Bill Robins graduated first in his class from the University of Houston Law Center in 1991 and is a founding partner of the firm, which has been in existence since 1998. Since graduating from law school, Bill has represented tens of thousands of Plaintiffs in mass tort cases, as well as in major personal injury, wrongful death, toxic tort, and commercial matters, including a wide variety of complex cases involving personal injuries, deaths, and property damages arising from fires, explosions, and environmental contamination. Bill has served as lead trial counsel or co-lead trial counsel in jury trials resulting in over $350,000,000 in verdicts.
Bill currently serves co-lead counsel in the California North Bay Fire Cases JCCP against PG&E pending before the Hon. Curtis E.A. Karnow of the Superior Court of San Francisco County which involves thousands of individuals, families, and businesses who suffered injuries and damages from the North Bay Fires which took place in October 2018. Bill also serves on the Plaintiffs Executive Committee in the Thomas Fire Cases JCCP against SoCal Edison pending before Hon. Daniel J. Buckley in Los Angeles County which arises out of the Thomas Fire which took place in Santa Barbara and Ventura County which took place in December 2018. Bill also currently serves as co-lead counsel in the Fluoroquinolone MDL pending before Hon. John R. Tunheim in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Bill also currently serves on the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, and as Co-Chair of the Trial Committee in the Testosterone Replacement Therapy MDL pending before Hon. Matthew F. Kennelly of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. In addition, Bill currently serves as co-lead counsel in the Lipitor JCCP pending before the Hon. Carolyn B. Kuhl of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles (Central Civil West). Bill is also a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the Pelvic Mesh MDLs pending before Hon. Joseph R. Goodwin of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Bill has previously served in leadership positions in several mass tort and class action cases which have been collectively resolved for over $2.5 Billion. In March 2011, Bill was appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the Avandia Multi-District Litigation (MDL) pending before the Hon. Cynthia M. Rufe of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and served as Co-Lead Counsel, Chairman of the Bodily Injury Committee, and Co-Chair of the Bellwether Trial Selection Sub-Committee. Bill led a team of dozens of attorneys in completing extensive corporate discovery and simultaneously preparing multiple bellwether cases for trial in both state and federal courts. This effort ultimately led to the settlement of more than 25,000 personal injury claims pending before the MDL Court, as well as state courts in California, New Mexico, Missouri, and Pennsylvania. Bill also served as lead and/or co-lead counsel on behalf of eight state Attorneys General in Avandia-related litigation pending in state courts, and the state Attorneys General Actions were successfully resolved for the total sum of $229 Million. Bill also served as lead counsel for the State of New Mexico in the Zyprexa MDL pending before Hon. Jack Weinstein of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and was extensively involved in the discovery and preparation for trial of the States’ Attorney General Actions. Bill was also co-lead class counsel in the Ellsworth Park Superfund Site Litigation pending before Hon. Jack Darrah of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, which was successfully resolved on behalf of over 600 homeowners whose water wells had been contaminated with TCE by the Defendants’ operations.
Robins is the managing partner of the firm’s Santa Monica, California office.
Areas of Practice:
- Pharmaceutical Drugs and Medical Devices
- Trucking Accidents
- Construction Accidents and Occupational Disease
- Toxic Exposure
- Nursing Home Injuries and Wrongful Death
- Commercial Litigation
- Consumer Fraud
Bar Admissions:
- California, 2014
- Texas, 1991
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and the Southern and Eastern Districts of Texas
Education:
- University of Houston Law Center, 1991, J.D. summa cum laude
- Loyola University of the South, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1988, B.A. (History), cum laude
- Strake Jesuit College Preparatory, Houston, Texas, 1983, Diploma, cum laude
Published Works:
- Voir Dire in Texas After Babcock v. Northwest Memorial Hospital,” 28 Houston Law Review 487 (1991)
Classes and Seminars Taught:
- HB Litigation Conference, Hot Topics in Drug and Medical Device Litigation Conference, Philadelphia, PA (June 2011), Avandia-Where Do We Go From Here
- New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association, Teleseminar (May 2013), Verdict Just In: Udy v. Standard E&S, et al.
- New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association, “The Jury Speaks” Seminar (September 2013), Closing Argument in Udy v. Standard E&S, et al.
- American Association of Justice, AAJ Litigation Teleseminar (July 2013), Lipitor: Recent Studies and Regulatory Action
- American Association of Justice, Plaintiff-Only Pharmaceuticals and Medical Device Litigation Update Seminar, Philadelphia, PA (September 2013), Lipitor: Causation and How it Affects Case Selection
- American Association of Justice, Plaintiff-Only Pharmaceuticals and Medical Device Litigation Update Seminar, New Orleans, LA (January 2014), Lipitor Science
- HB Litigation Conference, Mass Tort Medical School: A Boot Camp for Plaintiff Attorneys (May 2014), Statins-Lipitor/Crestor
- Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association, 2014 Belli Seminar (October 2014), Applying the Rules to Reach a Just Verdict: Khunkhun v. Gill
- American Association of Justice, AAJ Litigation Teleseminar (November 2014), Fluoroquinolones: Scientific Evidence Supporting Association with Peripheral Neuropathy
Honors and Awards:
- Recipient, University of Houston Law Foundation Award, 1991 (for graduating with highest average in law class)
- Recipient, A.A. White Dean’s Scholarship for Highest Average in Law Class, 1989
- Articles Editor, Houston Law Review, 1990-1991
- Bankston, Wright & Greenhill Award for Highest Average in Torts, 1989
- Susman & Godfrey Award for Best Law Review Paper in the Area of Civil Litigation, 1990 (“Voir Dire in Texas After Babcock v. Northwest Memorial Hospital,” 28 Houston Law Review 487 (1991)
- Order of the Coif
- Order of the Barons
Professional Associations and Memberships:
- Leaders Forum, American Association of Justice
- Co-Chair, Fluoroquinolone Litigation Group
- Co-Chair, Lipitor Litigation Group
- Member, Section and Litigation Group Coordination Committee
- Member, Litigation Group Leaders Council
- Member, Public Affairs Committee
- Eagle, AAJ PAC
- Sustaining Member, Consumer Attorneys of California
- Sustaining Member, New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association
- Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
- Member, the Million Dollar Advocates Forum
