LOS ANGELES, February 5, 2025 – Proskauer, a leading international law firm, is pleased to share that partner Bart Williams has been named as one of the Daily Journal's 2025 Leading Commercial Litigators. This annual list recognizes prominent commercial litigators who handle some of the most consequential cases in California and nationally.
Bart is one of the nation's most sought-after trial lawyers with extensive experience across commercial litigation, white collar criminal defense and internal corporate investigations. Known for his legal acumen, strategic approach and persuasive advocacy, Bart is frequently called upon just months or even weeks before a trial to deliver a win. A longtime member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Bart boasts an impressive track record of victories in both jury and bench trials nationwide. His legal prowess has established him as a trusted trial counsel and "go-to" lawyer for numerous Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes, headline-making matters in recent years.
Most recently, he was lead trial counsel for Netflix, director/writer Ava DuVernay, and writer Attica Locke in a defamation case in federal court in New York brought by Linda Fairstein, former head of the Manhattan DA's sex crimes unit. The matter related to the defendants' series "When They See Us," which recounts the wrongful convictions of the Central Park 5. The plaintiff alleged that the series' portrayal of her by actress Felicity Huffman depicted her in a false and defamatory light. Bart's leadership led to an extremely successful resolution for the clients when the plaintiff decided to settle the case on the eve of trial with no payment to her or her lawyers, and no confidentiality provision related to the settlement.
Bart previously secured a full defense victory for Gilead in a $3.6 billion antitrust case on allegations that the pharmaceutical company struck an anticompetitive "pay-for-delay" patent settlement related to two of its HIV medications following a six-week trial. The verdict is only the third ever in reverse payment cases of this type, and the first ever to find for the defense on grounds of both the absence of a payment and the absence of market power for the brand in the relevant market.
Bart has also been recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal and the Los Angeles Times on the 2025 "Leaders of Influence: Minority Attorneys" list and 2024 Business of Law magazine, respectively.
Read Bart's profile: Leading Commercial Litigators 2025