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. Mr. Lewis concentrates his practice on complex commercial litigation and has successfully represented clients in a wide-variety of cases involving business torts, contracts, employment, real estate, securities, and shareholder and partnership disputes, among others. He regularly handles cases in state and federal courts, as well as arbitration forums, throughout Florida.

Mr. Lewis is experienced at litigating business cases on a contingency-fee basis and has a track record of significant recoveries. He exclusively represents businesses and individuals with meritorious claims that have been damaged due to the misconduct of larger, wealthier, or insured parties. Mr. Lewis is driven by the philosophy that justice requires cases to be decided on the merits – not by the size of a corporation’s or insurance company’s legal budget.

Mr. Lewis’s FINRA arbitration practice focuses on representing investors who have been damaged due to broker fraud, misrepresentation, and mismanagement. He is a member of PIABA – the preeminent bar association of attorneys devoted to representing and protecting investors against brokers and brokerage firms. Before practicing law, he developed an extensive understanding of the securities markets while receiving an MBA in Finance and Securities Analysis and working at a hedge fund. His familiarity with the brokerage industry and securities laws allow him to effectively advocate on behalf of defrauded investors.

On multiple occasions, Mr. Lewis has been named a Florida Super Lawyers “Rising Star,” which recognizes the top 2.5% of the state’s lawyers under the age of 40. He has also been honored by Florida Trend Magazine as a Florida Legal Elite “Up and Comer” – an award given by lawyers to less than 2% of fellow Florida Bar members.

In 2017, Mr. Lewis was appointed to a three-year term on the Florida Bar’s Committee on Professionalism. He is also currently serving as chair of the Palm Beach County Bar’s Business Litigation Continuing Education Committee and sits on the Board of Directors of the University of Florida Law Alumni Council.

Prior to joining the Business Trial Group, Mr.Lewis practiced law at a national firm where he prosecuted large-scale class actions on behalf of businesses and individuals. He also interned at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office, where he first-chaired multiple jury trials.

Mr. Lewis graduated with honors from Colgate University and the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he was a board member of the Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy.

Practice Areas

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

Recent Successes

• Siscon, Inc. v. C&P Trading and Sales, Inc.

  $131,653.36

  Verdict - 2016

• Nate Dixon, SAS, GPN v. Security Systems, Inc. and David Roman

  $784,898.00

  Verdict - 2016

Recent Representations

• Obtained confidential settlement of claims for misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of a non-disclosure agreement against multi-national public corporation.
• Represented officer of multi-billion dollar publicly traded REIT for breaches of an employment contract and recovered more than 125% of alleged unpaid compensation. 
• Won a $784,000 jury verdict for a small business owner that was underpaid sales commissions by a national distributor.
• Obtained a confidential settlement for a financial advisor in a dispute over a commission from a large life insurance contract.
• Obtained confidential settlement for an elderly client against a securities brokerage and advisor that made misleading statements and sold unsuitable investments. 
• Represented owner of a closely-held corporation in shareholder-derivative litigation and prevailed at summary judgment.
• Represented a broker/investment advisor on claims of breach of a Shareholder Agreement; reached a confidential settlement.
• Obtained settlement equal to 100% of the alleged damages suffered by a couple that, upon the sale of their business, received a promissory note that was subsequently breached. 
• Won $137,000 jury verdict, plus attorneys’ fees and costs, for a sales representative owed unpaid commissions.
• Obtained confidential settlement for former CFO of a multi-national athletic corporation for claims of unpaid severance. 
• Represented director of a home-owners association in regards to claims of breach of fiduciary duty and conversion; prevailed at summary judgment and recovered client’s attorneys’ fees.
• Obtained confidential settlement of behalf of a partner of a closely held chemical corporation against manager who had been self-dealing and misappropriating company funds.
• Obtained a confidential settlement from a major brokerage for an investor who purchased bonds based on a financial advisor’s misrepresentations.

Memberships

• Florida Bar Association
  • Committee on Professionalism
  • Business Law Section
• Palm Beach County Bar Association
  • Judicial Relations Committee
  • Circuit Court Civil Practice Committee
• Martin County Bar Association
• Orange County Bar Association
• Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA)
• University of Florida Law Alumni Council
• Craig S. Barnard American Inns of Court

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

• Dominguez, Lewis & O’Berry, “The Plausibility Standard as a Double-edged Sword: The Application of Twombly and Iqbal to Affirmative Defenses,” The Florida Bar Journal, June 2010

Education

• University of Florida, Fredric G. Levin College of Law, J.D., Cum Laude
• University of Florida Hough Graduate School of Business, MBA
• Colgate University, B.A., Cum Laude