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Overview

With a knack for understanding clients’ world, Will defends manufacturers in mass tort and product liability cases.

Will represents clients in state and federal court and has experience with litigation that ranges from construction defect to trade secret misappropriation to environmental exposure to premises liability matters. However, he currently focuses most of his practice on toxic tort and asbestos litigation. He is particularly well-versed in the automotive and automotive manufacturing industries: early in his legal career, Will cut his teeth on transportation cases where he represented common carriers and received an in-depth education in heavy truck manufacturing.

With a father who worked in auto repair, motor vehicles were a world Will was already extensively familiar with, and he has had a lifelong interest in working on and restoring his own automobiles. His personal interest means that Will understands the work clients do and the products they make, and he can readily speak the language of both clients and plaintiffs.

Will has experience overseeing statewide case administration for major clients and serving as national coordinating counsel, leading teams of attorneys and managing a busy docket of thousands of cases from inception to trial or settlement. As an Illinois-based attorney, he is well used to defending companies in particularly difficult jurisdictions, including Cook, Madison and St. Clair Counties.

After more than a decade in the toxic tort field, Will has built relationships with many plaintiff firms: he’s often known opposing counsel for years, and he knows how to get to a favorable resolution. He understands the depth of risk involved in litigation for companies, and his aim is to resolve litigation so that clients can continue their operations and focus on business needs, not legal matters.

Industries

Services

Education

  • J.D., DePaul University College of Law
  • B.A., Southern Illinois University

Admissions

  • Illinois
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois


*Contact Will to set up an in-person consultation by appointment in the Chicago office.
Experience
  • Represented clients in all aspects of state and federal toxic tort litigation, managing hundreds of cases.
  • Served as authority on product application and design for all toxic tort cases for multinational power management company and its subsidiaries with comprehensive knowledge of its heavy truck, electrical, hydraulic, marine and aerospace product lines.
  • Served as authority on product application and design related to automotive friction defendants.
  • Represented food processing clients in litigation of bronchiolitis obliterans claims attributed to diacetyl exposure.
  • Represented premises owners and contractors in mold exposure litigation.
  • Represented professionals in employment litigation alleging trade secret misappropriation.
  • Represented architectural design firm in construction design defect litigation.
  • Taken hundreds of depositions of fact witnesses, expert witnesses, treating physicians and employer-representatives.
  • Managed broad variety of cases including company-wide product defects, workplace sexual assault and wrongful death, medical malpractice, personal injury, trucking and public transportation.
  • Served as national coordinating counsel for industrial pump manufacturer, drafting discovery for all cases filed nationwide and providing technical knowledge to local counsel conducting depositions.
  • Conducted complex internal investigations for industrial manufacturer regarding historical records and engineering documents to evaluate overall potential exposure liability in nationwide litigation.
  • Successfully briefed motion to dismiss complaint alleging construction design defects. (Vigilant Insurance Company v. Goodfriend Magruder Structure, Cook County 21-L-6117)
  • Assisted with preparations for Iowa Supreme Court oral argument on issues related to applicability of Iowa Code ยง 686 A-C to suppliers of asbestos-containing products. (Beverage, Est. of Charles v. Alcoa, Iowa Supreme Court 19-1852)
  • Successfully briefed and argued motion to bar medical expenses and wage loss based on novel argument developed through coverage policy language, barring as evidence at trial more than $400,000 of paid medical bills and resulting in favorable settlement. (Miller v. NFI Industries, Inc., NDIL 12-cv-9905)
  • First successfully briefed 12(b)(2) motion filed in Illinois asbestos litigation following Walden v. Fiore, 134 S. Ct. 1115 (2014) and Daimler AG v. Bauman, 134 S. Ct. 746 (2014). (Denton v. Air & Liquid Corp., SDIL 13-cv-1243)
  • Successfully briefed motion for summary judgment in premises liability case. (Silas-Berry v. Target, Cook County 12-L-9408)
  • Successfully briefed motion for summary judgment in premises liability case. (Bettencourt v. Wrigley Field Holdings, LLC, Cook County 12-L-3751)
  • Successfully briefed and argued motion for summary judgment in premises liability case. (Bogie v. Chicago Cubs Baseball Club, LLC, Cook County 11-L-6438)
  • Successfully obtained dismissal of intentional tort claims in high exposure wrongful death case. (Est. of Carlos Centeno v. Raani Corp., Cook County 12-L-10594)
  • Developed and drafted the rubric used for all Indiana medical malpractice panel submissions filed in defense of hospital sued in over 300 cases for a cardiologist's unnecessary biventricular pacemaker implantations.
Outside the Office

Will enjoys spending time with his wife and three young children. The family are particularly fond of being outside, especially for walks and bike rides.

When he has time to himself, you can often find Will in the midst of an outdoor project or working on the 1972 Chevy he’s refurbishing in his garage.