William Custer

Mr. William V. Custer has extensive experience representing corporate clients in a wide range of complex commercial litigation including disputes involving banking, insurance, and a variety of corporate transactions. Mr. Custer has been ranked by his peers in one widely-published poll as one of the top 100 lawyers in Georgia.

As a result of the firm’s considerable base of banking clients, Mr. Custer represents regional, national and international banks in cases involving such matters as lender liability, RICO, Truth in Lending, the False Claims Act, the Fair Housing Act, participation agreements, and fiduciary liability. With respect to trusts and estates litigation, in particular, Mr. Custer has extensive experience in such litigation throughout his career.

He represents both fiduciaries and beneficiaries in many different and complex litigated matters including will caveats, petitions for equitable direction, disputes over the appointment of fiduciaries, disputes over the interpretation of instruments, and the defense of suits alleging breach of fiduciary duty.

Mr. Custer’s practice has also involved the management and coordination of multi-jurisdictional litigation and national product liability litigation. By way of example, Mr. Custer has acted as national class action counsel for one corporate client, national discovery counsel for one of the country’s largest retail companies, national coordinating counsel for product liability claims against a Fortune 500 manufacturing company, national Daubert counsel for another Fortune 500 manufacturing corporation.

Mr. Custer is a frequent speaker on legal issues and over the last several years has given seminars on such diverse topics as developments in Georgia evidence law, cybersecurity, social media evidence, the attorney-client privilege, e-discovery, and the art of negotiation.

Education :

• University of Georgia, J.D., 1986
• Emory University, B.A., 1983

Admissions :

• Georgia, 1986
• United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• United States District Courts for the Middle, Northern, and Southern Districts of Georgia

Professional Affiliations :

• Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – Board Member
• Georgia Chamber – Board Member
• Lawyers Foundation of Georgia
• State Bar of Georgia – Trial Practice Section
• State Bar of Georgia – Products Liability Section

Representative Experience :

• Represented a large building products conglomerate in litigation with former shareholders involving claims in excess of $100 million
• Represented a major league baseball team in litigation with its landlord over a change in the team’s name in which the landlord sought over $300 million in damages
• Represented over fifty banks in a loan participation in their claims against a developer involving an $89 million revolving line of credit and subsequent fraudulent transfer litigation
• Represented national outdoor advertising company in defending a multi-million dollar verdict on appeal to the Georgia Court of Appeals and Georgia Supreme Court
• Represented over sixty individual bottlers and an associated trade group in claims against a national beverage concern alleging violations of a national beverage distribution agreement
• Represented a bankruptcy trustee in fraudulent transfer claim against sellers of stock in a leveraged buyout transaction
• Represented both originating banks and participant banks in numerous disputes over participation agreements relating to real estate loans
• Represented the beneficiaries in various disputes involving a complex estate of an internationally known recording artist
• Represented beneficiaries in dispute over distribution of assets involving the estate of the former Governor of Ohio.