William G. Southard

Partner

william.southard@bingham.com

Download vCard

• T 617.951.8232
• F 617.951.8736
• Boston

Bill Southard is deputy chair of the firm’s Litigation Area. He also serves as the firm’s general counsel and is a member of the Firm and Management Committees.

Throughout his 25-year career, Bill’s practice has spanned the spectrum of complex commercial litigation, representing clients across the United States at the trial and appellate court levels. He has tried cases as diverse as the defense of an international engineering firm responsible for the engineering, design and start-up of pulp recycling facilities, the prosecution of claims arising from the refurbishment of a complex petrochemical refinery and the defense of antitrust claims asserted against an association of pipe foundries. Equally diverse are his clients, ranging from international corporations to prominent individuals.

In recent years, much of Bill’s work has focused on the representation of clients in large process facility disputes, such as the owners, developers and builders of power facilities, infrastructure projects and petrochemical plants. These disputes have centered on subjects such as technology procurement and performance, design deficiencies, numerous issues of contract performance, questions of force majeure relief and insurance coverage. In a recent project insurance dispute, Bill’s client was successful in negotiating a payment of more than $100 million. Another matter that he recently tried resulted in an award of nearly $30 million, the full amount of the litigated claim. He also recently led the firm’s representation of the joint venture of Bechtel Corporation and Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade and Douglas Inc. in litigation growing out of Boston’s “Big Dig” project. Bill is active in various construction and engineering industry professional groups, and has been outside general counsel to the domestic trade association of cast iron pipe producers for nearly 15 years.

Bill has significant experience in arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution proceedings throughout the United States. He has served as an arbitrator and has acted as counsel in numerous arbitration trials.