William L. Shipley, Jr.

Bill’s legal career spanning more than 32 years has been built in the courtroom, not in the office. 

After starting out his career with four years in private practice, In 1992 Bill joined the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California where he initially represented the United States in civil litigation – including cases involving millions of dollars in dispute. 

The desire to handle trials in front of juries led him to move to the Criminal Division of the US Attorney’s Office, where he served as a criminal prosecutor from 1995 to 2002 in California, and from 2003 until 2013 in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii.

Bill was the lead federal prosecutor in every federal criminal trial he was involved in except for his very first one.  He was responsible for overseeing and prosecuting cases involving organized crime, white-collar crime, drug crimes, violent crimes, environmental crimes, contract and commercial fraud, tax fraud, and health care fraud.  Over the course of his career, he handled more than 1000 cases, took more than 60 jury trials to verdict as lead counsel, handled dozens of appeals, and appeared nearly 20 times before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals as counsel for the United States.

He received national recognition and awards from the Department of Justice and his peers in law enforcement for his successful prosecutions of individuals and companies trafficking in chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine. 

In private practice, he has taken all his experience and training as a prosecutor and used it on behalf of his clients to ensure no one is wrongfully accused or convicted.  He understands the power and resources the government can employ against his clients, and that his skills and tenacity are the weapons that he can employ on behalf of his clients to defend themselves.

Since starting his private law practice in 2013, Bill has represented defendants in federal criminal cases, as well as plaintiffs in civil fraud cases, employment matters, trade secrets cases, civil rights claims, probate disputes, and medical malpractice matters.  He has tried cases in state and federal court, as well as appearing again before the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and has argued twice before the D.C. Circuit.

Beginning in the fall of 2021, Bill began representing individuals charged in connection with the riot on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021.  Over the course of three years he represented approximately 90 defendants, with 12 of those chosing to take their cases to trial.  He represented two different Oath Keeper members in separate trials, one of whom was the only January 6 defendant to be acquitted by a jury on all the felony counts against him.  He was also the first defense attorney to obtain an acquittal in a bench trial on the controversial 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1512(c)(2) charge that was later ruled inapplicable to the January 6 riot by the Supreme Court in Fischer v. United States.

Bill is a graduate of UCLA, where he obtained undergraduate degrees in both Political Science and Sociology.  He received his law degree from the Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University in Virginia.