In his 42 years as a trial lawyer, Bill Jeffress has tried 33 complex civil and criminal cases before juries in ten different states and the District of Columbia. He has also tried dozens of cases before judges and administrative tribunals. Mr. Jeffress’ cases have involved a wide range of substantive areas, including fraud, government procurement, antitrust, securities, regulation of financial institutions, insurance, news gathering, tax, healthcare, international transactions, civil rights and public corruption.
A large part of Mr. Jeffress’ practice centers on the representation of corporations and individuals under investigation for violation of criminal laws, and defending them where indictments are returned. He has won acquittals for public officials accused of extortion, perjury, money laundering and vote-buying; for lawyers charged with bank fraud, insurance fraud and money laundering; and for businessmen accused of antitrust offenses, bribery, tax fraud, mail fraud, misapplication of funds and RICO violations.
Mr. Jeffress defended ABC News in a landmark case alleging fraud and trespass during news gathering, prosecuted the Mexican national oil company for civil contempt and defended the first case against a multinational company to be tried under the Alien Tort Statute. He also obtained a Supreme Court ruling for former President Richard Nixon involving public access to the Watergate tapes and achieved a landmark ruling involving wheelchair accessibility at sports arenas under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
After graduation from Yale Law School, Mr. Jeffress served as a law clerk to Judge Gerhard A. Gesell of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and as a law clerk to Justice Potter Stewart of the United States Supreme Court. He has served as Chair of the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Standards Committee and was a member of the ABA’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility from 1996 to 2002. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has testified as an expert witness on legal ethics and trial practice.
