William
Faulkner

• State Bar of California
• U.S. District Court, Northern, Central, Southern, and Eastern Districts of California
• U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and Federal Circuits

• J.D., University of California, Hastings College of Law
• B.A., Stanford University

Representative Matters

• Regularly represents one of Silicon Valley’s premier companies in Federal and State Court litigation.
• Obtained an arbitration award of more than $15 million to recover debt owed for clients in a real estate partnership. Subsequently secured a series of arbitration orders that allowed the clients to buy out their partners on favorable terms.
• Obtained a defense judgment, including an award of all attorney’s fees, in defending a real estate fraud claim against client by wealthy individuals seeking more than $25,000,000 in damages.
• Successfully recovered a substantial portion of sums paid through early settlement on behalf of a major telecommunications client that was overcharged under the terms of a commercial lease.

Reported Cases

• County of Santa Clara v. Super. Ct. (Atlantic Richfield, et al) (2017).
• People v. ConAgra Grocery Products Co. (2017) 17 Cal.App.5th 51.
• County of Santa Clara v. Superior Court (Atlantic Richfield Co.) (2010) 50 Cal.4th 35,235 P.3d 21,112 Cal. Rptr. 3d 697.
• County of Santa Clara v. Superior Court (Atlantic Richfield Co.) (2008) 161 Cal.App.4th 1140.
• County of Santa Clara v. Super. Ct. (Atlantic Richfield, et al) (2006) 137 Cal.App.4th 292.
• Estate of Wong (1996) 40 Cal.App.4th 1198.
• In re Romo (1987) 190 Cal.App.3d 279.

Awards

• The Best Lawyers in America® Lawyer of the Year, Litigation – Trust & Estates, 2022
• The Best Lawyers in America® for 18 consecutive years in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Real Estate, and Litigation – Trusts & Estates
• Northern California Super Lawyers, 2006 – 2025; and listed in the Corporate Counsel Edition
• Recognized by Marquis Who’s Who for 40 Years of Professional Excellence
• Top 100 in Northern California Super Lawyers, 2016 – 2019

Honors

• Senior Fellow of Litigation Counsel of America (limited to top one-half of one (1) percent of trial lawyers)
• Fellow of the American Bar Foundation (ABF)

• “Avoiding Avoidance: Keeping Payments After Client Bankruptcy” Daily Journal
• “Rent Overpayment: Return to Sender?” California Real Estate Journal

Bill is a member of the Santa Clara County Bar Association and the Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association. He is Vice President of the San Jose Museum of Art (SJMA) Board of Directors where he has been a trustee and officer for over 25 years.  In addition, Bill served for 20 years as the managing attorney for the Legal Counseling Office, Associated Students of Stanford University and previously served as a trustee of the Los Altos Educational Foundation.