William D. Wilmoth concentrates his practice in litigation, particularly in defending complex commercial cases, securities cases, and health care.  He also counsels clients in health care compliance audits, and in health care fraud and other white collar criminal investigations. During his legal career, he has tried a wide variety of personal injury and criminal cases in state and federal court in West Virginia and Pennsylvania and has served as United States Attorney for five and one half years and as Assistant United States Attorney for three years. He has also been involved in appellate proceedings before the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Third and Fourth Circuits, and the Supreme Court of the United States.  Mr. Wilmoth serves as Managing Member of the Wheeling office and as Co-Chair of the Litigation Department.

AREAS OF CONCENTRATION

Mr. Wilmoth has been involved in all manner of complex litigation, defending America's major banks and brokerage houses, leading insurance companies, and persons subpoenaed before the Securities and Exchange Commission, the FAA, and federal grand juries in several states.

Mr. Wilmoth regularly defends physicians, hospitals, nurses, and other health care providers in health care fraud investigations and medical negligence actions in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. He has:

• Fraud investigations and compliance programs for corporations
• Represented clients in a wide variety of medical specialties
• Consulted with medical and technical experts from the country’s top hospitals and universities
• Defended claims ranging from birth injury to quadriplegia, and from orthopedics to neurosurgery
• Defended civil and criminal cases investigated by state and federal authorities

Mr. Wilmoth adds a dimension to the services available to the firm’s business and professional clients through his experience in:

• Health care compliance audits by Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers
• Health care fraud criminal investigations
• Other white collar criminal investigations, including Super Fund and other environmental matters, bank fraud and sophisticated federal and state grand jury investigations
• Dealing with federal regulatory agencies

As a member of S&J's Class Action Team, Bill Wilmoth has defended class actions in the securities, pharmaceuticals, banking and credit cards, title insurance, electrical devices, and steel industries, among others, and regularly defends stockholder derivative class actions, civil and criminal RICO cases, and ERISA claims.

Mr. Wilmoth has represented manufacturers and distributors of products which are claimed to have caused serious injury or death, including:

• Tires, motor vehicle and truck components, tractors and other motor vehicles
• Pharmaceuticals
• Window screens
• Electrical and plumbing devices, and other building components
• Safety shoes, ventilation hoods and other safety devices
• Turbines, scaffolding systems and other industrial and mining equipment

PROFESSIONAL AND CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS

From July 4, 1993, until March 1, 1999, Bill Wilmoth was the United States Attorney for the Northern Division of West Virginia, having been nominated by President Clinton and confirmed by the United States Senate. He began his career as a law clerk to United States District Judge Robert E. Maxwell in Elkins, and was an Assistant United States Attorney from 1977 to 1980. He was a partner in a large Wheeling law firm until being named United States Attorney. He was a member of Attorney General Janet Reno’s Advisory Committee of United States Attorneys and chaired the Department of Justice’s committee on civil and financial litigation. He was also a member of the committee on white collar crime and the committee on health care fraud. In addition to his professional responsibilities, he is a member and past chair of the Board of Directors of the State College System of West Virginia; a member and past chair of the Executive Board of the Ohio River Valley Council, Boy Scouts of America; and serves as an Area Vice President of the Central Region of the Boy Scouts of America. He formerly chaired the Board of Directors of the Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation, and sits on the Board of Directors of the Wheeling YMCA.  He is also a Board Member of the Education Alliance of West Virginia and of West Virginia Independent Colleges and Universities.  Mr. Wilmoth is a member of the West Virginia State Bar and the Pennsylvania Bar.  He is also included in the 2005-2006 Edition of Who's Who in American Law and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the fields of commercial litigation and white collar criminal defense.  He has also been named a Virginia/West Virginia SuperLawyer. 

EDUCATION

Mr. Wilmoth received his undergraduate degree, cum laude in Finance, from West Virginia University, and his law degree from WVU’s College of Law.