William F. Dugan is a partner in Seyfarth Shaw’s Labor & Employment Department. His practice focuses on representing management in complex litigation in federal and state courts and other tribunals throughout the United States. Mr. Dugan is the Chair of the Firm’s Financial Services Employment Arbitration Practice Group; a member of the Complex Discrimination Practice Group; and a member of the National Trial Team. Super Lawyers has repeatedly recognized Mr. Dugan for superior employment litigation defense.

Complex Litigation Defense

Mr. Dugan has defended a wide range of employers in numerous class and collective actions. Among his various class and collective actions, Mr. Dugan has successfully defended a race pay and promotion class action against a significant not-for-profit; the largest gender pay and promotion class arbitration in the nation; Title III class litigation involving hundreds of stores for a major retailer; and class actions involving independent insurance agents nationwide. Mr. Dugan also routinely litigates against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, defending clients against high-profile systemic cases, including recent outright dismissal of the EEOC’s largest gender pay and promotion case in the country. Mr. Dugan has also sued the EEOC, claiming certain EEOC actions were arbitrary, capricious and unconstitutional.

Trial Experience

When trial arrives, employers turn to Mr. Dugan for their defense. Mr. Dugan has tried cases in numerous forums, from federal and state court to several administrative agencies. His experience includes a complete defense verdict in a FINRA arbitration where actual damages exceeded $50,000,000; a multi-plaintiff race discrimination and harassment lawsuit litigated for nine weeks to verdict before a Detroit, Michigan jury; a multi-plaintiff sex harassment and retaliation lawsuit litigated to verdict before a Chicago, Illinois jury; a breach of contract lawsuit litigated to verdict before an Ann Arbor, Michigan jury; the first sexual orientation lawsuit tried to verdict in Illinois; and an unfair labor practice hearing wherein nearly one hundred unfair labor practice charges were litigated to verdict over forty-eight hearing days in Syracuse, New York. When prudent, Mr. Dugan has also been able to resolve cases favorably prior to trial as evidenced by him resolving a contentious nine plaintiff matter on very favorable terms in Circuit Court, St. Clair County, Illinois, recognized by the American Tort Reform Association as one of the five “Judicial Hellholes” in the nation. Mr. Dugan is an integral member of the National Trial Team, a group of Seyfarth attorneys from various practice groups dedicated to providing clients the best possible resources and solutions when trial beckons.

Financial Services Employment Arbitration

Mr. Dugan routinely represents clients in the financial industry, and leads the firm’s Financial Services Employment Arbitration Practice Group. Mr. Dugan has strategically forced various plaintiffs to litigate their actions before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), especially in high-profile matters best litigated before a FINRA panel rather than a jury. Mr. Dugan has achieved successful results before FINRA for some of the leading international financial institutions. Recently, Mr. Dugan achieved a complete defense verdict in a case where the claimant sought significant eight figures in actual damages, resulting in the client’s General Counsel declaring after trial that “[he had] never met a better lawyer” than Mr. Dugan.