|
William M. McSwain joined the firm in 2006 after serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. At Drinker Biddle, Bill has developed a broad litigation practice, applying his trial skills in a number of areas, including securities litigation, white collar criminal defense, defense of consumer class actions, and intellectual property litigation.
Government Experience. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Bill prosecuted a wide variety of federal violent crime and white collar crime, including tax fraud, corporate fraud, bank fraud, federal procurement fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, and computer network intrusion. He gained convictions in numerous federal jury trials and successfully prosecuted numerous appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. While at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Bill was specially assigned to the Department of Defense in the summer of 2004 to be the Executive Editor of the Church Report, a worldwide examination of military interrogation techniques in the Global War on Terror that was commissioned by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and chaired by Vice Admiral Albert Church. In addition to his prosecutorial experience, Bill served as a law clerk to the Honorable Marjorie O. Rendell of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit immediately following his graduation from law school.
Appellate Experience. Bill enjoys working on appellate matters, and has secured reversals in several high-profile appeals after being retained as appellate counsel. For example, he served as lead appellate counsel for Chester County, PA in the Chester County Ten Commandments case, Freethought Society, et al. v. Chester County, et al. , 334 F.3d 247 (3d Cir. 2003), in which the Third Circuit ruled that the Ten Commandments plaque on the façade of the Chester County Courthouse could remain, overturning the district court. In addition, he served as lead appellate counsel for Kenneth Hamidi in the landmark Internet dispute, Intel Corp. v. Hamidi, 30 Cal.4th 1342 (2003), in which the California Supreme Court established the legal rules for electronic trespass liability on the Internet, ruling in favor of Bill’s client and overturning both the intermediate appellate and trial courts.
In General. Bill is a graduate of Yale University and the Harvard Law School, where he served as an editor of The Harvard Law Review. While at Harvard, he was a member of the winning team in the Ames moot court competition, and received the George S. Leisure award as the best oralist in the final round of the Ames competition. Bill currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Harvard Law School Alumni Association of Greater Philadelphia. Prior to law school, Bill served as an infantry officer and scout/sniper platoon commander in the U.S. Marine Corps. | 