William A. LeMire
Minneapolis, Minnesota
| Shareholder Member, Board of Directors |
|
| phone | 612 375-5993 (Direct Dial) 800 916-9262 (Toll-free) |
| fax | 612 339-7655 |
| Email Me | |
| vCard |  |
William LeMire's litigation and trial practice includes general liability of Property Losses, Fire and Explosion Losses, Product Liability Defense, Professional Liability Defense and Insurance Coverage. He has extensive experience in civil litigation, trials, and arbitrations.
His practice includes investigating and litigating large property and business losses involving fires, explosions, floods, and any manner of industrial catastrophe. Bill's product liability defense practice has included roles as national defense counsel for recreational and industrial product manufacturers. He has tried or litigated multimillion-dollar cases around the country. He has obtained numerous summary judgments and nominal settlement resolutions for product manufacturers.
Bill has been a guest speaker on several litigation topics including fire cause and origin investigations, NFPA 921, Daubert/expert testimony exclusion, and the unconditional need for honor and civility in the adversarial process. He is General Counsel for the International Association of Arson Investigators. In that capacity, he provides advice and counsel to the IAAI, an association consisting of approximately 7500 of the best fire-explosion investigation professionals in the world. In 2012, the IAAI awarded him with its Recognition of Excellence for his commitment to the IAAI and the principles of fire investigation/litigation.
- General Liability
- Fires, Explosions & Property Damage
- Insurance Coverage Litigation
- Product Liability
- Minnesota, 1989
- Wisconsin, 2012
- U.S. District Court District of Minnesota, 1989
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois, 1990
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Georgia, 1995
- U.S. District Court Western District of Michigan, 1996
- U.S. District Court District of Colorado, 1999
- U.S. District Court Western District of Wisconsin, 2009
- U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit, 2007
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1996
- University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2012
M.A. - William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1989
J.D.
Honors: Magna Cum Laude - College of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1985
B.A.
- Minnesota Commercial General Liability Policy: Annotated, Co-Author, Arthur, Chapman, Kettering,Smetak & Pikala, P.A., 2008
- “Navigating Roadblocks to Successful Risk Transfer,” 14th Annual Willis Construction Practice Risk Management Conference, April 11, 2008
- “What to Do When Construction Projects Go Bad in Minnesota,” Lorman Education Services, January 15, 2008
- Served as lead counsel for a property insurer in a product liability case arising out of the Ford Motor Company Rouge Power Plant explosion of February 1, 1999.
- The arbitration trial resulted in a substantial but confidential recovery for our property insurer client arising out of a $300,000,000 property loss.
- Served as lead defense counsel for a large Minnesota manufacturer in a product liability case arising from catastrophic injuries to a professional game hunter in Africa. The case alleged deficiencies in the design and manufacturing of the client’s largest revenue-generating product. All claims were eventually dismissed with prejudice following a summary judgment entered by the Minnesota Federal District Court. The case included numerous depositions taken in Tanzania, Africa.
- Served as lead defense counsel for a large Wisconsin designer-manufacturer of building materials in a case alleging deficiencies in the design and manufacturing of the product line. The case was dismissed at the summary judgment stage.
- Serves as lead counsel for international manufacturer of HVAC equipment in cases alleging product deficiencies causing fires.
- Served as part of counsel team analyzing insurance coverage issues and providing opinions on losses arising from the 9-11-01 attack on World Trade Center.
- International Association of Arson Investigators, General Counsel
- Amercian Bar Association
- Minnesota Bar Association
- Defense Research Institute (DRI)
- The Federalist Society
- St. Thomas More Society
