Practice Areas
William Maher is a founding member of Wollmuth Maher & Deutsch and leads the Firm’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group. In his more than 30 years of practice, Bill has had broad experience in litigating, arbitrating, or mediating high-stakes commercial disputes, has tried numerous cases and arbitrations, and has argued appeals in both state and federal court. For the last seventeen years, Bill has been recognized by Chambers USA as a leading lawyer for business disputes in New York. In 2024, Chambers USA quoted Bill’s clients as saying, “He is aggressive and fearless,” and “[a]n exceptional litigator.” Chambers USA noted that Bill “is routinely engaged by financial institutions to handle diverse disputes in the MBS [mortgage-backed securities] arena, and also offers a broader commercial practice including experience in antitrust and M&A disputes.”
Bill received his J.D. Degree from The University of Virginia School of Law, where he graduated at the top of his class as Order of the Coif and was the Managing Editor of the Virginia Law Review. He received his B.A. degree in Economics from The College of William & Mary. Bill clerked for the Honorable Milton Pollack for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Bill has extensive experience in complex litigation and arbitration involving business disputes. He has represented:
• Certain subsidiaries of EssilorLuxottica SA, which were victims of international cybercriminals who stole more than $270 million through 243 fraudulent payment orders from an account held at a major money center bank in New York.
• The directors of an insurance company in a purported class action lawsuit against them arising out of the insurance company’s demutualization and its simultaneous acquisition for approximately $2.5 billion by a member of the Berkshire Hathaway Group of Insurance Companies.
• National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa in its arbitration against The J.R. Clarkson Company, LLC concerning indemnification for payments National Union made in a long-running insurance coverage dispute relating to asbestos claims from policies written in the 1980s.
• London Market Insurers against Honeywell International, Inc. regarding breaches of Honeywell’s obligations to provide asbestos claims data in connection with the settlement of an underlying insurance coverage dispute.
• Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., and certain affiliated entities (collectively, “Lehman”), in litigations asserting indemnification claims against more than 150 mortgage loan sellers relating to Lehman’s multi-billion-dollar settlements of claims litigation with (i) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and (ii) trustees for hundreds of RMBS trusts.
• Insurance companies as cedents, reinsurers, or retrocessionaires in confidential arbitration proceedings.
• Assured Guaranty (UK) Ltd., as financial guarantor of hundreds of millions in bonds, in a lawsuit against an affiliate of JPMorgan Chase for investing heavily in subprime and Alt-A mortgage-backed securities, thereby causing massive losses.
• Mizuho Bank, Ltd. as a defendant in a purported class action litigation seeking hundreds of millions in damages against defendants for many alleged wrongdoings that purportedly prevented plaintiffs from redeeming bonds issued by Germany for the funding of war reparations.
