William P. Geraghty
Bill is a first-chair trial lawyer with over 30 years of experience defending tobacco, pharmaceutical, medical device, automotive, and tech companies in complex civil litigation. Throughout his career, Bill has tried dozens of cases to verdict in jurisdictions across the country, consistently delivering outstanding results for his clients.
Bill has extensive experience serving as national trial counsel in class actions and multidistrict litigation in products liability, mass tort, and commercial disputes, including significant representations of Philip Morris, Medtronic, and Stryker Corp. With his deep understanding of jury trials from voir dire to closing, Bill is also a frequent speaker at corporate counsel events on issues such as jury selection and courtroom advocacy.
Bill is nationally ranked in “Product Liability & Mass Torts” by Chambers and Partners, which describes him as an “intellectual, client-friendly and a superb trial lawyer.” In addition, Bill is a Legal500 “Leading Partner,” one of Benchmark Litigation’s “Top 100 Trial Lawyers” and a “National Practice Area Star,” and has been named a “Product Liability MVP” by Law360. He has also received the BTI Client Service All-Star award four times.
Prior to joining Wilkinson Stekloff, Bill was a partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon, where he served as Managing Partner of the Miami office and co-chaired the firm’s Product Liability Litigation Practice Group, earning national recognition as a “Litigation Department of the Year” from Benchmark and The American Lawyer. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, and his B.A., cum laude, from Duke University.
Education
- Law: Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., cum laude (1993)
- Undergraduate: Duke University, B.A., cum laude (1989)
Notable Matters
- Lead trial counsel for Altria Group, Inc. in the first Attorney General case to proceed to trial regarding the JUUL e-vapor device, including public nuisance and consumer fraud claims stemming from Altria’s $12.8 billion minority investment in JUUL Labs, Inc. After a three-week trial, the case resolved the day before closing arguments for a fraction of the potential civil penalties, monetary damages, disgorgement, and abatement remedies sought.
- Lead trial counsel for Stryker Corp. in a wrongful death case in which plaintiff made failure to warn and design defect allegations about a recalled surgical suction device. After a four-week trial, the jury returned a full defense verdict.
- Lead trial counsel for Philip Morris in Summerlin v. Philip Morris USA Inc., a case in which the estate and surviving spouse of a longtime smoker alleged claims for breach of implied warranty, negligence, and fraudulent concealment. After several asbestos manufacturer co-defendants settled for an undisclosed amount, Bill obtained a complete defense verdict, while plaintiffs were awarded significant damages against the other tobacco defendant at trial.
- Lead trial counsel for Philip Morris USA in Kogan v. Philip Morris USA, where plaintiff alleged that decades of nicotine addiction caused his bladder cancer. Bill’s cross-examination of plaintiff’s expert witnesses established that plaintiff had not sufficiently established causation, as his occupational exposure to chemicals could not be ruled out as the cause of his cancer. The jury deliberated for only one hour before returning a complete defense verdict.
- Lead trial counsel for Philip Morris USA in dozens of Engle progeny cases, the landmark Florida mass tobacco litigation involving billions of dollars in aggregate potential punitive exposure.
Publications (Selected)
- From Nuclear Verdicts to Thermonuclear Verdicts: Evaluating the True Impact on Drug and Medical Device Manufacturers, American Conference Institute's Annual Conference on Drug & Medical Device Litigation, December 3, 2024.
- Handling the Difficult Expert, Dade County Bar Association's Giants of the Courtroom (Panelist), Miami, Florida, June 9, 2017.
- What Every In House Lawyer Should Know About Data Privacy, Class Actions, and Attorney-Client Privilege (Speaker), Daily Business Review’s Corporate Counsel Summit, April 25, 2014.
- Opening Statements and Closing Arguments 101, (Speaker), American Bar Association, Section on Litigation, April 24, 2014.