Years of Practice: 37
State Bar Admissions: Washington and California (inactive)
Federal Admissions: US District Court for the Western and Eastern Districts of Washington, USDC for the Northern and Central Districts of California (inactive)
With 37 years of legal experience, William “Bill” Garcia has built a distinguished career in litigation, arbitration, and mediation of liability, insurance, and commercial claims. His practice has spanned Washington and California, where he has represented a broad range of clients, including:
- Food and food product distributors
- Product manufacturers and distributors
- General contractors and subcontractors
- Heavy equipment leasing companies
- Insurance carriers (specialty, commercial, and personal lines)
- Businesses with large self-insured retentions
Bill has extensive experience representing non-profit and privately operated entities, including churches, schools (preschool through high school), daycare facilities, and assisted living centers, in matters involving misconduct claims, general liability, premises liability, insurance coverage, and employment disputes. His work also covers automobile, trucking, motorcycle, and boating accident litigation, as well as uninsured/underinsured motorist claims.
Throughout his career, Bill has played key roles in high-profile litigation, including:
- Serving as national counsel for an importer and distributor in the MDL Latex Glove Litigation
- Acting as part of a national counsel team for a commercial excess insurer in environmental coverage matters
- Serving as primary state-wide defense and coverage counsel for multiple insurers and a food service company in Washington
- Acting as state-wide coverage counsel for an insurer while practicing in California
Bill also brings significant in-house counsel experience, having managed the litigation office for Safeco Insurance in Seattle. In that role, he oversaw all legal matters related to policyholder defense while handling a variety of cases. He was later selected to develop and implement Safeco’s national legal operations program for outside counsel management. Following Liberty Mutual’s acquisition of Safeco, he took on a similar role, overseeing outside counsel across the Western United States.
Beyond his litigation practice, Bill has served as an arbitrator in mandatory and uninsured/underinsured arbitrations and as a court-appointed settlement guardian ad litem. He is a sought-after speaker on topics such as ethics, discovery tactics, legal operations, and inclusion.
Bill’s leadership and professional contributions include:
- Co-Chair of the Washington State Bar Association’s Leadership Institute Advisory Board (2010-2011)
- Chair of the Insurance Executive Committee for the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) (2012)
- Board of Directors, King County Bar Foundation
- Board of Directors, Latino Bar Association of Washington (LBAW)
- Completion of Lean Six Sigma Green Belt training (2008)
- Completion of the Claims & Litigation Management Alliance’s Litigation Management Institute (2014)
Bill has been a member of the Washington State Bar Association since 1993 and the California State Bar Association (inactive) since 1987. He earned his law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, and his undergraduate degree from Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga, California.
