Wilbert Victor Farrell

Plaintiffs and defendants alike count on Bill Farrell for clear communication and compelling advocacy across the spectrum of civil litigation in areas ranging from insurance subrogation and property and casualty insurance coverage, to land use, antitrust, class action, construction, commercial litigation and more.

“Good litigators excel both at crafting persuasive legal argument and at communicating it to all parties, including clients, judges, juries, mediators, opposing counsel and others,” explains Bill. “To do that, I have to be well-prepared, nimble on my feet and succinctly articulate in my communication, both oral and written. And I have to do it in a compelling, cogent way for every case, for every client.”

Bill has demonstrated his ability to do just that in a wide variety of cases. Among his successes, he has:

• Represented a subrogated insurer in a $5 billion subrogation action arising from the 9/11 terrorist attack seeking to recover claims paid by commercial property insurers.  The matter resulted in a highly favorable confidential settlement.
• Represented plaintiff classes in Iowa and Wisconsin in indirect purchaser antitrust class actions where plaintiffs alleged that a major software company had illegally monopolized and engaged in unreasonable restraints of trade in markets for its operating system and productivity application software.  Cases in both Iowa – following three months of trial – and Wisconsin resulted in highly favorable settlements.
• Represented plaintiffs in nationwide class action litigation involving trespass claims brought by landowners against telecommunications carriers and railroads related to the installation of fiber-optic cable along railroad rights of way.
• Represented former insurance agents in defense of breach of contract action seeking return of life insurance policy commissions from former agents and counterclaim alleging breach of contract and fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation.
• Represented first-party property insurer in multi-party litigation in the Superior Court of California relating to major defects in the construction of the luxurious Bacara Resort and Spa in Santa Barbara.
• Represented a property owner in a multi-party action alleging, inter alia, cross claims for breach of contract and negligence resulting from a landslide and subsequent collapse of a major interceptor sewer line.
  
  

Whether representing individuals or institutions, Bill relies both on his analytical and interpersonal skills to understand all sides of a dispute. “No two situations are the same, or any two clients,” he says. “The more keenly I can understand the nature of the dispute and the perspectives of all involved, the more powerful my advocacy will be.”