About Bill

Bill Marler is an accomplished personal injury and products liability attorney. He began litigating foodborne illness cases in 1993, when he represented Brianne Kiner, the most seriously injured survivor of the Jack in the Box E. coli O157:H7 outbreak. Bill settled Brianne's case for $15.6 million, creating a Washington state record for an individual personal injury action. He settled several other Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak cases for more than $1.5 million each.

In 1998, Bill and his law partners settled the claims of three small children who became ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections and hemolytic uremic syndrome after drinking Odwalla apple juice for a reported $12 million. Since that time, Bill has focused his practice on representing individuals, mostly children, in litigation resulting from E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, hepatitis A, and other food-contamination cases, and has represented victims of nearly every large foodborne illness outbreak across the country. He has represented individuals against BJ's Wholesale Club, Chili's, Chi-Chi's, ConAgra, Dole, Excel, Golden Corral, KFC, Sheetz, Sizzler, Supervalu, and Wendy's, as well as other food companies and restaurants.

Bill has also represented children in litigation after they became ill from exposure to contaminated water and infected farm animals. He represented several children who suffered kidney failure after contracting E. coli at White Water Waterpark in Georgia in 1998, and has represented dozens of individuals who have become ill with E. coli after being exposed at fairs across the country. Marler Clark is currently involved in litigation resulting from a Cryptosporidium outbreak at Sprayground, a spray park in central New York. Over the years, he has won $500 million for his clients.

Under the auspices of the non-profit Outbreak, Inc, Bill spends much of his time traveling to address food industry groups, fair associations, and public health groups about foodborne illness litigation and issues surrounding it. He has testified before Congress as well as State legislatures. He is also a frequent writer on topics related to foodborne illness. Bill co-authored the article, "How to document a food poisoning case" with David Babcock for the November, 2004 issue of Trial Magazine, and presented his paper, "Separating the Chaff from the Wheat: How to determine the strength of a foodborne illness claim," at the 2005 Defense Research Institute meeting on food liability. The February, 2005 Food Safety In-Sight newsletter by Environ Health Associates, Inc. featured Bill's article, "Food Claims and Litigation." He also wrote, "How to Keep Your Focus on Food Safety," an article that appeared in the June-July, 2005 issue of Food Safety Magazine.

Mr. Marler is a graduate of the Seattle University School of Law class of 1987. In 1998, he became the Law School's "Lawyer in Residence." Mr. Marler received undergraduate degrees in Political Science, English, and Economics from Washington State University in 1982. While attending WSU, he was elected to the Pullman City Council. At 19, he was the youngest person, and first student, ever elected. In 1997, Mr. Marler received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the WSU College of Liberal Arts. In 1998, Governor Gary Locke appointed Mr. Marler to the University Board of Regents. He recently served as President of the Board. He also served on the State Higher Education Coordinating Board. He was recently awarded the Seattle/King County Bar Association 2008 Outstanding Lawyer Award and the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association's "Public Justice Award." Mr. Marler has been chosen by the attorneys of the State of Washington as a "Super Lawyer." He has an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and is listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Attorneys. In 2009, he was chosen as one of "America's Best Lawyers."

He is married to Julie Marler and they have three daughters, Morgan, Olivia, and Sydney.

Bill and Marler Clark have been profiled in many reports. Here are a few:

Posted on September 20, 2009 by LexBlog
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USDA Nears Decision on Food Safety Chief - Is "Change" on the way?

Ed O’Keefe of the Washington Post caught me by phone as I walked off the ferry Friday morning.  Either way this goes, I hope someone reads this - "Open Letter to a New Under Secretary for Food Safety - FSIS - The End of E. coli Conservatism."  Here is Ed's article – “Change” may be on the way:

The search for a head of the Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) appears to have come down on two veterans of the food safety community: Caroline Smith–Dewall, food safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest and former FSIS administrator Barbara J. Masters, who is currently senior policy adviser at Washington law firm Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Bode Matz PC.

Food safety has been on the minds of many this month as a nationwide salmonella outbreak tied to peanut butter and peanut paste has caused serious illness and may have contributed to seven deaths. FSIS is only responsible however for the safety of the nation's commercial meat, poultry and eggs, while the Food and Drug Administration accounts for the safety of all other foods.

The undersecretary for food safety is responsible for crafting the government's policy and education programs on the issue; it is a political appointment that requires Senate confirmation.

Neither Masters nor Smith-Dewaal would comment on their conversations with the Obama administration. Their names emerged as leading candidates following conversations with food industry representatives, food safety veterans and union officials.

Masters said she was "not in a position to say” whether she’s been contacted by administration officials about the job, but said she remains supportive of the Obama administration "no matter what they do on the issue."

Smith-Dewaal said “I’m really not making any comment" and refused to say whether she has talked to the administration. In addition to working at the Center for Science in the Public interest, she also serves on the FDA's Center for Safety and Applied Nutrition Food Advisory Committee.

Other names mentioned for the position include Dr. Mike Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia; Mike Taylor, a Food and Drug Administration veteran and currently a research professor at George Washington University; and Bill Marler, a Seattle-based attorney and world-renowned expert on food safety issues.

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Bill Marler
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