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Will Stute is a nationally recognized first-chair trial lawyer who represents companies in their most consequential, high-stakes litigation across the United States. He is known for trying—and winning—cases others resolve short of trial, and for guiding clients through complex disputes where reputational, financial, and operational risks are at their highest.
Will has led numerous jury trials involving mass tort, personal injury, antitrust, False Claims Act, securities fraud, and residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) claims, as well as matters at the intersection of technology, finance, and life sciences. Will served as lead trial counsel in three separate jury trials for the NCAA, including the first two cases to test claims that the NCAA is responsible for concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in college football. The defense verdicts in those matters were widely recognized as landmark results.
Will has also served as first-chair trial counsel in a series of the most closely watched product liability trials in the country, defending a global consumer products manufacturer against allegations that legacy talc-based products caused asbestos-related disease, including mesothelioma. These cases required juries to assess decades of science, regulatory oversight, and historical manufacturing practices under intense public and media scrutiny. Will achieved highly favorable results in these cases in some of the most difficult jurisdictions in the United States, including Portland, Oregon; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and New Orleans, Louisiana.
Will’s trial successes have earned significant national recognition. He has been named the National Law Journal’s Winning Litigator of the Year, was a finalist for The American Lawyer’s Litigator of the Year, and received honors including Courtroom View Network’s Most Impressive Defense Verdict, The American Lawyer’s Litigator of the Week, the Daily Journal’s Defense Verdict of the Year, and was recognized by Forbes as one the 100 best lawyers in the United States. Commentators have described his results as “incredible victories” and praised his courtroom approach as that of a trial lawyer “playing to win.”
Clients value Will’s strategic judgment, command of the courtroom, and ability to distill complex factual and scientific issues into compelling narratives that juries understand. He is frequently called upon to step into matters at critical inflection points—when trial is imminent, settlement leverage must be reset, or a decisive courtroom strategy is required.
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