William Tarantino
USA Guide 2024
Band 4 : Environment
Email address
[email protected]Contact number
(415) 268-6358Share profile
Band 4
About
Provided by William Tarantino
Practice Areas
Drawing on his considerable experience in environmental health, William (Bill) focuses his practice on environmental and consumer protection law, with an emphasis on hazardous substances, mass torts, and consumer product safety. Bill is highly regarded for his ability to coordinate technical, legal, and communications teams to counsel clients through crises. He has coordinated FDA and CPSC-led recalls of various products, and has served as national coordinating counsel for litigation related to those recalls. He has argued motions and tried cases in state and federal courts for a variety of complex and multidistrict litigation matters, including product liability claims and environmental disputes.
Bill has also broad experience in consumer class action and false advertising litigation, especially concerning claims of health or environmental benefits. He has also advised numerous well‑known life sciences, technology, and consumer product companies on consumer disclosures and warnings, including compliance with U.S. and European requirements governing product safety.
Bill has represented the firm’s clients in all aspects of environmental regulation and has represented companies before regulatory agencies in rulemaking proceedings, permit applications, and appeals and enforcement actions. Bill heads MoFo’s environmental due diligence teams and serves as the lead on transactional negotiations involving environmental liability risks, including significant experience in cross-border transactions.
Career
Bill is recommended by Legal 500 US (2011–2018) in product liability and mass tort defense and is described as “an experienced counsel who is an excellent leader and has great knowledge of the law.” For the past seven years, San Francisco magazine has recognized Bill in its “Super Lawyers” list for his work in environmental and consumer litigation. In 2014, he was chosen as the exclusive recipient of the Client Choice Award for Environmental Law in California and as a Rising Star in Environmental Law by Law360.
Before entering private practice, Bill clerked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX Office of Regional Counsel, where he assisted in the prosecution and resolution of cases brought by the U.S. Department of Justice for violation of hazardous waste and water quality laws.
Bill received his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center with honors and completed the Law and Public Health program sponsored by Georgetown University and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Through this program, he earned a master’s in public health, as well as specialty certification in environmental health risk assessment from the Johns Hopkins Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute. At Georgetown, he was an executive editor of the Georgetown International Environmental Law Journal and received the CALI Award for Excellence in International Environmental Law. In 2000, he studied law at the Universidad de Mendoza, in Mendoza, Argentina, as an international law fellow. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
Chambers Review
USA
William Tarantino of Morrison Foerster leads the firm's environmental litigation and regulatory practice. He is particularly knowledgeable on consumer product safety, mass torts and hazardous substances. As well as litigation and administrative proceedings, he also advises on due diligence and environmental risk in transactional negotiations.
Strengths
Provided by Chambers
"Bill is a terrific partner for our business. His understanding of the intricacies and practicalities of California law and regulations is unmatched, as is his business acumen and his relationships with not only the government but the Bar."
"I enjoyed working with him a lot; he's very knowledgeable and personable. He was responsive; I felt like he had a good rapport and showed respect to me as a client."
"Bill is a terrific partner for our business. His understanding of the intricacies and practicalities of California law and regulations is unmatched, as is his business acumen and his relationships with not only the government but the Bar."
"I enjoyed working with him a lot; he's very knowledgeable and personable. He was responsive; I felt like he had a good rapport and showed respect to me as a client."
Discover other Lawyers at
Morrison Foerster
California
