Since joining the firm at its inception in 1997, Bill’s advises clients in complex commercial litigation, including both civil trials and arbitration. Isaacson has tried a variety of different commercial cases, but in the field of antitrust, approximately a dozen federal antitrust class actions have gone to trial and judgment in this century and Isaacson has tried five of those cases, winning verdicts in each case, whether plaintiff or defense.
The Vice Chairman of the firm, Bill is a 2016 American Lawyer Litigator of the Year and a three-time winner of The AmLaw Litigator of the Week. He is recognized by Benchmark Litigation, Legal500 and Chambers & Partners, and is among 31 lawyers in the LawDragon 500 for each of the last ten years, and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Global Competition Review writes, "Arguably no antitrust lawyer in recent memory has had as much success for both plaintiffs and defendants as Boies Schiller partner Bill Isaacson.”
In 2015, after a three-week jury trial in the District of Nevada, Bill–together with BSF co-counsel Karen Dunn–won a $50 million verdict, later increased to $124 million in a judgment, for Oracle for software copyright infringement and state law violations. In 2014, in O’Bannon v. NCAA, he won significant attention for his cross-examinations of NCAA witnesses, obtaining a historic victory for college athletes. In the same year, Bill served as trial counsel, with Karen Dunn, in a high-profile antitrust class action in the portable music industry, winning a complete defense verdict. In 2013, Bill was also trial counsel in the first antitrust action against Chinese companies for cartel conduct relating to products sold in the United States, winning a $162 million judgment, and $33 million from settling defendants.
Bill is a member and former Chair of the Board for Legal Counsel for the Elderly. In 2015, Legal Counsel for the Elderly on its 40th Anniversary gave him its individual Award for Sustained Excellence and Outstanding Commitment. His pro bono work was featured in articles in the Washington Post on June 10, 2010 and January 10, 2017.
Last updated September 2019
