Experts weigh-in on possible legal ramifications for embattled firm.

Microsoft Corp. wasted no time Monday in mounting its counterattack to a judge_s ruling that the software giant violated antitrust law. The company announced that it will seek an expedited review of U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson_s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals once Jackson rules on remedies in the case. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates told CNN_s Moneyline that the company will continue to seek an out-of-court settlement as it initiates the appeals process. Microsoft Corp. may have tried to quietly settle its antitrust case with the government over the past few months, but tensions appeared to escalate as mediation talks were finally called off over the weekend. Gates told Moneyline that certain parties involved in the talks that broke down Saturday "had extremely radical views and weren_t interested in seeing a settlement." Now, following Judge Jackson_s scathing verdict, the software company is widely expected to come out swinging. As most experts predicted, Jackson ruled harshly against the software maker Monday afternoon, finding that the company violated the Sherman Antitrust Act and maintained a monopoly over the market for computer operating system software by anti-competitive means. Legal experts say Microsoft is likely to deploy a number of tactics to avoid a government-imposed breakup, ranging from an aggressive appeal all the way to the Supreme Court - which the company announced Monday - to a series of delaying moves that could tie the case up for years.