Member Bio
Bill Wagner has represented manufacturing and chemical companies, government entities, and individuals in a large variety of toxic tort and environmental litigation, government enforcement, and white collar criminal defense litigation, both in federal and state courts, and in arbitrations, throughout the United States. He has defended cases involving multi-faceted and sensitive parallel criminal, civil, and regulatory investigations and prosecutions (U.S. EPA, IDEM, SEC). Mr. Wagner has extensive experience challenging and defending experts in Daubert and Frye hearings, and is often consulted by other lawyers on the nuances of expert testimony and the admission of evidence at trial. His cases have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, ABA Journal, BNA Reporters, and other major newspapers.
Bill Wagner grew up in Gary, Indiana. After graduating from law school with honors in 1992, he gained valuable courtroom experience, examining fact and expert witnesses and arguing cases, first as a deputy prosecutor and then as a defense attorney with a national insurance company, before entering into private practice. In 2000, he was part of a litigation team that successfully represented the State of Indiana, IDEM, and IDNR in a chemical contamination case, where a chemical release killed fish along a 50-mile stretch of the White River in central Indiana, damaged a municipal wastewater treatment plant, and impacted drinking water utility plants. Since then, Mr. Wagner has focused his practice on chemical exposure and injury cases, and has handled cases involving chlorinated solvents (PCE, TCE, VC), petroleum contaminants (benzene), PCBs, pesticides (atrazine, chlorpyrifos), heavy metals, asbestos, sodium dimethyl dithiocarbamate, hydrogen sulfide, water disinfection byproducts, and perflourooctanoic acid (PFOA), used to manufacture fluoropolymers like Teflon. He is a member of the Defense Research Institute (DRI) Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Committee, the DRI Government Enforcement and Corporate Compliance Committee, the American Bar Association (ABA) Environmental Litigation and Toxic Torts Committee, and the ABA Environmental Enforcement and Crimes Committee. Most recently, he presented a seminar for the Indiana Manufacturers Association on the greenhouse gas emissions cap and trade programs, and related climate change litigation.
Mr. Wagner is AV-rated by Martindale Hubbell, has taught trial skills for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy ("NITA") since 2002, and regularly speaks and writes on trial skills and other matters. In addition to his environmental practice, Mr. Wagner has litigation experience on a wide variety of matters including, products liability, insurance coverage, patent, ERISA, securities, general business, shareholder, executive compensation, antitrust, and fiduciary duties litigation, mortgage fraud, mail and wire fraud, civil RICO, FINRA arbitrations, and other complex issues. Mr. Wagner is the Liaison for the Southern District of Indiana for the Seventh Circuit Bar Association.