Almost 20 years ago, a shooting occurred at
government contractor ESL Inc. that still
reverberates throughout Silicon Valley. A former
employee, Richard Wade Farley, returned to the
ESL campus in Sunnyvale. He killed seven people,
injured four others and held off a police SWAT
team in a five-hour siege. The case made
nationwide headlines and was later turned into a
movie.
The next day, company lawyers and their outside
counsel, William J. Goines, had to pick up the
pieces. “We counseled management through every
type of problem,” Goines recalls -- “employment,
premises liability, workers compensation and
counselors security concerns.”
And Goines successfully defended the company in
the lawsuit eventually brought by relatives of
the victims. The relatives claimed the company
was negligent in preventing workplace violence.
Goines got ESL dismissed on the grounds of
workers’ compensation preemption. Then he
obtained a summary judgment for ESL’s parent
company, TRW Inc.. Although this could have been
high-profile litigation, Goines handled it in a
low-profile manner. That’s his style – low key,
results-oriented.
Named one of the Best Lawyers in America in 2007
and a Northern California Super Lawyer in 2005
and 2006, Goines has practiced law in Santa
Clara County for more than 30 years. A
co-managing shareholder at the Silicon Valley
office of mega-firm Greenburg Traurig LLP, he
focuses on business, real estate and employment
litigation and employment law. But Goines has
litigated almost every type of dispute a
business entity can face – everything from
wrongful termination and discrimination, to real
estate issues, to commercial code disputes and
toxic torts. He also serves as a judge pro tem,
settlement conference judge, special discovery
master, mediator, and arbitrator through private
and court-coordinated programs.
After earning a law degree with honors from the
University of California, Hastings College of
the Law in 1974, Goines practiced law for 28
years with Berliner Cohen, a top local firm in
San Jose. That’s where he established his
reputation as a successful trial attorney
specializing in commercial litigation. In 2004,
he joined Greenburg Traurig to take advantage of
its international platform and greater
resources. An international law firm with 1,600
attorneys and governmental affairs
professionals, Greenburg Traurig ranks number
seven on The American Lawyer's listing of the
largest law firms in the U.S.
“Bill has a fantastic reputation in the Valley
as a veteran trial lawyer with an extraordinary
knowledge of the local court system and a knack
for winning lawsuits,” observes Todd Rumberger,
co-managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig’s
Silicon Valley office. “On top of that, he's
incredibly practical, approachable and just a
terrific person to have around the office and a
part of this firm.”
So what is he working on these days? “In the
employment arena, the issues I continue to see
frequently are employee classification problems,
overtime problems and wage and hour problems,”
says Goines. “Also, protecting trade secrets
when employees depart.” He notes that trade
secrets can walk out the door if companies,
especially young companies, don’t protect them
in their documents, policies and enforcement.
When he’s not practicing law, Goines often
volunteers to help the community of Los Altos,
where he resides with his wife, Lee. He has
served on the board of the Mountain View-Los
Altos Union High School District Foundation and
Los Altos School District Foundation.
By Malcolm Kushner
Return to
October 2007 Issue
|
