Markovits, Bill

Founding Partner Bill Markovits focuses his experience and expertise on complex civil litigation, with an emphasis on securities, antitrust, RICO, Intellectual Property, and False Claims Act cases.

Bill began his career as a trial lawyer at the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division in Washington, D.C. After moving to Cincinnati his antitrust focus continued, including his becoming an adjunct professor of antitrust law at the University of Cincinnati Law School.

Bill’s notable case list includes the Choice Care securities, antitrust and RICO class action, in which the jury awarded more than $100 million to a class of physicians; a fraud/RICO case on behalf of The Procter & Gamble Co., which resulted in a settlement of $165 million; an 11-year antitrust and RICO class action against Humana, including appeals that reached the United States Supreme Court and that culminated in a multimillion-dollar settlement; and a national class action against Microsoft, in which he was chosen from among dozens of plaintiffs’ attorneys to depose Bill Gates.

More recently, Bill served as a lead counsel for plaintiffs in the Fannie Mae Securities Litigation that settled for $153 million; a lead counsel for plaintiffs in a class action against Duke Energy that settled for $80.75 million; and lead counsel for plaintiff in Collins v. Eastman Kodak, where he successfully obtained a preliminary injunction against Kodak on an antitrust tying claim. Based on the result in Collins, Bill was named a 2015 finalist in the American Antitrust Institute’s Antitrust Enforcement Awards under the category “Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Private Law Practice.”

DEFINING MOMENT

“As a young attorney, I saw that hard work and creativity could succeed against sometimes overwhelming numbers of opposing counsel. That has held true for more than 35 years of practice. I relish the opportunities to prove it for clients.”

MOTIVATING FACTOR

“I hate to lose. I hate for my clients to lose. The firm we have put together are all people of a similar mindset, but who possess varying talents that can be applied to ensure the best possible result for clients.”

FUNDAMENTAL BELIEF

“Some clients want the stereotypical pit-bull for a lawyer – someone who takes a constantly aggressive approach toward the opposition. While this may give the client some short-term satisfaction, it’s often counter-productive in the long term. One of the most difficult tasks I face is convincing clients that this is true.”

CREATING VICTORY

“I’ve worked with some tremendous litigators and trial lawyers over the years, and learned that there is more than one approach to success. I take those experiences, including in particular the inevitable losses that haunt every trial lawyer, and apply them to every new case. My goal is success for the client.”