William A. Sankbeil

Bill was a longstanding member of the firm’s Executive Committee, and the co-chair of its General Civil & Commercial Litigation Practice Group. Bill’s practice focuses primarily on commercial and complex litigation, and antitrust and trade regulation. He possesses substantial experience in a wide range of litigated matters, including contract, securities, intellectual property, patent, consumer fraud, tort and civil and criminal antitrust actions, including grand jury proceedings. He has been involved in the defense of numerous class actions in a wide range of industries and in multi-district proceedings.

He additionally has extensive experience as a court-appointed or party-selected facilitator, case evaluator and arbitrator.

Bill is frequently tapped as speaker before legal and business audiences to discuss aspects of litigating complex cases. He has received numerous awards and accolades, including listing in Chambers USA – America’s Leading Lawyers for Business; The Best Lawyers in America®, for the categories of Arbitration and Antitrust Law, by Woodward White, Inc. every year since the publication’s inception; Detroit Best Lawyers Bet-the-Company Litigation “Lawyer of the Year for 2012,” for Commercial Litigation, Ethics and Professional Responsibility; and ranked by Thomson Reuters as a “Michigan Super Lawyer”;. He is listed in An International Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers and in A Guide to the World’s Leading Competition and Antitrust Lawyers,.

In 2012 Bill was the recipient of the Julia Abele Cook, Jr./Bernard A. Friedman Federal Bar Association Civility Award.

Bill is also a Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation, a former President of the Wayne State Law Alumni Association (1985-1987), is currently serving on the Executive Committee, Board of Visitors Wayne State University Law School. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and served as the Chairperson, Antitrust Law Section in 1981-1982 and was a member of the Mediation Rule Committee, appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court in 1994. He is a member of the American Bar Association and served as a Council member of the Antitrust Law Section from 1992-1995, was Vice Chair of the Antitrust Law Section in 1995-1996, Chaired or was Vice Chair of various other committees, and served on numerous other task forces. Mr. Sankbeil is also a member of the Litigation Section. Mr. Sankbeil has been a speaker at numerous seminars and programs concerning various aspects of litigating complex cases.  Bill is a regular columnist and contributor, “Ask Our Lawyer” series, Michigan Medicine, Michigan State Medical Society, and also the “Dentistry and the Law” series, publication of the Michigan Dental Association.

Mr. Sankbeil is a graduate, cum laude, of Wayne State University Law School. He received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Michigan State University.