William Marler is the managing partner of Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm. An accomplished attorney and national expert in food safety, William Marler has become the most prominent foodborne illness lawyer in America and a major force in food policy in the U.S. and around the world. Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, has represented thousands of individuals in claims against food companies whose contaminated products have caused life-altering injury and even death.
Mr. Marler began litigating foodborne illness cases in 1993, when he represented Brianne Kiner, the most seriously injured survivor of the historic Jack in the Box E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, in her landmark $15.6 million settlement with the company. The 2011 book,Poisoned: The True Story of the Deadly E. coli Outbreak that Changed the Way Americans Eat, by best-selling author Jeff Benedict, chronicles the Jack in the Box outbreak and the rise of Mr. Marler as a food safety attorney.
For the last 20 years, Mr. Marler has represented victims of nearly every large foodborne illness outbreak in the United States. He has filed lawsuits against such companies as Chili’s, Chi-Chi’s, Cargill, ConAgra, Dole, Excel, Golden Corral, KFC, McDonald’s, Odwalla, Peanut Corporation of America, Sheetz, Sizzler, Supervalu, Taco Bell and Wendy’s, securing over $600,000,000 for victims of E. coli, Salmonella, and other foodborne illnesses.
Among the most notable cases he has litigated, Marler counts those of nineteen-year-old dancer Stephanie Smith, who was sickened by an E. coli-contaminated hamburger that left her brain damaged and paralyzed, and Linda Rivera, a fifty-seven-year-old mother of six from Nevada, who was hospitalized for over 2 years after she was stricken with what her doctor described as “the most severe multi-organ [bowel, kidney, brain, lung, gall bladder, and pancreas] case of E. coli mediated HUS I have seen in my extensive experience.”
New York Times reporter Michael Moss won a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of Smith’s case, which was resolved with Cargill in 2010 for an amount “to care for her throughout her life.” Linda’s story hit the front page of the Washington Post and became Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s touchstone for successfully moving forward the Food Safety Modernization Act in 2010.
More Than an Attorney
Mr. Marler’s advocacy for a safer food supply includes petitioning the United States Department of Agriculture to better regulate pathogenic E. coli, working with nonprofit food safety and foodborne illness victims’ organizations, and helping spur the passage of the 2010-2011 FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. His work has led to invitations to address local, national, and international gatherings on food safety, including testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce.
At little or no cost to event organizers, Mr. Marler travels widely and frequently to speak to food industry groups, fair associations, and public health groups about the litigation of claims resulting from outbreaks of pathogenic bacteria and viruses and the issues surrounding it. Marler gives frequent donations to industry groups for the promotion of improved food safety, and has established numerous collegiate science scholarships across the nation.
He is a writer on topics related to foodborne illness. Mr. Marler’s articles include “Separating the Chaff from the Wheat: How to Determine the Strength of a Foodborne Illness Claim”, “Food Claims and Litigation”, “How to Keep Your Focus on Food Safety”, and “How to Document a Food Poisoning Case” (co-authored with David Babcock.) He is the publisher of the online news site, Food Safety News and his award winning blog, www.marlerblog.com is avidly read by the food safety and legal communities. He is frequent media guest on food safety issues and has been profiled in numerous publications.
In 2010 Mr. Marler was awarded the NSF Food Safety Leadership Award for Education and in 2008 earned the Outstanding Lawyer Award by the King County Bar Association. He has also received the Public Justice Award from the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association.
Mr. Marler graduated from the Seattle University School of Law in 1987, and in 1998 was the Law School’s “Lawyer in Residence.” In 2011 he was given Seattle University’s Professional Achievement Award. He is a former board member of the Washington State Trial Lawyers, a member of the board of directors of Bainbridge Youth Services, former President of the Governor-appointed Board of Regents at Washington State University, and a member of the Children’s Hospital Circle of Care.
Mr. Marler is married to Julie Marler and has three daughters, Morgan, Olivia, and Sydney.
He is married to Julie Marler and has three daughters, Morgan, Olivia, and Sydney.
