Lawyer Quits Microsoft Trial

One of the lead lawyers for the government in the antitrust trial against Microsoft Corp. has quit the case and resigned from the New York attorney general’s office just weeks before the judge’s initial verdict is expected. Stephen Houck led the courtroom fight for the 19 states suing Microsoft along with the Justice Department. He also delivered part of the government’s closing arguments to the judge last week. His decision is not expected to affect the trial’s outcome because New York and the other states are still pursuing their claims.