Partner

William R. Murray, Jr.

William Murray Photo

Bill Murray has extensive experience in general civil litigation and white-collar criminal defense, and in particular, pharmaceutical products liability, health care and criminal antitrust cases.

Bill's civil practice has included pre-trial, trial, and appellate proceedings in federal and state courts and administrative proceedings in numerous areas.  In addition to products liability, these have included health care, antitrust, medical malpractice, construction, government contracts, intellectual property, and international trade.  His criminal defense practice has focused on federal grand jury investigations and related pretrial, trial, and appellate proceedings in antitrust and commercial bribery cases.

Bill has played a key role in a number of large pharmaceutical product liability cases, including diet drugs, the cholesterol-lowering drug Baycol, hormone replacement therapy and most recently, the anti-smoking medication Chantix.  In these cases, Bill has concentrated on developing and presenting the Company's defense of its drug development, marketing and regulatory practices, developing and presenting the defendant's Food and Drug Administration experts, and opposing the plaintiffs' FDA and marketing experts.

Bill briefed and presented oral arguments in Deboard v. Wyeth, a hormone therapy case that resulted in summary judgment for Wyeth under the New Jersey Product Liability Act.  The decision was affirmed by the intermediate appellate court and N.J. Supreme Court.

In the mid-1990s, Bill worked extensively defending the Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) in its long running criminal and civil antitrust litigation over high fructose corn syrup, citric acid and the animal feed additive lysine.

More recently, Bill has worked on a significant breach of contract action in Kentucky involving the Commonwealth’s Medicaid Managed Care program.

Born in Philadelphia, Bill grew up in Kingston, New York.  He graduated from Siena College, summa cum laude, in 1981 and received his J.D., summa cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was Articles Editor, Georgetown Law Journal.   Bill spent a year as a Court Law Clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia before joining Williams & Connolly in 1985.

Representative Experience

Though all cases vary and none is predictive, Bill’s experience includes:

  • Representing a major Medicaid Managed Care Organization in a breach of contract action in the Commonwealth of Kentucky
  • Assisted with a pharmaceutical products liability trial in federal court in Massachusetts resulting in a defense verdict
  • Represented a health care provider in an internal investigation of potential False Claims Act issues that were successfully resolved with the government agency 

Education

Admissions

Other Government Service

Court Law Clerk, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 1984-1985

back to top