William B. Lewis

Biography Overview

William Lewis is a partner in the Morgan & Morgan Business Trial Group and manages the firm’s West Palm Beach office.  His practice is dedicated to complex business litigation and he has successfully represented clients in a wide-variety of industries and disputes.

William litigates business cases on a contingency-fee basis, representing companies and individuals with meritorious claims that have been damaged due to the misconduct of larger, wealthier, or insured parties.  He is driven by the philosophy that justice requires cases to be decided on the merits, not by the size of a corporation or insurance company’s legal budget.

William is a proven trial lawyer, having won multiple jury trials, bench trials, and arbitrations in cases involving contracts, employment, partnerships, real estate, and securities, among others.  He regularly litigates in state and federal courts, as well as arbitration forums, throughout Florida.

William has been honored by Florida Trend Magazine as Florida’s “Legal Elite” – an award given by lawyers to less than 1.5% of fellow Florida Bar members.  He has consistently been named a Florida Super Lawyers “Rising Star,” which recognizes the top 2.5% of the state’s lawyers under the age of 40. And on multiple occasions, he has been recognized by his peers as one of Palm Beach Illustrated’s “Top Lawyers..”

William was appointed to a three-year term on the Florida Bar’s Committee on Professionalism, he is currently the chair of the Palm Beach County Bar’s Circuit Court Civil Committee,  and was previously the chair of the Business Litigation Committee, and he was elected to the Executive Committee of the University of Florida Law Alumni Council. William is a frequent speaker on issues involving business and securities litigation to groups such as the American Bar Association and the Florida Justice Association.

Prior to joining the Business Trial Group, William prosecuted large-scale claims for a well-known securities and antitrust firm claims.  He also interned at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office, where he first-chaired multiple jury trials.  Before becoming an attorney, William received an MBA in finance and securities analysis and worked at a hedge fund.

Practice Areas

• Arbitration
• Business Tort Litigation
• Commercial Litigation
• Contract Litigation
• Employment Litigation
• Professional Malpractice
• Real Estate Litigation
• Securities Litigation
• Shareholder Derivative Actions

Recent Successes

• Anne C. Grey v. Sterne, Agee & Leach, Inc.

  $400,000.00

  Verdict - 2019

• John R. Erbey v. Sims Munson, CPA, et al.

  $544,500.00

  Settlement - 2018

• de la Paz, et al. v. de la Paz

  $771,000.00

  Verdict - 2018

Recent Representations

Contract Disputes:

• Won a $784,000 jury verdict for a small business owner that was underpaid sales commissions by a national distributor.
• Obtained settlement equal to 100% of the alleged damages for sellers of business after purchaser breached the sale agreement.

Employment Litigation:

• Represented officer of multi-billion dollar publicly traded REIT for alleged breaches of an employment contract and recovered more than 125% of alleged unpaid compensation.
• Obtained confidential settlement for former CFO of a multi-national athletic corporation for claims of unpaid severance.
• Won $137,000 jury verdict, plus attorneys’ fees and costs, for a sales representative owed unpaid commissions.

Intellectual Property:

• Obtained confidential settlement of claims for misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of a non-disclosure agreement against multi-national public corporation.
• Obtained confidential settlement for manufacturing consultant who claimed his trade secrets were misappropriated by an international corporation.

Investment and Securities Litigation:

• Obtained confidential settlement for an elderly client against a securities brokerage and advisor that allegedly made misleading statements and sold unsuitable investments.
• Obtained a confidential settlement from a major brokerage for an investor who purchased bonds based on a financial advisor’s alleged misrepresentations.
• Won a $400,000 FINRA arbitration award against a brokerage that allowed its customer’s retirement funds to be misused.
• Obtained a confidential settlement for a financial advisor in a dispute over a commission from a large life insurance contract.
• Represented a broker/investment advisor on claims of breach of a Shareholder Agreement and reached a confidential settlement.

Professional Malpractice:

• Obtained a confidential settlement for client that alleged attorneys improperly settled a FINRA securities arbitration.
• Obtained confidential settlements from an attorney and an accountant who allegedly negligently performed trustee duties.

Real Estate:

• Won a $771,000 jury verdict for breach of an oral contract and fraud related to a real estate investment.
• Won verdict after bench trial of behalf of condominium owner being sued under note and mortgage.
• Won jury verdict on behalf of partners in investment property whose share of the proceeds was withheld.

Shareholder and Partnership Disputes:

• Represented owner of a closely-held corporation in shareholder-derivative litigation and prevailed at summary judgment.
• Obtained confidential settlement of behalf of a partner of a closely held chemical corporation against manager who had allegedly been self-dealing and misappropriating company funds.
• Obtained a confidential settlement on behalf of partner in substance abuse clinic that was locked out of the business.

Memberships

• Florida Bar Association
  • Committee on Professionalism
  • Business Law Section
• Palm Beach County Bar Association
  • Circuit Court Civil Practice Committee, Chair
  • Business Litigation Continuing Education Committee, Chair
  • Judicial Relations Committee
• University of Florida Law Alumni Council
  • Board of Directors
• Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA)
• Forum Club of the Palm Beaches

Admitted to Practice

• Florida
• New York
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida
• U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Publications & Related Articles

• Business Trial Group Wins $400k FINRA Arbitration Award, April 16 2019.
• Seven Business Trial Group Attorneys Selected for Super Lawyers and Rising Stars List, June 20, 2018,
• Business Trial Group Wins $771k Verdict for Florida Family, April 24, 2018.
• Business Trial Group Wins Trial on Behalf of Estate, April 18, 2018.
• Business Trial Group Wins Trial on Behalf of Estate, April 18, 2018.
• Seven Business Trial Group Attorneys Selected as Florida Super Lawyers and Rising Stars, June 21, 2017.
• William B. Lewis Appointed to Florida Bar Professionalism Committee, June 14, 2017.
• Business Trial Group Wins Verdict in Sales Commission Case, September 21, 2016.
• Business Trial Group Attorneys William Lewis, Damien Prosser, and Benjamin Webster Awarded Super Lawyers Distinction, June 23, 2016.
• How Commercial Real Estate Brokers Can Recover Unpaid Commissions, June 13, 2016.
• Law Firm Hourly Rates Hit $2,000: How Can Businesses Afford High-Quality Representation?, June 1, 2016.
• Business Trial Group Helps Small Business Owner Win Jury Verdict Against Safeguard America, May 17, 2016.
• The Plausibility Standard as a Double-edged Sword: The Application of Twombly and Iqbal to Affirmative Defenses, The Florida Bar Journal, June 2010, at 77.

Education

• University of Florida, Frederic G. Levin College of Law, Juris Doctorate, Cum Laude
  • Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy
• University of Florida Hough Graduate School of Business, MBA, Cum Laude
• Colgate University, B.A., Cum Laude