William J. Taylor

Partner

William "Zak" J. Taylor is a partner in Morgan Lewis's Litigation Practice. Mr. Taylor is a trial lawyer and focuses his practice on business litigation. While he has handled a wide variety of matters, he has a considerable background in antitrust, unfair competition, business torts, alternative dispute resolution, class actions, ERISA, and litigation in the healthcare and energy industries.

Mr. Taylor has handled significant class actions such as Martinez v. KSOL, et al., the high-profile "Bay Bridge" radio stunt traffic jam case. Mr. Taylor has been involved in some of the most significant antitrust cases of the past 30 years (MDL 201- Sugar Antitrust Cases; MDL 150- Refined Petroleum Products Antitrust Litigation; Oahu Gas Serv. v. Pacific Resources, and Rickards v. Canine Eye Registration Foundation, and MDL 1827 In re TFT-LCD (Flat Panel) Antitrust Litigation, among others) and has handled numerous important antitrust matters in a wide variety of industries. Mr. Taylor also has a considerable background in consumer and class action cases and unfair competition matters, including RICO violations. Additionally, he has a background in insurance recovery litigation, having participated in the trial of the Flintkote Co. v. American Mutual Ins. Co., et al. matter.

His practice involves not only jury and court trials but also considerable trial work in complex arbitrations and resolution of complex cases through multiparty mediations. He has taken more than 25 commercial arbitrations to final award and has handled more than 150 commercial arbitration cases.

Mr. Taylor has handled more than 200 managed care cases, representing primarily HMOs, health insurers, PBMs, TPAs, and UM companies. These cases have included numerous trials, appeals, arbitrations, mediations, and administrative hearings. Mr. Taylor also has knowledge in matters involving state and federal government programs such as Medi-Cal and Medicare, false claims disputes, and disputes with government regulators. Mr. Taylor also has a background in briefing and arguing appeals.

Mr. Taylor received his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1976, where he was editor in chief for the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. Immediately after law school, he clerked with Judge Shirley M. Hufstedler of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Taylor received his B.A. from Yale University in 1970.

Mr. Taylor is an active speaker and writer. He is also active in pro bono and legal community activities, with major pro bono litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court (Honig v. Doe and Arizona v. Hicks), the California Supreme Court (Bailey v. Loggins), and other courts (In re Akkiko M. and Rebuild LA Insurance Cases, among others).

Mr. Taylor is admitted to practice in California and before the U.S. Supreme Court; the U.S. Tax Court; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, and Central Districts of California.