EDUCATION
1987 – J.D. Seattle University School of Law
1982 – B.A.s Political Science, Economics, English Washington State University
AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS
2013 – Seattle University Distinguished Law Graduate Award
2011 – Seattle University Professional Achievement Award
2010 – NSF Food Safety Leadership Award: Innovation in Education
2009 – Best Lawyers in America
2002 to Present – Bar Register of Preeminent Attorneys
2008 – Public Justice Award, Washington State Trial Lawyer’s Association
2008 – Outstanding Lawyer Award, Seattle/King County Bar Association
1998 to Present – “Super Lawyer”, Washington State Attorneys
1998 to 2004 – Governor Appointee, Washington State University Board of Regents
1997 – Distinguished Achievement Award, WSU College of Liberal Arts
PUBLICATIONS
2011 – Separating the Chaff From the Wheat: The Reality of Proving a Foodborne Illness Case. White Paper June.
2010 – Laywers, Microbiologists, and Safe Food
Microbiologist Magazine, Vol 11, No 2, June
2009 – Legal Issues for Food Safety: What Every Food Professional Should Know
Food Safety and Quality Magazine, Volume 5, Issue 3 September
2009 – Serving Up Trouble
American Association of Justice Trial Magazine, Vol 45, No 2 February
2007 – Food Safety and the CEO:(PDF) Keys to Bottom Line Success
Food Safety Magazine, October/November.
2005 – Food Claims and Litigation (PDF)
Food Safety In-sight Newsletter by Environ Health Associates, Inc, February
2005 – Separating the Chaff from the Wheat: How to Determine the Strength of a Foodborne Illness Claim (PDF)
Paper presented at Defense Research Institute meeting on Food Liability
2005 – How to Keep Your Focus on Food Safety
Food Safety Magazine, June-July.
2004 – How to Document a Food Poisoning Case
(co-authored with David Babcock) Trial Magazine, November
PROFILES
2012 – Bill Marler Interview, Part Two: His Most Difficult Cases and Lobbying Congress
Miami New Times, Interview with Ily Goyanes, November 14.
2012 – Bill Marler, Attorney, Blogger, and Food Safety Advocate, Talks Turkey (Or Spinach, Rather)
Miami New Times, Interview with Ily Goyanes, November 2.
2012 – Profiles in Public Health Law: Interview with William “Bill” Marler CDC Public Health Law News, July.
2012 – Food Safety Lawyer Bill Marler On Sprouts, Raw Milk, and Why “Local” Isn’t Always Safer Blisstree.com, Hanna Brooks Olsen, March 5.
2011 – Listeria outbreak draws Seattle lawyer to battle
Associated Press, Shannon Dininny, October 9.
2011 – Food-Borne Illness Attorney: Top Foods to Avoid
ABC News, Neal Karlinsky, September 29.
2011 – How to Keep Food Free of Salmonella: Lawsuits
The Atlantic, Barry Estabrook, August 31.
2011 – More Stomach-Churning Facts about the E. Coli Outbreak
New York Times, Mark Bittman, June 8.
2011 – Bill Marler: A Personal Injury Attorney and More
The Xemplar, Nicole Black, June 1.
2011 – Good Food Hero: Bill Marler, Food Safety Attorney
Good Food World, Gail Nickel-Kailing, May 23.
2011- Poisoned: The True Story of the Deadly E. coli Outbreak that Changed the Way Americans Eat.
Inspire Books, Jeff Benedict, May 15
2011 – New Book Chronicles Islander Marler’s Work.
Bainbride Island Review, Connie Mears, May 13.
