William J. Collins, III

Of Counsel - Houston, Texas

University of Houston Law Center (J.D., cum laude, 1981)
University of Central Florida (B.A., cum laude, 1978)

Practice Areas

• Family Law
• Products Liability
• Commercial Litigation
• Personal Injury Trial Law
• Premises Liability
• Employment Litigation
• Workers' Compensation
• Transportation Law

Admissions

• State Bar of Texas
• United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas
• United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Legal Memberships

• State Bar of Texas
• Family Law Section Member
• American Association for Justice
• Texas Association of Defense Counsel
• Coalition of Food Industry Council
• Defense Research Institute
• Fellow, Houston Bar Association, Membership Section
• Panel Counsel for the Grocery Manufacturers Association
  

Honors and Awards

• AV rated Martindale-Hubbard

Mr. Collins has practiced products liability law for more than twenty-five years, and has handled or overseen the handling of products cases on a national basis in a number of different states.  He is head of a litigation team specializing in defense of products liability (including food products liability), premises liability, commercial litigation, labor and employment, construction, workers' compensation, and other insurance defense-related claims.  Mr. Collins will be primarily responsible for the firm's family law practice.

Representative Experience

Products Liability:

• Successfully defended and tried numerous personal injury and wrongful death claims brought against national and international manufacturers of commercial motor vehicles, farm equipment, oilfield and other industrial equipment, and component part suppliers.
  
• Served as national coordinating counsel to food product manufacturer in multi-state litigation concerning alleged E. coli contamination of food product.
  
• Successfully defended numerous "Lemon Law" complaints.

Commercial Litigation:

• Successfully defended hundreds of complex business and commercial disputes on behalf of Fortune 500 clients involving breach of contract, deceptive trade practices and breach of warranty disputes.

Employment Litigation:

• Successfully defended and tried numerous employment discrimination, wrongful termination and trade secret lawsuits.

• Handles transportation litigation including freight truck collisions, auto negligence litigation and environmental claims related to either rolling stock of the company or fixed land operations. 
  
• Represents various truck and engine manufacturers for claims involving products, warranty claims involving engine defects, personal injuries, lemon law claims, contractual litigation involving tractor trailer, motor homes, recreational vehicles, pleasure crafts and motor generators.
  
• Represents a landscaping and maintenance company involving numerous motor vehicle litigation claims.
• Was recently added to the trucking and transportation panel counsel list for a large food distribution company.

Publications and Seminar Presentations

• Author and Presenter, Litigating Underground Utility Damage Claims Under the Texas One Call Statute, SBC 2005 Legal Conference
• Author and Presenter, Texas' Duty Regarding Manufacturers to Indemnify Retailers -- Caution and Ethical Concerns, National Food Processors Association Conference, 2002
• Author, An Exception for Deception:  Why McKennon Should Not Be Extended to Employment Application Misrepresentations of Pre-Existing Injuries, 37 S. Tex. L. Rev. 779 (1995).
• Interview on Security Measures for Premises Owners, Houston Business Journal, 1992