William Potts

William E. Potts Jr.’s practice focuses on commercial and complex civil litigation. Bill’s practice focuses on commercial and complex civil litigation. Bill has represented clients in a range of industries, including financial services, software development, electronics manufacturing, automobile manufacturing, telecommunications, petrochemical refining, food services and retail operations.

Bill was a Law Clerk to the Honorable Oren R. Lewis, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, from 1977 to 1978.

Bill is admitted to practice in the following Courts: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Western District of Virginia, the District of Columbia, the District of Colorado, and the Eastern District of Michigan.

Experience:

• Defended a student loan servicer against Fair Credit Reporting Act claims in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
• Defended a supermarket chain against antitrust and tortious inference claims in a Maryland state court and in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
• Represented a retail chain in litigation over deficiencies in construction site development in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.
• Defended a foreign government in arbitration conducted pursuant to a Bilateral Investment Treaty before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
• Defended a software developer against challenges to an arbitration award in D.C. Superior Court and in a Virginia state court.
• Defended a foreign utility in arbitration before the Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
• Represented a supermarket chain in state tax litigation in North Carolina state court.
  Defended a student loan company in a consumer class action in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
• Tried a dispute over Native American land rights in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.
• Defended a major DRAM manufacturer in a patent infringement action in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
• Tried a commercial dispute between competitors in the student loan industry in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
• Prosecuted and mediated a patent infringement action involving night vision technology in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
• Tried three wrongful death actions involving claims of benzene-induced blood diseases in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia.
• Defended a major electronics company against intellectual property claims involving telecommunications technology in state court in Dallas, Texas.
• Defended a major refining company against personal injury claims arising from an explosion and chemical release in state court in Corpus Christi, Texas.
• Defended a newspaper in a lender liability action brought in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
• Tried claims brought by a major supermarket chain against a television network for activities that resulted in a Prime Time Live broadcast.
• Tried business tort and legal malpractice claims in state court in Fairfax, Virginia.
• Arbitrated and mediated personal injury claims arising from alleged chemical exposures.

EDUCATION:

• JD, The Catholic University of America, 1977
• BA, University of Virginia, 1974

BAR ADMISSIONS:

• District of Columbia
• Virginia

CLERKSHIPS:

• US District Court, Eastern District of Virginia