2010 – Food Safety Lawyer Puts His Money Where Your Mouth Is
AOL News, Andrew Schneider September 29
2009 – Food Safety Lawyer’s Wish: Put Me Out of Business
Seattle Times, Maureen O’Hagan, November 23
2009 – WSU Discourse on Food Safety, Courtesy Seattle Lawyer
Kitsap Sun, Tristan Baurick, August 29
2009 – When Food Sickens, He Heads for Courthouse
Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Matt McKinney, June 24
2009 – Bill Marler, The Food-Safety Litigator
Culinate, Miriam Wolf, April
2009 – Food Fight: Bill Marler’s Beef (PDF)
Washington Law & Politics, David Volk, May
2009 – Candidate for Top FSIS Job talks E. coli Testing, Irradiation, Education
The Meating Place, Ann Bagel Storck, February 6
2009 – Five Minutes with Bill Marler, Well Known Lawyer, Food Safety Activist
CattleNetwork, Chuck Jolley, February 5
2009 – Health Surveillance the Key to Fresh Produce
The Packer, Tom Karst, February 3
2008 – Seattle Food Contamination Expert in China as Tainted Milk Sickens Thousands of Kids
Seattle Health Examiner, September 23
2008 – Food Litigation Lawyer Bill Marler Is Careful about What He Eats
Lawyers and Settlements, July 24
2008 – E. Coli Lawyer Is Busier Than Ever
Associated Press, February 4
2007 – Legally Speaking: The Food Poisoning Lawyer
The Southeast Texas Record, John G. Browning, November 20
2007 – The Nation’s Leading Food-borne Illness Attorney Tells All
Washington State Magazine, Hannelore Sudermann, August
2007 – Back to Court: Burst of E. coli Cases Returns Jack in the Box Litigator to the Scene
Meat and Poultry News, Steve Bjerklie, June 8
2007 – Food Fight
Portland Oregonian, Alex Pulaski, March
2007 – Mr. Food Illness Esquire
QSR Magazine, Fred Minnick, February
2006 – Seattle Attorney Dominates Food-Borne Illness Litigation
KPLU, October 20
2006 – How a Tiny Law Firm Made Hay Out of Tainted Spinach
The Wall Street Journal, Heather Won Tesoriero and Peter Lattman, September 27
2005 – Bill Marler – Education Holds Key in Tainted Food Fight
King County Bar Association Bar Bulletin, Ross Anderson, November
2001 – THE INSIDE STORY: How 11 Schoolkids Got $4.75 Million in E. coli Lawsuit
MeatingPlace.com, Bryan Salvage, March 7
2001 – Hammer Time: Preparation Pays When Disputes Escalate to Lawsuits
Meat & Poultry Magazine, David Hendee
2001 – For Seattle Attorney, A Bacterium Brings Riches—and Enemies
The Wall Street Journal, Rachel Zimmerman
2001 – The Bug That Ate The Burger
Los Angeles Times, Emily Green, June
1999 – Courting Publicity, Attorney Makes Safe Food His Business
Seattle Post, Maggie Leung, September 7
Contact Information:
Blog: http://www.marlerblog.com/
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: 206.346.1888
Category: Food and Beverage
William Marler
-
William Marler is the managing partner of Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm. An accomplished attorney and national expert in food safety, William Marler has become the most prominent foodborne illness lawyer in America and a major force in food policy in the U.S. and around the world. Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, has represented thousands of individuals in claims against food companies whose contaminated products have caused life-altering injury and even death.
Mr. Marler began litigating foodborne illness cases in 1993, when he represented Brianne Kiner, the most seriously injured survivor of the historic Jack in the Box E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, in her landmark $15.6 million settlement with the company. The 2011 book,Poisoned: The True Story of the Deadly E. coli Outbreak that Changed the Way Americans Eat, by best-selling author Jeff Benedict, chronicles the Jack in the Box outbreak and the rise of Mr. Marler as a food safety attorney.
For the last 20 years, Mr. Marler has represented victims of nearly every large foodborne illness outbreak in the United States. He has filed lawsuits against such companies as Chili’s, Chi-Chi’s, Cargill, ConAgra, Dole, Excel, Golden Corral, KFC, McDonald’s, Odwalla, Peanut Corporation of America, Sheetz, Sizzler, Supervalu, Taco Bell and Wendy’s, securing over $600,000,000 for victims of E. coli, Salmonella, and other foodborne illnesses.
Among the most notable cases he has litigated, Marler counts those of nineteen-year-old dancer Stephanie Smith, who was sickened by an E. coli-contaminated hamburger that left her brain damaged and paralyzed, and Linda Rivera, a fifty-seven-year-old mother of six from Nevada, who was hospitalized for over 2 years after she was stricken with what her doctor described as “the most severe multi-organ [bowel, kidney, brain, lung, gall bladder, and pancreas] case of E. coli mediated HUS I have seen in my extensive experience.”
New York Times reporter Michael Moss won a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of Smith’s case, which was resolved with Cargill in 2010 for an amount “to care for her throughout her life.” Linda’s story hit the front page of the Washington Post and became Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s touchstone for successfully moving forward the Food Safety Modernization Act in 2010.
