seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2024172824_inpersonbradsmithxml.html|title=General Counsel Brad Smith's influence grows beyond Microsoft|last=Wingfield|first=Nick|date=July 27, 2014|work=The Seattle Times|access-date=December 6, 2017}} winning plaudits for diplomacy from State Department officials like Anne-Marie Slaughter and Stuart Eizenstat. He filed four different lawsuits defending customer data against the U.S. government from 2013 to 2016{{cite news|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/602311/microsofts-top-lawyer-becomes-a-civil-rights-crusader/|title=Microsoft's Top Lawyer Becomes a Civil Rights Crusader|last=Simonite|first=Tom|date=September 8, 2016|work=MIT Technology Review|access-date=January 2, 2018}} and was a noted supporter of Apple Inc. when the FBI demanded access to a locked iPhone.{{cite news|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/600921/one-for-the-history-books-microsoft-is-apples-greatest-ally-against-the-fbi/|title=One for the History Books: Microsoft Is Apple's Greatest Ally Against the FBI|last=Simonite|first=Tom|date=March 1, 2016|work=MIT Technology Review|access-date=January 2, 2018}} He was able to organize a Reform Government Surveillance coalition including rivals such as Google, Yahoo!, and Apple, Inc. to support Microsoft in Microsoft Corp. v. United States, an ongoing case initially filed in 2013 in which the company challenges the right of the United States to get access to a user email stored in Ireland.

Smith was promoted to president and chief legal officer of Microsoft in 2015 by CEO Satya Nadella, becoming the first President of Microsoft since Richard Belluzzo in 2002. In these roles, Smith is responsible for Microsoft's corporate, external, and legal affairs, and is also the firm's chief compliance officer.{{cite web|url=https://news.microsoft.com/exec/brad-smith/|title=Microsoft Senior Leaders: Brad Smith|work=Microsoft|access-date=December 4, 2017}} Within three months in his new position, Smith announced the launch of Microsoft Philanthropies, a branch of the company dedicated to donating money and services to the public good.{{cite news|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-philanthropy-launches-brad-smith-2015-12|title=Microsoft Philanthropy launches|last=Slater-Robbins|first=Max|date=December 16, 2015|work=Business Insider|access-date=January 10, 2018}} In the following two years, Microsoft Philanthropies donated tens of millions in grants to education and refugee organizations, and hundreds of millions in Microsoft Azure cloud computing services to nonprofits and researchers.{{cite news|url=https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2017/5/14/microsoft-philanthropies-grants-tech|title=Technology for the People: What's Microsoft Philanthropies Been Up To?|last=Lynn-Moses|first=Sue|date=May 14, 2017|work=Inside Philanthropy|access-date=January 10, 2018}}

