Bill Bay named Influential Lawyer by Missouri Lawyers Media

For his leadership of the ABA’s largest specialty section and for putting Missouri on the map for litigators across the country, Missouri Lawyers Media has selected partner Bill Bay as a 2012 Influential Lawyer.

The award is part of the 2013 Missouri Lawyers Awards, which honor the top innovators and influencers in Missouri’s legal community. The legal publishing company culls through numerous nominees and names just three Influential Lawyers each year.

In 2012, Bay was elected by his peers as chair of the Section of Litigation, the American Bar Association’s largest special section. He is the first Missouri attorney to ever hold this position.

Bay’s litigation practice at Thompson Coburn includes more than 30 years of experience in the representation and trial of business disputes. He regularly represents many financial institutions on such matters regionally and nationally. He has also been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® (2012-2013, by BL Rankings), which named him the 2013 St. Louis Lawyer of the Year in Litigation – Banking & Finance.

In his role as chair of the ABA Section of Litigation, Bay oversees a nationwide organization that serves 60,000 members. He manages a Section staff of 27 people, all based in Chicago. He chairs four major conferences and meetings across the country. In addition, he invests countless hours attending Section programs and events across the country, where he speaks, participates and encourages his constituents. Bay is leading a redesign of the Section's website and the addition of valuable, cutting-edge content to members, including podcasts, video trial tips and monthly e-newsletters.

In 2013, Bay will lead Section of Litigation programs touching on critical legal issues, including the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act and the landmark decision Gideon v. Wainwright, which established the right to defense counsel.

Bay and other Missouri Lawyers Awards winners will be featured in the Dec. 24 issue of Missouri Lawyers Weekly. They will also be honored at a Jan. 25, 2013, luncheon at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark.