Professional Resume 

WILLIAM B. FITZGERALD

Profession

Arbitrator, Mediator; Self-Employed.

Work History

Present: Practice limited to ADR. Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius 2003, Counsel, 2004; Partner, Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison 1995 - 03; Partner, Dickson, Carlson & Campillo, 1988 - 95; Partner, Haight, Brown & Bonesteel, 1985 - 88; Partner, Carmody & Torrance, 1972 - 85; Partner, Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald, 1962 - 72.

Experience

Attorney Fitzgerald has litigated, arbitrated, and mediated, as a neutral and as an advocate, for over 35 years in diverse fields of law, including business and commercial disputes, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, partnership and joint venture disputes, shareholder actions, business valuation buyout issues,  real estate matters, product liability, insurance,  professional liability, construction, wrongful termination, healthcare, class actions, mass tort and broker/dealer matters, among others. As a trial lawyer, he was lead counsel in more than 100 jury and bench trials and arbitrations.  

He has appellate experience in the Supreme Courts of Connecticut and Nevada, the United States Court of Appeals, 2^nd Circuit, and the California and Connecticut Courts of Appeal. See the EXPERIENCE page of this site for more detail.

Dispute Resolution Experience

Commercial Large Complex Case Panel, American Arbitration Association;

California Regional Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators, CPR International Institute for Dispute Resolution;

ADR panel, Los Angeles County Superior Court (1994 – 06);
Served as arbitrator and mediator;

Attorney Trial Referee, Connecticut Superior Court (1982-85);
Adjudicated bench trials in highest trial court and served as Court Settlement Officer;

American Arbitration Association Panel of Arbitrators, Connecticut (1970 - 85);

Advocacy in ADR proceedings before AAA, JAMS, FINRA, and other facilitators in many venues, including New York, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, Hartford and Los Angeles.   

Mr. Fitzgerald’s former firm was National Coordinating Counsel for a lead defendant in the  MDL Silicone Breast Implant Litigation. As administrator of the client's national defense, he worked on claims resolution with the  MDL Houston Claims Facility and the  MDL Independent Settlement Program at Duke University Law School. He  negotiated settlement of over 3,000 breast implant class action claims in many jurisdictions including Texas, Louisiana, California, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, West Virginia, Minnesota, Kansas and Connecticut.

Dispute Resolution Training

American Arbitration Association:

Optimizing Arbitration of Complex Investment Disputes, Webinar, 2010.

Neutrals Conference and Arbitrator Update, San Diego, 2009;

ACE programs, Los Angeles, 2005; Chairing an Arbitration Panel: Managing Procedures, Process & Dynamics; Drafting Arbitration Awards: Arbitrator Ethics and Disclosure;

Commercial Arbitrator II Training, Los Angeles, 2004;

Neutrals Conference and Arbitrator Update, San Antonio, 2004;

Arbitrator II, Advanced Case Management Issues, Los Angeles, 2004;

Symposium on B2B Disputes, Los Angeles, 2003;

Arbitrator I Training, San Diego, 2003;

American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section:

Annual Conference programs; Los Angeles 2011, San Francisco, 2010; New York, 2009, Atlanta, 2006, Los Angeles, 2005, New York, 2004;

Arbitrating the Mega-Case, Los Angeles, 2008;

First Annual Arbitration Institute, San Francisco, 2004;

College of Commercial Arbitrators:

Annual Conference ADR programs; Laguna 2010  Washington D.C., 2009; San Francisco, 2008; Chicago, 2006; Seattle, 2005.

CPR International Institute for Dispute Resolution:

Annual Conference, New York, 2005;

Juris Publishing Corp. 

Best Practices in Commercial Arbitration; Washington, D.C., 2007;

Pepperdine University Law School:

Masters Forum, 2003;

Mediating the Litigated Case, 2004;

Southern California Mediation Association:

Annual Conference programs, 2004 - 2008;

Professional Associations

Fellow, College of Commercial Arbitrators (Board of Directors);

Fellow,  American College of Trial Lawyers (Dispute Resolution Committee);

Association of Business Trial Lawyers;

Los Angeles County Bar Association Center for Civic Mediation, President 2010;

State Bar of California (ADR, Business Law and  Litigation Sections);

Los Angeles Superior Court ADR Committee 2010;

American Bar Association (Dispute Resolution Sections);

California Dispute Resolution Council;

Connecticut Bar Association;

Southern California Mediation Association.

Admitted to Practice

California 1985

Connecticut 1961

United States District Courts, California (All Districts); Connecticut

United States Court of Appeals, Second and Ninth Circuits

United States Supreme Court

Education

Yale University B.A., cum laude 1958

Harvard Law School J.D. 1961

College d’Europe (Belgium), Certificate 1962

Selected Publications and Lectures

Presenter, Award Essentials, Provisional Relief, and Post-Award Process, ABA DRS Sixth Annual Arbitration Training Institute Meeting, Los Angeles 2011.

Presenter, The Evidentiary Hearing, CLE Arbitration Program, Los Angeles 2010

Panelist, Managing Discovery in Complex Cases, ABA DRS Annual Conference, San Francisco, 2010.

Panelist, The Managerial Arbitrator, ABA DRS Annual Meeting, New York, 2009.

Lecture:Managing the evidentiary Hearing; ABA  DRS Fourth Annual Arbitration Training Institute, San Francisco, 2009.

Co-Presenter, Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards by Party Agreement, Webinar, The Rutter Group, 2008.

Panelist, What Arbitration Can Do for You, American College of Trial Lawyers Annual Meeting, Tucson, 2008.

Panelist, Arbitrating the Mega-Case, ABA Dispute Resolution Section, Los Angeles, 2008.

Co-Presenter, Thorny Questions for Arbitrators, AAA, Los Angeles, 2008.

Panelist, Managing the Evidentiary Hearing; Juris Publishing Group, Washington, D.C., 2007.

Panelist, Best Practices in Commercial Arbitration, AAA, Los Angeles, 2007.

Panel Chair, Best Practices in Commercial Arbitration California Dispute Resolution Council Annual Conference, Los Angeles, 2006.

Chair, Mealey's Class Actions Conference, San Diego, 2002.

Lecture: Strategies and Tactics for Pharmaceutical Companies Defending Mass Tort Claims; Mealey’s Fen-Phen Litigation Conference, New York , 1998.

Co-Chair, Mealey's Complex Litigation Conference, Palm Beach, FL 1997.

Co-Chair, Mealey’s Breast Implant Litigation Conference, Palm Beach, FL 1998.

Lectured on litigation technique and strategy for:

Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Judicial Department, State of Connecticut, Travelers Insurance Company Home Office Legal Claim Department, University of Connecticut School of Law.

Editor, Declaratory Relief Actions chapter of California Civil Practice, Torts (Bancroft Whitney, 1992).

Author: The Perils of CEO Depositions, National Law Journal (Feb 1995).

Author: Preparing the Witness, For the Defense (Defense Research Institute, July, 1992).

Author: Direct Examination of the Medical Expert. The Trial Masters (Prentice Hall, 1984).

Community Activities

Board of Overseers, Los Angeles Philharmonic

Board of Directors, UCLA Live, UCLA Performing Arts (President 1995-1999)

Board of Visitors, UCLA School of Art and Architecture

Fraternity of Friends of the Music Center of Los Angeles County, Vice President