April Rettkowski

About April Rettkowski

As a Senior Corporate Counsel at Microsoft, I leverage my legal expertise and strategic thinking to support the development and governance of AI models and data strategies. With over 20 years of experience in corporate law, I have a proven track record of providing practical business-oriented advice, effective cross-organizational collaboration and advising on complex technology innovation, regulatory and policy issues.I am passionate about applying my skills and knowledge to drive innovation and responsible AI practices. I led legal support for the end-to-end development and release of the Microsoft Phi-family of SLMs. I advise frontier and foundation model development engineering and research teams on responsible data usage and sourcing strategies, data management and compliance. I also managed legal support for the global Business Incubation team and Central Incubation Fund, overseeing all aspects of CIF support and the full portfolio of incubation products from inception to graduation. My goal is to ensure that business teams make informed strategic decisions and AI technologies are developed and used in a way that respects privacy, security, and ethical standards.

Experience

1. Assistant General Counsel

   Microsoft

   Sep 2025 — Present · Redmond, WA, US

   Strategic advisor for Microsoft AI foundation and frontier model development teams. Focused on data acquisition strategy, data usage, management and governance; Model development, usage and governance; and implementation of responsible AI practices and requirements. • Advise model development engineering and research teams on permissible data usage and partner with them on our data sourcing strategy. Translate data needs and requirements between teams, business development and legal/policy stakeholders.• Experience navigating copyright, privacy, regulatory and related issues pertaining to data used to develop foundation and frontier AI models.• Collaborate across the organization to develop, maintain and evolve guidelines, policies, and controls around data acquisition and use to proactively address legal risks and regulatory requirements related to data.• Working group product team lead establishing EU AI Act policy and implementation guidelines, in conjunction with the Office of Responsible AI and policy advocacy teams.• Monitor regulatory developments related to AI training data and AI model development practices and assist in development of internal policies and practices.• Engage with academics, industry groups, and other stakeholders to develop norms and best practices around data and model governance for AI development.

Education

• University of Washington

  BA, Psychology, Speech Communications

  1994 — 1998

• Gonzaga University School of Law

  Doctor of Law (JD)

  1999 — 2002

Skills

• Brand Management
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Commerical Transactions
• Strategy
• E-Commerce
• Consumer Law
• Real Estate
• Legal Research
• Cross Functional Relationship Building
• Leases
• Corporate Law
• Privacy Law
• Commercial Real Estate
• Trademarks
• Intellectual Asset Management
• Fashion Retail
• Anti Money Laundering
• Ip Counseling
• Legal Writing
• Litigation
• Public Speaking
• Retail
• Product Compliance
• Trademark Infringement
• Document Drafting
• Client Counseling
• Intellectual Property
• Multi-Channel Retail
• Business Development
• Document Review
• Legal Compliance
• Advertising
• Copyright Law
• Bank Secrecy Act
• Contract Negotiation
• Legal Advice
• Real Estate Transactions
• Contract Law
• Retail Sales
• False Advertising