William B. Sullivan

Partner

William B. Sullivan

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Practices

Education

Harvard Law School, J.D., cum laude

Editor and Chair of the Notes Committee, Harvard Law Review
Best Brief, Ames Moot Court Competition Final Round
Best Team and Best Brief, Ames Competition Semifinal Round

Yale College, B.A., cum laude

Distinction in English and Political Science majors
John Hersey Prize (for the “strongest body of journalistic work while at Yale”)
Sussman Reporting Prize (for outstanding reporting for the Yale Daily News)

Clerkship

Hon. Margaret M. Morrow, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Admission

District of Columbia
California
U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
U.S. District Court, Central District of California
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California

Will Sullivan is an accomplished litigator with experience from the earliest phases of a suit to post-judgment motions and appellate advocacy.

Will has represented numerous clients in complex civil and commercial litigation matters. He has particular experience in litigation involving claims of attorney ethical violations and matters concerning government procurement and contracting. Will has successfully defended winning bidders for government contracts in bid protest proceedings and related litigation and obtained a favorable resolution of litigation in federal court challenging a contractor client’s termination of a multimillion-dollar subcontractor agreement. Will also has broad experience in conducting internal investigations for clients concerned about employee wrongdoing and defending clients facing both criminal and regulatory government investigations.

He also has represented numerous clients in the telecommunications industry, both in litigation and in regulatory proceedings. He successfully defended the selection of his client as the local number portability administrator in the D.C. Circuit. Additionally, he has written comments on behalf of many major telecommunications companies and associations and has successfully resolved investigations by agencies including the EPA and FCC.

On legal ethics matters, Will has defended firms in high-provide disputes from claims that they violated the ethical rules, as well as seeking relief for victims of attorney ethics violations.

Prior to joining HWG, he practiced in Los Angeles, where his work consisted primarily of general commercial litigation, white-collar litigation, and internal investigations. A former journalist, Will has written articles for U.S. News & World Report, the Financial Times Magazine, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and Philadelphia Magazine.

Representative Experience

Achieved a favorable resolution on behalf of a licensing company of a dispute over designs featuring its intellectual property.
Successfully represented an appliance manufacturer in disputes involving the energy efficiency ratings of competitors’ products.
Defended a large installer of fiber optic cable systems and several of its customers at trial against claims threatening the clients’ cable systems.
Defended a corporate executive in a joint federal investigation by the Justice Department and the Securities Exchange Commission into an alleged international “pump and dump” scheme, which ended with the negotiation of a very favorable settlement.

Publications and Presentations

Publications

“Three’s A Crowd – Defending the Binary Approach to Government Speech,” Harvard Law Review (2011)
“Fourth Amendment – Search Incident to Arrest,” The Supreme Court 2008 Term, Harvard Law Review (2009)
“Western District of Texas Upholds Gun Regulation Under Intermediate Scrutiny in Post-Heller Decision. – United States v. Bledsoe,” Harvard Law Review 827 (2008).

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