Home > People > Bill Bay

Bill Bay

Partner

St. Louis
314 552 6008 314 552 6008 direct
314 552 7008 fax


Bill represents major corporations in high-stakes litigation in state and federal courts across the country.

He has achieved favorable results for clients in state and federal courts across the country, and frequently serves as regional or national counsel for clients facing suits and regulatory actions in multiple venues.

Bill served as the 2018-2020 Chair of the 600-member ABA House of Delegates, the policy-making body of the association. He is a past Chair of the ABA Section of Litigation, the largest section in the ABA, and a past member of the ABA Board of Governors, where he served as chair of the Board's Finance Committee. Bill is also a member of the American Law Institute, the leading independent organization in the United States that works to improve the law. Bill has been selected as chair of a number of statewide commissions examining critical issues in the practice of law. He currently serves as the co-chair of the Supreme Court of Missouri's Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness.

Bill's clients vary from major financial institutions to manufacturers to post-secondary institutions. He has litigated cases on behalf of companies facing high-risk litigation and helped businesses manage and respond to large portfolios on litigation in multiple jurisdictions. These matters include highly complex and document-intensive cases involving breach of contract, fraud, corporate governance, insurance coverage, lost profits, lender liability, and tortious interference. His litigation experience includes insurance coverage cases as well as trust and estate litigation, including those issues relating to fiduciary obligations.

In his work for regional and national clients, Bill and his team have developed an innovative, statistics-based predictive model that evaluates large-scale litigation portfolios and effectively controls costs.

TCLEs

Recent Court Decisions in Student Disputes That You Should Know About

Minimizing Litigation Risk As To Student-Related Disputes

Blogs

Higher ed braces for flood of lawsuits over retirement plans

Publications

"The Black Box";
Litigation, Winter 2013

"Remember Why";
Litigation, Spring 2013

"Staying Connected";
Bar Leader, Summer 2012

"Choices";
Bar Leader, Summer 2011

"The Batting Cage";
Bar Leader, July 2010

"Home Improvements";
Bar Leader, May 2010

"Father of the Bride";
Bar Leader, March 2010

"Baseball and Bars";
Bar Leader, January 2010

"Diners, menus, and service";
Bar Leader, November 2000

"Lessons from the Lunch Counter Part 2: The Left Hand Man";
St. Louis Lawyer, November 2001

"Complications";
St. Louis Bar Journal, Fall 2001

"Words";
St. Louis Lawyer, October 2001

"Apollo 13";
St. Louis Bar Journal, Summer 2001

"Lessons from the Lunch Counter: The Short Order Cook";
St. Louis Lawyer, May 2001

Presentations

"The Future of the Profession: A National Perspective on Current and Future Trends/Issues Disrupting the Legal Profession"
Southern Conference of Bar Presidents, October 2016

"A Snapshot of the Missouri Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness”
ACC Corporate Counsel Institute, April 2016

"Litigation Management Roundtable";
ABA Corporate Counsel CLE Seminar, February 2014

Moderator, "When a Top Executive Leaves to Join 'The Bad Guy' (a Competitor): How to Protect Your Company";
ABA 2014 Corporate Counsel CLE Seminar, February 2014

"Love Me or Leave Me, What Big Firms Want from Metro Bars Panel";
National Conference of Bar Presidents Midyear Meeting, February 2014

News

Congratulations to our 2021 Best Lawyers ‘Lawyers of the Year’ and ‘Ones to Watch’

Congratulations to our 14 ‘Lawyers of the Year’ for 2019

Bill Bay elected chair of the ABA House of Delegates

Thompson Coburn honors Civil Rights pioneer Frankie Muse Freeman

Bill Bay receives Spurgeon Smithson award

Bill Bay to receive Distinguished Lawyer Award at 2017 Law Day festivities

Missouri Joint Task Force on the Future of the Profession releases 2016 report

Bill Bay named a 2016 ‘Excellence in Law’ award winner by St. Louis Magazine

Congratulations to our 2017 ‘Lawyers of the Year’

Bill Bay elected to American Law Institute’s class of 2016

Bill Bay elected chair of ABA Board of Governors’ Finance Committee

Bill Bay elected to ABA Board of Governors

DirectWomen to host gender pay equity program on April 7-8 in St. Louis

Happy 97th birthday to legal pioneer Frankie Freeman

Bill Bay named co-chair of Joint Commission on Women in the Profession

Bill Bay live-tweets Eric Holder, Hillary Clinton speeches at ABA Annual Meeting

Bill Bay invites Litigation journal readers into ‘The Black Box’

Bill Bay hosts Gideon v. Wainwright anniversary panel, live stream

Bill Bay named Influential Lawyer by Missouri Lawyers Media

19 Thompson Coburn partners named 2013 St. Louis Lawyers of the Year

Bill Bay elected chair of the ABA Section of Litigation