Business Description
Established in 1883, the Seattle office of K&L Gates is both the city’s oldest and one of its largest law offices. It offers clients a full spectrum of legal services to emerging, middle-market, and capital market participants as well as nonprofit, governmental, and private clients. Selected areas of service include: corporate, litigation, electronic discovery, intellectual property, labor and employment, benefits, bankruptcy, energy, real estate, environmental, land use, and tax.
Mr. Shaw’s primary area of practice is complex civil litigation, in both state and federal courts. He has extensive jury trial experience in Washington state and federal courts. Mr. Shaw handles a wide variety of litigation matters, including significant patent, trademark, intellectual property and trade secrets issues, legal malpractice, general commercial disputes, white collar crime, products liability and toxic torts, and environmental litigation and arbitration. Mr. Shaw’s practice has focused on matters involving complex technical and scientific issues.
Previously, Bill helped coordinate the efforts of the firm's product liability team. His past experience includes leading the defense in Washington state and the Northwest for four active asbestos defendants. Bill also acted as national, regional, and local punitive damages counsel for another defendant.
Mr. Shaw has defended a number of individuals and companies on a myriad of personnel issues involving interpersonal interactions and employment related matters. Mr. Shaw has defended against claims of assault, sexual harassment, and race and sex discrimination. Mr. Shaw also has a plaintiff’s personal injury practice and has many years of civil trial experience in both state and federal courts.
Mr. Shaw has tried cases in five different states (California, Texas, Oregon, Minnesota, and Washington) for national clients, and semi-regularly serves as an arbitrator in King County. He was also a former public defender (1978 - 1983). Additionally, Mr. Shaw has counseled clients regarding disputes concerning rights in computer software and has represented the firm’s clients in software piracy matters.
Bill occasionally presents at Continuing Legal Education seminars. His most recent speaking engagement was at the Chemical Products Liability Litigation Seminar in Chicago. In addition, Bill Shaw and Martha Rodriguez-Lopez recently published a chapter on “The Expert at Trial: Cross-Examination” in Expert Witness Answer Book, a publication of the Practicing Law Institute. The deskbook looks at expert procedure and several important expert related areas using the PLK question and answer format.
