Name: William Wegner
Resident of: Los Angeles
Native of: San Francisco
Profession: Partner, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Downtown Los Angeles (213) 229-7508
Legal specialty: Litigation
Military Service: Captain, U.S. Army Medical Service Corps
Education: B.A. in philosophy, University of Santa Clara, Santa Clara, Calif. (1973); J.D., University of Puget Sound School of Law, Tacoma, Wash. (1979)
Career highlight: Successfully defending the James Dean family against a $90 million claim that Warner Bros. brought in Federal Court over the rights to James Dean's publicity rights. William Wegner is a seasoned trial lawyer, renowned for his creative litigation strategy and in-depth knowledge of evidence and attorney client privilege. He has extensive litigation experience in the areas of Manufacturer & Distributor Product Recall, Lanham Act and False Advertising, Copyright Infringement, Publicity Rights, Entertainment and Environmental Torts. Some of his other accomplishments include serving as President of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers in 1994-95, and authoring the three-volume work California Practice Guide - Civil Trials and Evidence.
Did you know?
• Recognized by Best Lawyers® as the 2017 and 2016 Best Lawyers in America, Commercial Litigation and Product Liability litigation – Defendants.
• William Wegner has been selected by his peers to be included in the 2014 (20th) Edition of "The Best Lawyers in America®" for his work in the practice area of Product Liability Litigation - Defendants.
Inclusion in Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive and rigorous peer-review survey comprising more than five million confidential evaluations by top attorneys. For more than three decades, Best Lawyers has been regarded - by both the profession and the public - as the most credible and definitive guide to legal excellence in the United States. Because no fee or purchase is required, being listed in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor.
• William Wegner has been selected to Southern California Super Lawyers for 10 consecutive years. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. Super Lawyers is a publication of Thomson Reuters.
Super Lawyers
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• William Wegner has been selected as one of the Southern California’s Top Rated Lawyers by ALM, the nation’s largest publisher of legal media including The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, The National Law Journal, and The Recorder.
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• 2013 "Lawyer of the Year" is awarded to William E. Wegner for Product Liability Litigation - Defendants. Lawyer of the Year is awarded after exhaustive review and assessment of thousands of leading lawyers each year. Lawyer of the Year designation reflects the highest achievements, ability, professionalism and integrity of the recipient.
Best Lawyers®
• Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
http://www.litcounsel.com/
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• FREEDOM TEAM SALUTE - Certificate of Appreciation
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• Letter from Justice Anthony M. Kennedy - SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
September 19, 1994
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• William Wegner has been honored as one of California's most accomplished rainmakers by “California Law Business” in 1999 and 2000.
• Mr. Wegner has also been recognized by “Daily Journal Extra” for generating $5 million in business in 2002.
• He earned an AV© rating in 1998, the highest accolade in Martindale-Hubbell. An AV© rating is given to only the most highly respected and ethical members of the Bar. It signifies that Mr. Wegner’s legal expertise and reputation are of the very highest standards and that his professional ethics are unquestioned.
• Mr. Wegner is co-author of the multi-volume California Practice Guide - Civil Trials and Evidence, and the multi-volume Federal Practice Guide - Civil Trials and Evidence, published by The Rutter Group. Other publications include: Relationships Among Competitors in Restraint of Trade - Horizontal Price Fixing (Practicing Law Institute) and "Challenging the Judge: Fifty Ways to Leave Your Judger" (ABA Litigation Magazine).
• Mr. Wegner serves as general counsel to Tricor Entertainment at Paramount Studios.
• He has appeared on NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw
• Mr. Wegner has been identified as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal.