Law Offices of William A. Markham P.C.

We are a small firm of highly experienced trial and appellate attorneys who specialize in antitrust litigation, complex commercial disputes, and constitutional law.

William Markham is a graduate of Harvard Law School (J.D., 1987) and alumnus of a storied international law firm (Coudert Bros., now dissolved). In past matters, he served as the lead attorney in several major, long-running antitrust cases and successfully tried substantial commercial disputes in both jury and bench trials. He also obtained appellate reversals in closely contested, significant matters, including an appellate reversal by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in an important antitrust case in 2019 (Curtin Maritime Corp. v. Santa Catalina Island Co.(9th Cir. 2019, Case No. 18–55338). His most recent appellate victory, in 2024, was an outright reversal of the trial court's judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV), a reinstatement of the jury's verdicts in favor of his client, and remand for a trial of the amount of punitive damages that the defendants must pay to his client (Wardak v. WLOW Partners, LLC et al. (Cal. App. 2024, Case No. G061606).

Mr. Markham also gives counsel on antitrust matters to various clients and in the past has done so for the world's largest manufacturer of LED products (Nichia Corporation); a global automobile manufacturer (Isuzu Motors Ltd.); the world's largest manufacturer of pulse oximeters (Masimo Corporation); the largest privately held manufacturer of precast concrete products in North America (Jensen Enterprises); and many other substantial firms and innovative entrants.

Mr. Markham has practiced law for 37 years and accepts only a few matters at a time, so that he can devote undistracted attention to each of them. He lives with his family by the sea. At age 63, he still surfs, rides bicycle, and occasionally windsurfs when he has the time. He is completely fluent in French and Spanish.

The firm's other principal attorney is Dorn Bishop, who is "of counsel" to our firm. Mr. Bishop is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, a former partner in Latham & Watkins, LLP, and a former prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California. He has tried thirty cases to juries, winning all of them. He also has special expertise in insurance law and was the lead attorney in a landmark case on bad-faith denials of insurance coverage.

Mr. Markham is directly supported by his longtime paralegal assistant, Laura Avila, who holds a law degree and has worked with him since 2006. She excels at organizing and presenting evidence, has excellent judgment, and collaborates closely with Mr. Markham. She is completely fluent in Spanish.

When the need arises, we collaborate with other attorneys in the San Diego region whom we know well and trust, so that on short notice we can assemble a large team of highly proficient litigators who can handle large matters in which are adversaries are represented by global law firms or other highly capable law firms.

You can read much more about our practice and our professionals at www.markhamlawfirm.com.