Biography

Bill Bila concentrates on directors and officers, financial institutions, and employment practices liability. Insurance producers rely on Bill for claim investigations, liability and coverage evaluations, litigation management, program administration, policy drafting and underwriting advice, bad faith exposure defense, coverage litigation and avoiding coverage litigation. His nationwide practice covers a diverse spectrum of claims, including sub-prime, deepening insolvency, option back-dating, derivative actions, market timing, contingent commissions, state and federal investigations, wage and overtime class actions, mergers and acquisitions, securities fraud class actions under the 1933, 1934 and 1940 Acts, and all types of employment disputes. Bill has litigated and arbitrated coverage disputes throughout the country, including the Seventh and Eleventh Circuits. He also counsels business organizations on professional risk management, indemnification, and insurance protection.

Bill prides himself on creative solutions. When several well-known charities were sued for violating the antitrust laws and drew a federal judge who seemed very biased against them, Bill dragged the defense lawyers outside of their litigation box. He insisted that the large defense firms tap their lobbyists instead of their litigators. Pushing past a chorus of "you must be kidding," Bill helped to convince the charities to lobby and the insurers to fund part of the effort. After Congress changed the antitrust laws twice within a year, a very dangerous and expensive lawsuit died quietly.

Bill is a frequent writer and speaker on a number of professional liability topics through the Professional Liability Underwriting Society, American Bar Association, American Corporate Counsel Association, Public Risk and Insurance Management Association and American Conference Institute. Recent speech topics include options back-dating, deepening insolvency claims, insurance coverage for criminal actions, rescission and application defenses, mutual fund and investment advisor risk management, online insurance transactions, insurance company exposures and trends in claims against public officials. Bill and his partner David Koury are the authors of Management Under the Microscope: The Delaware Court of Chancery’s Decision in In re The Walt Disney Company Derivative Litigation, PLUS Journal, Oct. 2005, Vol. XVIII, No. 10. He is certified as a continuing education instructor in all states. Bill is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Practice Areas

Insurance
Commercial
Directors and Officers

Courts

Illinois, 1988
U.S. District Court, N.D. Illinois 1988

Professional and Community Organizations

American Bar Association
Chicago Economic Development Law Project
Chicago Volunteer Legal Services
Professional Liability Underwriting Society

Education

University of Illinois at Urbana, B.A., 1985; Pi Sigma Alpha Honorary
University of Illinois at Urbana, J.D., cum laude, 1988; Law Review