William R. Warne

Bill Warne has built a reputation as one of Sacramento's top trial lawyers. Bill is retained by individuals, companies, and corporations with complex, high-profile, "bet the company" litigation issues.

Bill has successfully tried, arbitrated, and resolved high stakes commercial litigation matters throughout California and beyond in various areas of law, including real estate, intellectual property, class actions, wildland fire matters, partnership disputes, and health care.

In the summer of 2013, after four years of litigation, Bill and his team received dismissals and judgments in favor of his client Sierra Pacific Industries regarding six consolidated state court actions which sought expenses and damages for the 2007 Moonlight Fire, one of California’s largest wildland fires. Bill’s defense of these matters exposed unlawful conduct by Cal Fire with respect to its establishment of an “off-book” account without the approval of the Department of Finance, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, the LA Times, and the Sacramento Bee. Shortly after the dismissal of these actions, Bill and his team filed a motion for fees, expenses and sanctions against Cal Fire, which the trial court granted on February 4, 2014. The Court’s order terminated Cal Fire’s actions against all defendants for Cal Fire’s egregious discovery abuses and ordered Cal Fire to pay full compensatory attorneys’ fees, expenses and costs to all defendants, amounting to more than $32 million. Read media coverage on the Moonlight Fire Litigation here.

Bill served as the lead trial attorney for Park Cattle Company during a two month jury trial in Nevada which “turned the tables” on the original plaintiff, causing it to ultimately agree to pay Bill’s client $165 million just before closing arguments — one of the largest civil settlements in Nevada’s history. Bill was also lead trial counsel for a medical group which brought an action against Freemont-Rideout Hospital for antitrust violations, and was lead trial counsel for an individual who obtained a $6.2 million judgment in Los Angeles in a trust dispute involving breaches of fiduciary duties.

Bill, a former federal law clerk, works with individuals, principals and/or the general counsel of companies that seek creativity, efficiency, and excellence in those they partner with on their litigation disputes — whether as defendants or plaintiffs — and who want a skilled, trial-ready lawyer on their side if persuasively presenting their matter to a jury becomes necessary.

Martindale-Hubbell has given Bill its highest “AV” rating and Bill’s peers in Northern California repeatedly vote him a “Super Lawyer.”