William Swallow

Full Profile

William (Bill) Swallow has been a litigator and trial attorney for fifteen years. Since 2010, Bill has focused his practice on the defense of general liability, personal injury, wrongful death, and complex product liability matters. Bill is experienced in the handling and defense of products liability and mass toxic-tort personal injury cases in state and federal courts throughout the country with significant first-chair trial experience in seven different states. Bill’s experience includes handling catastrophic injury and death cases involving product liability cases for recalled products as well as wrongful death cases incurred through occupational exposure to asbestos. 

Bill has acted as local and national trial counsel for companies involved in multi-state litigation involving products liability and mass tort litigation, and in that capacity has developed lay, expert and corporate witnesses to be used in his clients’ defenses nationwide. He has also served as national coordinating counsel facilitating the defense of product, premises, and suppliers involved in mass tort litigation. Bill has conducted and defended numerous depositions of lay, expert, and corporate witnesses and is skilled at all stages of stages of litigation from inception through jury trial and post-trial motions.

Bill began his career as an Assistant State’s Attorney for Cook County, Illinois, where he wrote over 50 appellate briefs, successfully arguing multiple cases in front of Illinois’ First District Court of Appeals, and authoring appellate briefs that were the basis of two published appellate opinions. He also tried over 300 misdemeanor and felony bench and jury trials.

Admissions

• Illinois

• California

• United States District Court for the Central, Northern, and Southern Districts of Illinois

• United States District Court for the Central District of California

Education

• J.D., University of Illinois, College of Law, 2007
• B.S., Olivet Nazarene University, 2004

Experience

• First-chair trial experience in mesothelioma and lung cancer cases involving the installation and removal of gaskets and packing for lifelong construction workers in California, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
• First-chair trial counsel in Louisiana jury trial involving a plaintiff who had died of mesothelioma. Plaintiff’s estate claimed that the mesothelioma was caused by her exposure to asbestos her husband’s work with asbestos-containing gaskets and packing. Obtained dismissal during trial after successful preparation and defense of client’s corporate witness.
• First-chair trial counsel in Pennsylvania jury trial involving a plaintiff who had died of lung cancer. Plaintiff’s estate claimed that the lung cancer was caused by his exposure to asbestos from asbestos-containing gaskets and packing. Obtained dismissal during trial after successful cross-examination of plaintiffs’ expert witness.
• First-chair trial counsel in New York involving plaintiff living with terminal cancer.  Successful cross-examination of plaintiff led to shift in plaintiff settlement posture and resolution of large group settlement.
• Co-trial counsel in Illinois take home mesothelioma case in which plaintiffs were claiming exposure to asbestos-containing gaskets and packing. Following three-week trial, obtained unanimous defense verdict from the jury on the issue of causation.
• Won motion to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint on jurisdictional grounds for foreign manufacturer of automotive brakes ending service of lawsuits against foreign manufacturer of automotive brakes in United States.
• Won motion to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint on jurisdictional grounds for cosmetic talc defendant which effectively ended litigation against that client in represented state.
• Won summary judgment on behalf of product manufacturer in personal injury case where Plaintiff had alleged that the Decedent’s lung cancer was caused through the drift of asbestos fibers throughout a US Naval ship. The summary judgment served as the basis for an appellate court decision that limited the previously expansive summary judgment standard in asbestos-related products liability cases and enabled clients to obtained summary judgment in multiple cases.
• Defended numerous products liability actions across the Unites States pertained to alleged failure of recalled automotive equipment and products.
• Obtained hundreds of thousands of historical documents and sales records related to the distribution and sale of asbestos to third party manufacturers that have been used to limit potential periods of liability and obtain case dismissals in wrongful death and personal injury cases.
• Defended numerous products liability actions across the Unites States pertained to alleged failure of recalled automotive equipment and products.
• Defendant numerous premise liability actions related to catastrophic and traumatic injuries suffered at client owned locations.
• Defended numerous entities in personal injury actions pertaining to asbestos exposure from equipment and products such as boilers, valves, cement pipe, gaskets, and packing, as well as premises owners and product and fiber suppliers.