William Russell Jr.

Bill Russell, Head of Simpson Thacher’s Bankruptcy and Restructuring Litigation Practice, represents financial institutions, private equity sponsors, corporations and other businesses in a wide variety of commercial disputes. He focuses on bankruptcy and reorganization matters, banking litigation, securities litigation, and transactional disputes, and has tried cases in state and federal courts as well as in arbitral proceedings. A leader within the legal community, Bill is an active member of several bar and legal services organizations. He is Chair of the New York City Bar Association Board of Directors, Chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Homelessness and the Law, Chair of the Advisory Board of Legal Outreach, Inc., and a member of the American Law Institute, and has chaired Legal Services NYC’s Board of Directors and served on the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association. He served as a Panel Chair on the Disciplinary Committee for the First Judicial Department and regularly co-authors a column on the New York Court of Appeals for the New York Law Journal.

Updated Oct 2025

• DB Structured Products, Inc. in the dismissal of an RMBS “revival” action before the New York State Court of Appeals.
  
  
• The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the In Re Gawker Media bankruptcy proceedings.
  
  
• One of the lead creditors in the In re Jefferson County Chapter 9 proceedings that, at the time, were the largest municipal bankruptcy proceedings in U.S. history.
  
  
• A number of leading financial institutions in actions relating to the issuance of residential mortgage backed securities.
  
  
• TD Bank, N.A. in resolving litigation involving an alleged NRIA Ponzi Scheme.

• Appellate
• Commercial
• Commercial disputes
• Dispute resolution
• Insolvency
• Securities
• Bankruptcy Litigation

• Banking
• Financial services
• Insurance
• Investment management

• J.D. - New York University School of Law - 1990
• A.B. - magna cum laude - Princeton University - 1987

• Chair, New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Homelessness and the Law    
• Chair, New York City Bar Association Board of Directors    
• Co-Chair, New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Parole Reform    
• American Law Institute    
• National Center for Access to Justice, Board of Directors    
• Partnership to End Homelessness, Board of Directors    
• American Bar Association    
• Chief Judge’s Attorney Emeritus Advisory Council    
• Legal Outreach, Inc., Advisory Board Chair    
• Treasurer, The New York Bar Foundation’s Board of Directors

• New York - 1991
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York - 1991
• U.S. District Court Southern District of New York - 1991
• U.S. District Court District of Arizona - 1993
• U.S. District Court Northern District of New York - 1996
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit - 1999
• U.S. Supreme Court - 2002
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit - 2013
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit - 2021