Bill is a seasoned trial attorney with extensive trial experience and successful verdicts defending clients in construction, complex product liability, premises liability, dram shop, transportation, and sports and recreation matters. He represents contractors, product manufacturers, shopping malls, restaurants, major real estate developers, property owners, condominium associations, resorts, and ski areas.
Bill routinely counsels his clients to help avoid and/or minimize liability risks. For example, Bill is a member of the Association of Ski Defense Attorneys and he drafts contracts and release agreements for many resorts and recreational facilities throughout New England. Bill recently secured summary judgment in favor of one of those resorts in a wrongful death case by enforcing the release agreement.
Bill's practice has earned him Martindale Hubbell's highest possible AV (Preeminent) Peer Review Rating in both legal ability and ethical standards. Bill has also been selected as a "Massachusetts Super Lawyer” and as one of “New England’s Top Rated Lawyers.” National corporations frequently seek Bill out for representation based on his trial experience. Bill has served as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association where he chaired the Trial Practice section.
Bill has frequently been a featured speaker at national conferences. He spoke at Claims Litigation Management’s 10th Anniversary Conference in Nashville, TN. The CLM is the largest professional association in the insurance industry with a membership of more than 35,000 professionals in the claims resolution and litigation management industries. The CLM Construction Magazine recently published an article entitled Smart Building Technology – The New Trend in Construction Defect Litigation based on a presentation that Bill gave in San Diego last fall.
A former intercollegiate athlete at Williams College, Bill received his Juris Doctor degree from Suffolk University. While at Suffolk, Bill was a Law Review Editor and began his trial career by prosecuting cases in Chelsea District Court pursuant to Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:03.
Bill serves on the Board of Trustee Advisors at the Nativity School of Worcester, an accredited, independent middle school that provides a quality, all scholarship education to underserved boys of all faiths. Bill has also served on the Board of Visitors at his alma mater Worcester Academy.
In addition, Bill is an avid golfer who enjoys spending time with his family in Maine and participating in the annual Cross River Challenge.
Bar Admissions
Education
- Suffolk University, J.D., cum laude (1985)
- Williams College, B.A., American Civilization (1981)
Awards and Honors
- Massachusetts Super Lawyer (2006, 2015-Present)
- New England’s Top Rated Lawyers
Affiliations
- Association of Ski Defense Attorneys
- Catholic Lawyers Guild of Boston
- Massachusetts Bar Association
- Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association (Board of Directors)
Community Involvement
- Algonquin Regional High School Football Boosters (Chairman)
- Literacy Volunteers of Massachusetts (Board of Directors)
- St. Francis House
- Worcester Academy Board of Visitors
- Nativity School of Worcester (Board of Trustee Advisors)
Melick & Porter Attorneys Named to the 2023 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars ListsView Article
