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Overview
BILL PARTNERS WITH CLIENTS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS FROM THE BOARD ROOM TO THE COURT ROOM.
A strong believer that close relationships drive successful outcomes, Bill cultivates connections within and outside the legal field to benefit his clients and community. Combining these relationships with legal skill, Bill is an effective advocate in complex business matters, employment disputes and claims, and personal injury defense for clients in industries at the center of the modern economy including healthcare, government, and financial services.
Bill handles matters through all aspects of litigation, including pre-suit investigation and negotiation, administrative proceedings, arbitration, and trial and appeal in state and federal court. His experience includes litigation in probate and bankruptcy courts. Bill also has been entrusted with internal investigations and policy and procedure reviews in employment and other contexts. He is proud to serve as the pro bono coordinator for the firm’s Iowa office.
Education & Admissions
Drake University Law School, With Highest Honors; Order of the Coif; Iowa State Bar Association Graduating Senior Award; H.G. Cartwright Law Review Award
Augustana College, cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa
Admissions
- Iowa
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U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
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U.S. District Courts and Bankruptcy Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa
Clerkships
- Iowa Supreme Court, Justice Mark S. Cady
Experience
Client Achievements
Representative Litigation
Bill is a trial lawyer and has litigated several matters through trial and appeal. Other successes have resulted in client victories without trial. Some of his notable experiences include:
- Trial and appeal (Polk County and Iowa Supreme Court) in multiple lawsuits against the same independent living facility client alleging breach of fiduciary duty and other theories.
- Defense from administrative level through trial in arbitration and state and federal courts of numerous employment law matters.
- Trial and appeal (N.D. Iowa and Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals) of breach of contract claims surrounding economic development agreement between a municipal client and corporation alleging the city failed to pay agreed-upon incentives.
- Defense of municipal client through trial and appeal (Dubuque County and Iowa Court of Appeals) against claim that special assessments for local improvements violated Iowa law.
- Consultation, trial support, and appeal (Polk County and Iowa Supreme Court) in action seeking to stymie client’s economic development initiatives involving tax increment financing and zoning issues.
- Represented manufacturing client in complex products liability action in Iowa state court (Mahaska County). With a Dorsey colleague, tried the case to a jury over five weeks resulting in an eight-figure verdict in favor of client.
- Multiple cases for hospital client defending medical malpractice claims in Iowa state court (Linn County).
- Lead counsel in securing a defense verdict after trial in Iowa state court (Polk County) of plaintiffs’ failure to warn claim related to allegedly-defective vehicle loading ramp.
News & Resources
Articles
June 1, 2021
August 11, 2020
August 28, 2017
July 23, 2015
"An Excellent Volume for Practitioners in Many Fields (A Review of Advance Health Care Directives: A Handbook for Professionals)," The Iowa Lawyer
December 2003
Note, "Chipping Away at the Dam: Anastasoff v. United States and the Future of Unpublished Opinions in the United States Courts of Appeals and Beyond," 50 Drake L. Rev. 181
2001
News & Press Mentions
June 24, 2021
October 14, 2020
September 30, 2019
April 25, 2019
August 15, 2018
October 9, 2017
August 15, 2017
February 3, 2017
December 23, 2016
August 15, 2016
July 20, 2016
June 21, 2016
May 31, 2016
October 26, 2015
October 13, 2015
August 25, 2015
Select Presentations
Bill has presented on topics including appellate law and practice, professional responsibility, and elder law for organizations including the Association of Corporate Counsel - Iowa Chapter, Iowa Hospital Association, Iowa Judicial Institute, Iowa Defense Counsel Association and Polk County and Iowa State Bar Associations.
Industries & Practices
Banking & Financial Institutions
Explore This Practice View client achievements related to this practice View resources related to this practiceDevelopment & Infrastructure
Explore This Practice View client achievements related to this practice View resources related to this practiceFood, Beverage & Agribusiness
Explore This Practice View client achievements related to this practice View resources related to this practice- Appellate
- Banking & Financial Institutions
- Class Action Litigation
- Commercial Litigation
- Development & Infrastructure
- Food, Beverage & Agribusiness
- Healthcare
- Labor & Employment
- Pro Bono
- Products Liability
Professional & Civic
Professional Achievements
- Member, Polk County Bar Association
- Past President
- Member, Board of Governors
- Chair, Judicial Retention Committee
- Past Member, Ethics Committee
- Past Member, Public Relations Committee
- Member, Iowa State Bar Association
- Member, Board of Governors
- Member and Past Chair, Litigation Section Council
- Member, Health Law Section Council
- Member, Judicial Administration Committee
- Member, Appellate Practice Committee
- Past Member, Independence of the Judiciary/Fair Courts Committee
- Past Member and Chair, Young Lawyers Division Services to the Elderly Committee
- Past Member, Iowa Supreme Court Jumpstart Jury Trials Task Force
- Past Member and Co-Chair, Iowa Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Rules of Civil Procedure
- Past Member, Iowa Supreme Court Commission on Continuing Legal Education
- Past Member, PCBA Volunteer Lawyers Project Board of Directors
- Member, Iowa Defense Counsel Association
- Member, Iowa Society of Healthcare Attorneys
- Member, Iowa Municipal Attorneys Association
- Past Member, American Judicature Society, National Advisory Council
- Past Member, American Judicature Society, Amicus Committee
- Past Member, American Bar Association
- Past Member, Defense Research Institute
- Past Member, C. Edwin Moore Inn of Court
Community Involvement
- Drake Law School, Board of Counselors
- Augustana College, President's Advisory Council
- Recognized as one of Des Moines Business Record's 2014 Forty Under 40
- 2008 Graduate of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute
- Past Member, Holy Trinity Church and School, Facilities Committee
- Past Member, Amanda the Panda Board of Directors
- Past President, Beaverdale Neighborhood Association
Accolades
- Contributed more than 50 Challenge pro bono hours, 2020
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America© for Commercial Litigation (2016-present) and Litigation — Labor & Employment (2018-present)
- Dorsey & Whitney – Scales of Justice Team Award (Dr. Conaway Disability Rights Team), 2021
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America Employment Law Issue, 2021
- Rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell®
- Recognized as a "Labor & Employment Star – Iowa" by Benchmark Litigation, 2021
- Recognized as one of Benchmark Litigation's Under 40 Hot List, 2016-2018
- Ranked by Chambers USA
- Named one of “America’s Leading Business Lawyers” by Chambers USA (Litigation: General Commercial), 2018-2021
- Named "Up and Coming" by Chambers USA (Litigation: General Commercial), 2015-2017
- Listed in Great Plains Super Lawyers, 2021
- Recognized as a "Rising Star" by Great Plains Super Lawyers, 2013-2017
- Recognized as a "Future Star" by Benchmark Litigation, 2015-2016 and 2021
