About William Parrish

Attorney Mediator

Bill Parrish has more than 40 years of experience representing plaintiffs and defendants in intellectual property and other complex commercial litigation.

For multiple years, he has been listed in The Best Lawyers In America® (Woodward/White, Inc.) for Bet-the-Company Litigation, for Commercial Litigation, for Patent Litigation and for Intellectual Property Litigation. He was recently named in the Best Lawyers® 2020 edition as Patent Litigation “Lawyer of the Year” in Austin.

For over 30 years he has been rated in Martindale-Hubble® Peer Review Ratings as “AV® Preeminent ™”, the highest possible peer review rating in legal ability and ethical standards. He has also been given an “AV® Preeminent™” rating multiple years in the Martindale Hubble Judicial Edition, which reflects the highest possible rating in both legal ability and ethical standards based upon confidential opinions of members of the Judiciary as well as members of the Bar. For many years he has also been named in Super Lawyers®, (published by Thompson Reuters.)

Although his litigation practice involved a wide spectrum of complex commercial cases, the emphasis was on intellectual property disputes (e.g., trade secret, trademark, trade name, trade dress, copyright and patent disputes), business torts (e.g., unfair competition, deceptive trade practices, tortious interference with actual and prospective contracts and/or business relationships, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, unfair advertising practices, etc.), and breach of contract claims. He also represented companies and individuals in connection with claims brought by various regulatory bodies, including the Attorneys General of over 20 different states, and the Federal Trade Commission. In addition, he has litigated broker - dealer disputes, employment disputes and environmental damage claims.

He has worked in a large national firm and in a litigation boutique. He has represented plaintiffs and he has represented defendants, including in “bet-the company” litigation and in smaller cases. He has represented Fortune 100

companies and he has represented individuals. As a result of being in the trenches with a wide array of clients on both sides for over 40 years, he has an understanding of and a feeling for not only the strategies often employed
by the parties and lawyers on both sides, but for the pressures on parties and lawyers and the considerations that go into different types of settlements for different types of clients.

He now uses that knowledge and experience to help parties settle disputes.

Education

The University of Texas at Austin (B.A., Plan II with honors, 1975; Phi Beta Kappa; named The University of Texas Outstanding Student, 1974 (1of 2 awarded); Edward S. Guleke Student Excellence Award, 1976)
The University of Texas School of Law (J.D., 1978)
The University of Texas School of Law Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution (Mediator Training, 2004)

License & Admissions

U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Western, Northern and Southern Districts of Texas
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal and Fifth Circuits
Licensed to practice in the state courts of Texas

Professional Affiliations

American Bar Association (ADR, Litigation and Intellectual Property Sections)
State Bar of Texas (ADR, Litigation, and Intellectual Property Sections)
Austin Bar Association (ADR, Litigation and Intellectual Property Sections)
American Bar Foundation (Life Fellow)
Texas Bar Foundation (Life Fellow)
Robert W. Calvert Inn of Court (Executive Committee Member, 2000-2006; President, 2004/2005 term) Master, 1999-present
Speaker on IP litigation topics at past seminars sponsored by the State Bar of Texas, including the Advanced Intellectual Property Law Course, the Advanced Civil Trial Course and the High Technology Litigation Course.