As Microsoft president, Smith continued being called a leader of the tech industry on privacy and immigration.{{cite news|url=https://www.recode.net/2017/12/6/16692072/brad-smith-intuit-ceo-recode-100|title=Microsoft's Brad Smith is leading the tech industry into battle on immigration|last=Romm|first=Tony|date=December 6, 2017|work=Recode|access-date=December 31, 2017}} He asked the Trump administration for an exception to its travel ban{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-microsoft/microsoft-asks-for-exception-program-on-trump-immigration-orders-idUSKBN15H1YJ|title=Microsoft asks for exception program on Trump immigration orders|last=Nellis|first=Stephen|date=February 2, 2017|work=Reuters|access-date=December 31, 2017}} and said Microsoft would defend its employees affected by the revocation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).{{cite news|url=http://fortune.com/2017/09/05/daca-microsoft/|title=DACA: Microsoft Says Feds Must "Go Through Us" to Deport|last=Rogers|first=Jeff John|date=September 5, 2017|work=Fortune|access-date=December 31, 2017}} Smith called for a "digital Geneva convention" in February 2017 at the RSA cybersecurity conference in San Francisco,{{cite news|url=http://fortune.com/2017/02/14/microsoft-president-digital-geneva-convention/|title=Microsoft President Brad Smith Calls For a Digital Geneva Convention|last=Vanian|first=Jonathan|date=February 14, 2017|work=Fortune|access-date=December 30, 2017}} reiterated his suggestion after the WannaCry ransomware attack believed to come from the government of North Korea,{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/north-korea-responsible-wannacry-ransomware-microsoft-brad-smith-cyber-attack-nsa-a8000166.html|title=North Korea behind devastating 'WannaCry' cyberattack that hit NHS and systems across US, says Microsoft head|last=Sharman|first=Jon|date=October 14, 2017|work=The Independent|access-date=December 30, 2017}} and presented the idea to the United Nations at Geneva in November 2017.{{cite news|url=http://www.financialexpress.com/industry/technology/world-needs-new-digital-geneva-convention-says-microsoft-president-brad-smith/928670/|title=World needs new digital Geneva Convention, says Microsoft President Brad Smith|last=Indo-Asian News Service|author-link=Indo-Asian News Service|date=November 11, 2017|work=The Financial Express|access-date=December 30, 2017}} The convention would be an international treaty governing state-sponsored cyberwarfare, protecting civilian infrastructure, and guaranteeing the neutrality of technology companies, to be overseen by an international body modeled after the International Atomic Energy Agency or the Red Cross that would monitor the agreement and identify offenders.{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/02/14/microsoft-brad-smith-digital-geneva-convention/97883896/|title=Microsoft calls for 'digital Geneva Convention'|last=Weise|first=Elizabeth|date=February 14, 2017|work=USA Today|access-date=December 30, 2017}} Also in 2017, he entered Microsoft into a partnership with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that the Office called "groundbreaking" and "landmark", donating $5 million over five years to develop technology to support the Office's human rights work.{{cite web|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21620&LangID=E|title=Technology for human rights: UN Human Rights Office announces landmark partnership with Microsoft|date=May 16, 2017|work=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|access-date=January 4, 2018}} He led Microsoft into two ambitious initiatives to bring technology to rural America, the Rural Airband Initiative, which would bring broadband Internet access to 12 states by 2022 using unused television channel frequencies,{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2017/07/11/microsoft-wants-to-bring-2-million-americans-online-by-2022/|title=Microsoft wants to bring 2 million rural Americans online by 2022|last1=Shaban|first1=Hamsa|last2=Fung|first2=Brian|date=July 11, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=January 4, 2018}} and the TechSpark program to invest in technology jobs in six rural and smaller metropolitan areas, starting with North Dakota and Wisconsin.{{cite news|url=https://www.apnews.com/209413e0ec2b447bb9c62b44495debe7/Microsoft-to-help-expand-rural-broadband-in-6-states|title=Microsoft to help expand rural broadband in 6 states|last=Kolpack|first=Dave|date=October 5, 2017|publisher=Associated Press|access-date=January 4, 2018}}{{cite news|url=https://www.apnews.com/ca1d5f093321498b89f06d361ff5826c|title=Packers, Microsoft join in tech venture near Lambeau Field|last=Moreno|first=Ivan|date=October 19, 2017|publisher=Associated Press|access-date=January 4, 2018}}

In January 2025, Smith wrote a blog about Microsoft's "Golden Opportunity for American AI", saying "The country has a unique opportunity to pursue this vision and build on the foundational ideas set for AI policy during President Trump’s first term" and "If the Trump Administration can develop a strong national AI talent strategy and use AI to make the government itself more effective and efficient, it will put the country on a promising path."{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Brad |date=2025-01-03 |title=The Golden Opportunity for American AI |url=https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2025/01/03/the-golden-opportunity-for-american-ai/ |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=Microsoft On the Issues |language=en-US}}

= Other boards =

In 2014, Smith was named to the Board of Trustees of Princeton University for a four-year term.{{cite web|last1=Dienst|first1=Karin|date=June 10, 2014|title=Nine named to Princeton Board of Trustees|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2014/06/10/nine-named-princeton-board-trustees|website=Princeton.edu|publisher=Princeton University|access-date=February 1, 2018}} He has been on the Code.org board of directors since 2013, the year it was founded,{{cite web|url=https://code.org/about/leadership|archive-date=October 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018055034/https://code.org/about/leadership|title=Leadership|work=Code.org|access-date=February 16, 2018}} and on the Netflix board of directors since 2015.{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2015/digital/news/anne-sweeney-microsofts-brad-smith-join-netflix-board-1201462488/|title=Anne Sweeney, Microsoft's Brad Smith Join Netflix Board|last=Spangler|first=Todd|date=March 30, 2015|work=Variety|access-date=January 2, 2018}}

From 2016 to 2017, Smith was on the U.S. Commerce Department's Digital Economy Board of Advisors.{{cite web|url=https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2016/03/us-secretary-commerce-penny-pritzker-announces-appointees-inaugural|title=U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Announces Appointees to Inaugural Digital Economy Board of Advisors|date=March 29, 2016|work=United States Department of Commerce|access-date=January 2, 2018|archive-date=June 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180608220251/https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2016/03/us-secretary-commerce-penny-pritzker-announces-appointees-inaugural|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=https://www.computerworld.com/article/3217946/it-industry/microsoft-exec-leaves-commerce-depts-digital-economy-board.html|title=Microsoft exec leaves Commerce Dept.'s Digital Economy Board|last=Leonhard|first=Woody|date=August 21, 2017|work=Computerworld|access-date=January 2, 2018}}

