- OVERVIEW
- INSIGHTS
- NEWS & EVENTS
INDUSTRIES
PRACTICES
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Education
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University of Michigan Law School,
J.D., cum laude
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University of Missouri-Columbia,
B.A., cum laude
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Admissions
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Missouri
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Illinois
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Florida USDC, Northern District
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Illinois USDC, Central District
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Illinois USDC, Northern District
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Illinois USDC, Southern District
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Indiana USDC, Northern District
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Indiana USDC, Southern District
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Kansas USDC
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Missouri USDC, Eastern District
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Missouri USDC, Western District
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Ohio USDC, Northern District
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US Ct Appeals, 7th Circuit (IL, IN, WI)
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US Ct Appeals, 8th Circuit (AR, IA, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
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US Ct Appeals, 11th Circuit (AL, FL, GA)
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Affiliations
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ABA House of Delegates
Chair, 2018-2020
Member, 2002-Present
Advisory Committee, 2020-2022
Chair, Nominating Committee, 2018-2020
Professional Public Service and Diversity, 2018-2020, Chair, Strategic Planning Committee, 2017-2018
Technology & Communications Committee, 2012-2013
House Select Committee and Reporter, 2008-2010
Resolutions & Impact Committee, 2007-2008, 2010-2012
Credentials & Admissions Committee, 2003-2004
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ABA Board of Governors
Member, 2014-Present
Executive Committee, 2015-2016, 2018-2020
Member Services Committee, 2016-2017
Chair, Finance Committee, 2015-2016
Audit Committee, 2015-2016
Committee on Scope and Correlation of Work, 2015-2016
Finance Committee, 2014-2016
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ABA Section of Litigation
Chair, 2012-2013
Co-Chair, ABA Resource, 2016-2017
Co-Chair, Marketing & Membership Committee, 2009-2010
Co-Managing Director, 2008-2009
Chair, Operations Committee, 2006-2008
Council Member, 2005-2008
Co-Chair, Section Annual Meeting – Phoenix, 2003-2004
Co-Chair, Committee on Corporate Counsel, 2000-2003
Member, Section at 40
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ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession
Member, 2012-2014
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ABA Standing Committee on Bar Activities and Services
Chair, 2009-2012
Member, 2006-2012
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The Missouri Bar
Board of Governors, 2005-2009
Member, Finance Committee, 2008-2009
Co-Chair, Civic Education Committee, 2006-2007
Chair, Advisory Committee on Citizenship Education, 1992-1994
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The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
President, 2001-2002
Chair, Executve Director Search Committee, 2006, 2020-2021
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Court Appointments
Co-Chair, Joint Task Force on the Future of the Profession, 2015-2017
Co-Chair, Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness, 2015-2017
Co-Chair, Commission on Women in the Profession, 2013-2015
Member, Joint Committee on Gender & Justice, 2009-2013
Missouri Lawyers Trust Account Foundation, 2004-2011
Missouri Board of Law Examiner Grader, 2000-2006
Merit Selection Panels for Consideration of the Reappointment of a U.S. Magistrate Judge, 2000, 2002
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Member Other Bar Associations
Illinois State Bar Association
Mound City Bar Association
Women Lawyer's Association
Lawyer's Association of St. Louis
Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers
National Native American Bar Association
National Bar Association
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Recognitions
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Named Lawyer of the Year for Litigation - Banking and Finance in St. Louis by The Best Lawyers in America (by BL Rankings), 2013, 2017, 2019, 2021
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Listed in The Best Lawyers in America (by BL Rankings), 2012-2023
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Listed in the POWER List for Business Defense by Missouri Lawyers Media, 2023
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Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
President Award, 2007, 2021
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Listed in Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers (by Thomson Reuters), 2013-2019
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2017 Spurgeon Smithson Award
Honor awarded by The Missouri Bar Foundation for outstanding service towards the administration of justice
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Distinguished Lawyer Award, 2017
The highest honor awarded by The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
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St. Louis Magazine's inaugural Excellence in Law Awards
"Leadership" Honoree, 2016
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American Law Institute, Class of 2016
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Missouri Lawyers Awards
Influential Lawyer, 2013
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Missouri Bar President’s Award, 2002
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Employment
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Thompson Coburn LLP
Partner
Chair, Client Relations Committee, 2002-2014
Chair, Employment Committee, 1995-1999
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Community
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The Missouri Lawyer Trust Account Foundation (IOLTA)
Board of Directors, 2004-2011
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FOCUS St. Louis
Executive Committee, 2008-2012
Nominating Committee Chair, 2008-2009
Board of Directors, 2006-2012
Selected Participant, Leadership St. Louis, 1996-1997
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Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
Chair, Executive Director Search Committee, 2006
President, 2001-2002
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St. Louis Bar Foundation
President, 2002-2003
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Legal Services of Eastern Missouri
Bar Campaign Leadership Committee, 2009-2011
Volunteer Lawyer Service Award, 1994
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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