Biography Overview
William B. Lewis is co-managing partner of the Morgan & Morgan Business Trial Group and manages the firm's West Palm Beach office.
William concentrates his practice on complex commercial litigation and has an established track-record of significant recoveries. Unlike most commercial litigators, he is an experienced trial attorney, having won jury trials, bench trials, and arbitrations in a number of venues throughout Florida.
William litigates cases on a contingency-fee basis, which allows his business clients to level the playing field against larger, wealthier, or insured opponents. He 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.
William has been named by U.S. News & World Report as one of The Best Lawyers in commercial litigation and professional malpractice. He has been recognized 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 repeatedly 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 honored by his peers as one of Palm Beach Illustrated’s “Top Lawyers.”
William is actively involved in the legal and professional community. He is the President-Elect of the University of Florida Law Alumni Council. He was appointed to multiple terms on the Florida Bar’s Committee on Professionalism. He has been the chair of the Palm Beach County Bar’s Circuit Civil Court Committee and the Business Litigation Committee. And he has been a South Florida Business Journal 40 under 40 honoree.
Prior to joining the Business Trial Group, Mr. Lewis litigated large-scale antitrust cases. He also interned at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office, where he led the prosecution of multiple successful jury trials.
William 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, and received an MBA from the University of Florida Hough School of Business.
Practice Areas
- Arbitration
- Business Tort Litigation
- Commercial Litigation
- Contract Litigation
- Employment Litigation
- Professional Malpractice
- Real Estate Litigation
- Securities Litigation
- Shareholder Derivative Actions
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.
* Represented a renowned surgeon and recovered over 98% of his unpaid compensation through a negotiated settlement.
* 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 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. * Represented former executive of a public company, recovering over $540,000 for claims against accountant for providing false information regarding an investment.
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 on 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, and recovered over $150,000 in attorneys’ fees.
Shareholder and Partnership Disputes:* Obtained a multi-million dollar settlement for a minority partner in a media company for claims of breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract * 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
- Our next round of 40 Under 40 honorees for 2020, South Florida Business Journal, July 10, 2020.
- Contingency Fees Allow Businesses to Effectively Pursue Claims During a Recession, Daily Business Review June 11, 2020.
- Customer Service Rep’ Spied on Customer, Used Credit Card to Buy Porn: Suit, NY Post, November 27, 2019.
- 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.{: target="_blank"}
- Business Trial Group Wins Trial on Behalf of Estate, April 18, 2018.{: target="_blank"}
- Seven Business Trial Group Attorneys Selected as Florida Super Lawyers and Rising Stars{: target="_blank"}, June 21, 2017.
- William B. Lewis Appointed to Florida Bar Professionalism Committee{: target="_blank"}, June 14, 2017.
- Business Trial Group Wins Verdict in Sales Commission Case{: target="_blank"}, September 21, 2016.
- Business Trial Group Attorneys William Lewis, Damien Prosser, and Benjamin Webster Awarded Super Lawyers Distinction{: target="_blank"}, June 23, 2016.
- How Commercial Real Estate Brokers Can Recover Unpaid Commissions{: target="_blank"}, June 13, 2016.
- Law Firm Hourly Rates Hit $2,000: How Can Businesses Afford High-Quality Representation?{: target="_blank"}, June 1, 2016.
- Business Trial Group Helps Small Business Owner Win Jury Verdict Against Safeguard America{: target="_blank"}, May 17, 2016.
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
$850,000.00 Verdict | Grey Construction v. Royal Estates of Cooper City | Construction Defect & Payment Lawyers | |
$400,000.00 Verdict | Anne C. Grey v. Sterne, Agee & Leach, Inc. | Securities Arbitration & FINRA Attorneys | |
$544,500.00 Settlement | John Doe v. John Doe | Professional Malpractice Lawyers | |
$771,000.00 Verdict | de la Paz, et al. v. de la Paz | Breach of Contract Lawyers | |
$86,344.58 Verdict | Fusco et al. v. Smith et al. | Breach of Contract Lawyers | |
$131,653.36 Verdict | Siscon, Inc. v. C&P Trading and Sales, Inc. | ||
$784,898.00 Verdict | Nate Dixon, SAS, GPN v. Security Systems, Inc. and David Roman |
Recent Successes
Grey Construction v. Royal Estates of Cooper City
$850,000.00
Verdict -
Anne C. Grey v. Sterne, Agee & Leach, Inc.
$400,000.00
Verdict -
John Doe v. John Doe
$544,500.00
Settlement -