William O. Whitehurst

Bill is a past president of the State Bar of Texas and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association. He is a registered pharmacist, both in Oklahoma and Texas, is Board Certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Bill has served on the faculty for the University of Texas School of Law and Harvard Law School Trial Advocacy Programs. He is an inductee of the American Board of Trial Advocates and a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

Since 1975, Mr. Whitehurst has specialized in medical malpractice, product liability, drug and medical device litigation and aviation (licensed pilot since 1967 – instrument rated), and auto accidents involving death, brain damage, or other serious injury. Recent verdicts include $44,717,681 for a brain damaged baby in San Antonio, Texas, and $32,676,410 for a brain damaged baby in Austin, Texas, the two largest verdicts ever against the United States.

Bill is a co-founder of the national organization Bar Leaders for the Preservation of Legal Services to the Poor. He has served on the National Association for Public Interest Law (NAPIL) Fellowships Board of Directors and has served as the attorney advisor to the University of Texas School of Law Texas Law Fellowships program (Public Interest Law Grants) since its inception. He currently chairs the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants.

Bill received the J. Chris Dougherty Award and the Texas Law Fellowship Award for his work with legal services and public interest law. He was honored by the National Legal Aid and Defender Association with its national award for extraordinary leadership and personal commitment to equal justice in America. He was named as one of the Best Lawyers in Austin (personal injury) by Austin Monthly magazine and as a Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly magazine. He is also listed in the publication The Best Lawyers in America.

Bill and his wife, Stephanie, have two children. Stephanie obtained a degree in pharmacy from the University of Texas and is a former national president of the American Lawyers Auxiliary. Emilee is an ordained Presbyterian minister, and Rebecca is pursuing an MFA in Dance Choreography.

Mr. Whitehurst is admitted to practice before the State Bar of Texas; the Texas and U.S. Court of Military Appeals; the United States District Court, Western District of Texas; the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit; and the U.S. Supreme Court.

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