Bill Jackson

Bill Jackson helps lead Kelley Drye & Warren's national Environmental Practice Group and is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Bill has one of the most sophisticated and successful environmental and natural resource damages litigation practices in the country. For over thirty years, Bill has represented states and other public entities in noteworthy contamination cases that are often valued into the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars at stake. Bill is known and valued as a fierce advocate for his clients in the courtroom, and his ability to find solutions and navigate beyond obstacles that seem insurmountable is the reason his client’s turn to him again and again.

This year, Bill has had two significant wins for public clients. In May, Kelley Drye was proud to announce that our client, the State of Maryland, reached a $2.25 billion final settlement with the owner and operator of the M/V Dali, which struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore Harbor, resulting in its collapse. Bill was lead counsel for the Kelley Drye team, which along with the Maryland Attorney General office and our co-counsel, obtained through this action the largest legal recovery in maritime history.

Then, in August, Bill secured the entry of two Consent Judgments valued at over $2.5 billion for the State of New Jersey with DuPont and 3M for environmental costs and damages resulting from widespread PFAS contamination in New Jersey. Bill is currently serving as lead counsel for fifteen states and sovereigns - and dozens of public water providers and private-sector clients - in both litigation and administrative actions related to contamination and natural resource damages from PFAS.

Bill’s multi-dimensional understanding of environmental issues, proven and effectual advocacy skills, and complete understanding of the practical and policy impacts environmental regulation has on industrial, community, and governmental enterprises, enable him to create an approach to environmental and natural resource disputes that end in the right result. Bill’s focus is to win either in or out of court in the most efficient and effective way possible for his clients and the public. He knows first-hand that environmental litigation can have huge implications to governmental actors, trustee agencies, industry and the impacted communities, and he has unique abilities to bring all parties together and to achieve lasting solutions.

Bill is nationally recognized as a leader in environmental and natural resources law. He is a Fellow of the American College of Environmental Law and regularly teaches Environmental Law & Policy at Rice University. Chambers & Partners USA has recognized Bill as “Tier 1” (top 10) in Environmental Lawyers in Texas for many years, and he has been recognized for his work in Environmental Litigation by numerous services and entities.

He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in Government in 1989 and from the University of Houston Law Center with a Juris Doctorate in 1992.