William R. “Bill” Bay, a partner with the St. Louis office of national law firm Thompson Coburn LLP, is the new American Bar Association president, taking over at the close of the ABA House of Delegates meeting in Chicago and succeeds outgoing President Mary Smith.
“We seek to welcome every lawyer to the American Bar Association,” Bay said. “We are your home and a thriving, inclusive member-driven community. Whatever your needs and whatever your interests, we have a place for you to serve our profession.’’
An alumnus of the University of Michigan Law School, Bay co-chaired the ABA Practice Forward initiative, which arose from and addressed member concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the future of the profession. Bay also served as chair of the House of Delegates from 2018-20 and, from 2012-13, chaired the Section of Litigation. He chaired the ABA Day Planning Committee in both 2021 and 2022.
A fellow in the American Bar Foundation, Bay served on the ABA Board of Governors and chaired its Finance Committee from 2015-16. For more than 20 years, he has been a member of the ABA House of Delegates, serving on numerous committees.
Bay’s leadership has extended to other ABA entities, including the Standing Committee on Bar Activities and Services (chair, 2009-12), Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession, Commission on Governance, Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fundraising Committee, Death Penalty Representation Project and Young Lawyers Division.
Beyond the ABA, Bay is active in several local and state bar associations. He is a past president of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis and a past member of the Missouri Bar Board of Governors, where he chaired several committees. He is a fellow of The Missouri Bar Foundation. Notably, Bay has been selected to co-chair several statewide commissions focused on increasing access and opportunities for women attorneys; achieving equal access to justice for litigants, regardless of race or ethnicity; and exploring the future of the legal profession in Missouri. He currently co-chairs the Supreme Court of Missouri’s Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness.
A graduate of the University of Missouri, Bay is a highly experienced litigator who has represented major corporations in high-stakes litigation for more than 30 years. His clients vary from major financial institutions to manufacturers to postsecondary institutions, and he regularly helps organizations manage and respond to large portfolios of litigation in multiple jurisdictions. He is also a member of the American Law Institute, the leading independent organization in the United States that produces scholarly work to clarify, modernize and improve the law.
In recent years Bay has been honored with the Spurgeon Smithson award, a top honor given by The Missouri Bar; the Distinguished Lawyer Award, the highest honor awarded by the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis; an Excellence in Law Award from St. Louis Magazine; and Missouri Lawyers Weekly’s Influential Lawyer Award. He has appeared in The Best Lawyers in America since 2012 and has been recognized by Best Lawyers multiple times as the St. Louis Lawyer of the Year for Litigation-Banking and Finance.
“We seek to welcome every lawyer to the American Bar Association,” Bay said. “We are your home and a thriving, inclusive member-driven community. Whatever your needs and whatever your interests, we have a place for you to serve our profession.’’
An alumnus of the University of Michigan Law School, Bay co-chaired the ABA Practice Forward initiative, which arose from and addressed member concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the future of the profession. Bay also served as chair of the House of Delegates from 2018-20 and, from 2012-13, chaired the Section of Litigation. He chaired the ABA Day Planning Committee in both 2021 and 2022.
A fellow in the American Bar Foundation, Bay served on the ABA Board of Governors and chaired its Finance Committee from 2015-16. For more than 20 years, he has been a member of the ABA House of Delegates, serving on numerous committees.
Bay’s leadership has extended to other ABA entities, including the Standing Committee on Bar Activities and Services (chair, 2009-12), Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession, Commission on Governance, Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fundraising Committee, Death Penalty Representation Project and Young Lawyers Division.
Beyond the ABA, Bay is active in several local and state bar associations. He is a past president of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis and a past member of the Missouri Bar Board of Governors, where he chaired several committees. He is a fellow of The Missouri Bar Foundation. Notably, Bay has been selected to co-chair several statewide commissions focused on increasing access and opportunities for women attorneys; achieving equal access to justice for litigants, regardless of race or ethnicity; and exploring the future of the legal profession in Missouri. He currently co-chairs the Supreme Court of Missouri’s Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness.
A graduate of the University of Missouri, Bay is a highly experienced litigator who has represented major corporations in high-stakes litigation for more than 30 years. His clients vary from major financial institutions to manufacturers to postsecondary institutions, and he regularly helps organizations manage and respond to large portfolios of litigation in multiple jurisdictions. He is also a member of the American Law Institute, the leading independent organization in the United States that produces scholarly work to clarify, modernize and improve the law.
In recent years Bay has been honored with the Spurgeon Smithson award, a top honor given by The Missouri Bar; the Distinguished Lawyer Award, the highest honor awarded by the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis; an Excellence in Law Award from St. Louis Magazine; and Missouri Lawyers Weekly’s Influential Lawyer Award. He has appeared in The Best Lawyers in America since 2012 and has been recognized by Best Lawyers multiple times as the St. Louis Lawyer of the Year for Litigation-Banking and Finance.
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