Bart Williams is one of the nation’s most sought after trial lawyers. A strategic, diligent and dignified litigator with a wealth of experience across commercial litigation, white collar criminal defense and internal corporate investigations, Bart is equally expert at counseling clients on the management of their most complex litigation crises and trying their most important cases before juries and judges. He is frequently called in just months or even weeks before a trial in order to deliver the win. A member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Bart has compiled an impressive list of victories in jury and bench trials throughout the United States. He has served as lead trial counsel for numerous companies in bet-the-company trials, and as a litigator and counselor for many Fortune 500 corporations across industries: media and entertainment, banking and financial services, technology, pharmaceutical and private equity. He has also represented celebrities, government officials and corporate executives individually in high-stakes matters. Bart is a respected – and respectful – litigator, as well as a powerful storyteller and strategic mastermind, whose catalogue of high-profile victories has made him one of the most in-demand trial lawyers in America.
Earlier in his career, Bart served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Central District of California where he concentrated on complex criminal prosecutions involving allegations of fraud or other business crimes, racketeering and money laundering and obtained convictions in 11 out of 11 jury trials. He received several special commendations during his tenure, including one from the former director of the FBI.
- Lead trial counsel for Monsanto and its parent company Bayer in multiple California cases alleging the herbicide RoundUp causes non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (“NHL”). The vast majority of pending cases were settled before trial as part of Bayer’s (nearly) global settle ment of the RoundUp cases. A relatively small subset of cases was not settled, however, and we began trial in San Bernardino in July 2021. In this case, plaintiff Donnetta Stephens alleges that her NHL was caused by her periodic use of RoundUp in her backyard.
- Lead counsel for toy company, Mattel, Inc. and their co-defendants in 35 separate product liability wrongful death cases in Delaware and California state courts related to the Fisher Price Rock-n-Play Sleeper (“RNPS”). The cases allege that the RNPS was not safe for use as a sleeping device for infants.
- Lead counsel for Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP in connection with a favorable settlement with an action brought in Las Vegas by a former long-time client of the firm and the client’s principal, after the company and principal were charged by the State of Colorado with investor fraud.
- Lead trial counsel for Gilead Sciences in various California state and federal product liability actions brought by ~17,000 plaintiffs related to Gilead’s HIV prevention and treatment drugs. The cases allege that Gilead failed adequately to warn about the increased risk of potential kidney disease and bone injury that could result from its highly effective and FDA-approved HIV medications.
- Lead trial counsel for the “Power 5 Conferences” (Pac 12, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC, and SEC) in complex antitrust litigation in U.S. District Court in Oakland, CA, against the NCAA and eleven collegiate athletic conferences challenging the limits on compensation and benefits for student-athletes. The Court held that the rules promote demand for college sports by recognizing the distinction with professional sports. The Court rejected plaintiffs’ effort to eliminate all rules limiting athlete compensation and removed only those rules limiting in-kind educational benefits. The ruling was upheld on appeal.
Updated Aug 2021