Civic work

Smith chairs the nonprofit Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), which he co-founded with actress Angelina Jolie in 2008.{{cite web|url=https://supportkind.org/about/leadership/|title=Leadership - Kind|publisher=Kids in Need of Defense|access-date=December 31, 2017}} KIND provides pro bono free legal support to unaccompanied immigrant children who are facing deportation in eight of the largest US cities.{{cite news|url=http://old.seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2008276992_detainedkids17m0.html|title=Microsoft set to help the littlest immigrants|last=Turnbull|first=Lornet|date=October 17, 2008|work=The Seattle Times|access-date=December 31, 2017}} It is funded by Microsoft and donated hours from law firms and corporate departments across the country.{{cite news|url=https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Microsofts-Top-Lawyer/227553|title=Microsoft's Top Lawyer Recruits Celebrities and Colleagues to Start Charity|last=Preston|first=Caroline|date=October 20, 2011|work=The Chronicle of Philanthropy|access-date=December 31, 2017}}

From 2009 to 2016, Smith was the chair and a founding board member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, an organization of corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners dedicated to diversity in the legal profession.{{cite web|url=http://www.lcldnet.org/about/corporation-membership/brad-smith/|title=Brad Smith|publisher=Leadership Council on Legal Diversity|access-date=December 31, 2017|archive-date=August 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805100404/https://www.lcldnet.org/about/corporation-membership/brad-smith/|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/almID/1202670561096/legal-diversity-councils-efforts-showing-promise/?back=law|title=Legal Diversity Council's Efforts Showing Promise|last=Sloan|first=Karen|date=September 18, 2014|work=National Law Journal|access-date=December 31, 2017}}

Smith is chairman of the board of and helped create the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship which gives grants to low- and middle-income students earning bachelor's degrees in Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and health care.{{cite news|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2017/02/09/led-by-microsofts-brad-smith-program-gives-out-6m.html|title=Led by Microsoft's Brad Smith, program gives out $6M in STEM grants in Washington|last=Stewart|first=Ashley|date=February 9, 2017|work=Puget Sound Business Journal|access-date=December 31, 2017}} The public-private partnership has raised $190 million since its founding in 2011, including $35 million from Microsoft, $25 million from Boeing, and $25 million from the Washington State Legislature.{{cite news|url=http://old.seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2023808092_opportunityscholarshipxml.html|title=Big boost in awards for state's STEM college scholarships|last=Long|first=Kathering|date=June 10, 2014|work=The Seattle Times|access-date=December 31, 2017}}{{cite news|url=http://crosscut.com/2013/06/microsoft-boeing-stem-opportunity-scholarships/|title=State's science, tech students see new opportunity at home|last=Manuturi|first=Vanesha|date=June 4, 2013|work=Crosscut.com|access-date=December 31, 2017}}{{cite web|last1=Wattles|first1=Jackie|date=September 2, 2015|title=Can Microsoft and Steve Ballmer help more young people launch tech careers?|url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/09/02/technology/microsoft-steve-ballmer-education-donation/index.html|website=CNN.com|publisher=CNN|access-date=February 1, 2018}}

He shares other charity work with his wife, Kathy Surace-Smith. They chaired the King County, Washington United Way campaign for 2011, raising $120 million.{{cite news|url=http://old.seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2015701404_unitedway23.html|title=Local United Way raises $120M|last=Heim|first=Kristi|date=July 22, 2011|work=The Seattle Times|access-date=January 1, 2018}} They are also prominent supporters of their alma mater Columbia Law School: Surace-Smith is a trustee of Columbia University and co-chairs the school Annual Fund;{{Cite web|title=Kathy Surace-Smith {{!}} Office of the Secretary of the University|url=https://secretary.columbia.edu/trustees-columbia-university/kathy-surace-smith|access-date=2022-02-12|website=secretary.columbia.edu}} in 2004 the couple established the Smith Family Opportunity Scholarship, which helps less represented international students attend the school; and in 2017 they became co-chairs of the school fundraising campaign, and made a $1.25 million gift for the Columbia Human Rights Clinic.{{cite web|url=http://www.law.columbia.edu/news/2017/11/brad-smith-and-kathy-surace-smith-support-human-rights|title=Columbia Law Receives $1.25 Million Gift from Brad Smith '84 and Kathy Surace-Smith '84|work=Columbia University|access-date=December 31, 2017|archive-date=December 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227071302/https://www.law.columbia.edu/news/2017/11/brad-smith-and-kathy-surace-smith-support-human-rights|url-status=dead}} In February 2022, the Smiths donated an additional $5 million to the Human Rights Clinic.{{Cite web|title=Microsoft's Top Lawyer And Wife Donate $5 Million To Columbia Law School|url=https://www.lawyer-monthly.com/2022/02/microsofts-top-lawyer-and-wife-donate-5-million-to-columbia-law-school/|access-date=2022-02-12|website=Lawyer Monthly {{!}} Legal News Magazine|date=February 9, 2022 |language=en-GB}}