More Than an Attorney
Mr. Marler’s advocacy for a safer food supply includes petitioning the United States Department of Agriculture to better regulate pathogenic E. coli, working with nonprofit food safety and foodborne illness victims’ organizations, and helping spur the passage of the 2010-2011 FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. His work has led to invitations to address local, national, and international gatherings on food safety, including testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce.
At little or no cost to event organizers, Mr. Marler travels widely and frequently to speak to food industry groups, fair associations, and public health groups about the litigation of claims resulting from outbreaks of pathogenic bacteria and viruses and the issues surrounding it. Marler gives frequent donations to industry groups for the promotion of improved food safety, and has established numerous collegiate science scholarships across the nation.
He is a writer on topics related to foodborne illness. Mr. Marler’s articles include “Separating the Chaff from the Wheat: How to Determine the Strength of a Foodborne Illness Claim”, “Food Claims and Litigation”, “How to Keep Your Focus on Food Safety”, and “How to Document a Food Poisoning Case” (co-authored with David Babcock.) He is the publisher of the online news site, Food Safety News and his award winning blog, www.marlerblog.com is avidly read by the food safety and legal communities. He is frequent media guest on food safety issues and has been profiled in numerous publications.
In 2010 Mr. Marler was awarded the NSF Food Safety Leadership Award for Education and in 2008 earned the Outstanding Lawyer Award by the King County Bar Association. He has also received the Public Justice Award from the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association.
Mr. Marler graduated from the Seattle University School of Law in 1987, and in 1998 was the Law School’s “Lawyer in Residence.” In 2011 he was given Seattle University’s Professional Achievement Award. He is a former board member of the Washington State Trial Lawyers, a member of the board of directors of Bainbridge Youth Services, former President of the Governor-appointed Board of Regents at Washington State University, and a member of the Children’s Hospital Circle of Care.
Mr. Marler is married to Julie Marler and has three daughters, Morgan, Olivia, and Sydney.
He is married to Julie Marler and has three daughters, Morgan, Olivia, and Sydney.
EDUCATION
1987 – J.D. Seattle University School of Law
1982 – B.A.s Political Science, Economics, English Washington State University
AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS
2013 – Seattle University Distinguished Law Graduate Award
2011 – Seattle University Professional Achievement Award
2010 – NSF Food Safety Leadership Award: Innovation in Education
2009 – Best Lawyers in America
2002 to Present – Bar Register of Preeminent Attorneys
2008 – Public Justice Award, Washington State Trial Lawyer’s Association
2008 – Outstanding Lawyer Award, Seattle/King County Bar Association
1998 to Present – “Super Lawyer”, Washington State Attorneys
1998 to 2004 – Governor Appointee, Washington State University Board of Regents
1997 – Distinguished Achievement Award, WSU College of Liberal Arts
PUBLICATIONS
2011 – Separating the Chaff From the Wheat: The Reality of Proving a Foodborne Illness Case. White Paper June.
2010 – Laywers, Microbiologists, and Safe Food
Microbiologist Magazine, Vol 11, No 2, June
2009 – Legal Issues for Food Safety: What Every Food Professional Should Know
Food Safety and Quality Magazine, Volume 5, Issue 3 September
2009 – Serving Up Trouble
American Association of Justice Trial Magazine, Vol 45, No 2 February
2007 – Food Safety and the CEO:(PDF) Keys to Bottom Line Success
Food Safety Magazine, October/November.
2005 – Food Claims and Litigation (PDF)
Food Safety In-sight Newsletter by Environ Health Associates, Inc, February
2005 – Separating the Chaff from the Wheat: How to Determine the Strength of a Foodborne Illness Claim (PDF)
Paper presented at Defense Research Institute meeting on Food Liability
2005 – How to Keep Your Focus on Food Safety
Food Safety Magazine, June-July.
2004 – How to Document a Food Poisoning Case
(co-authored with David Babcock) Trial Magazine, November
PROFILES
2012 – Bill Marler Interview, Part Two: His Most Difficult Cases and Lobbying Congress
Miami New Times, Interview with Ily Goyanes, November 14.
2012 – Bill Marler, Attorney, Blogger, and Food Safety Advocate, Talks Turkey (Or Spinach, Rather)
Miami New Times, Interview with Ily Goyanes, November 2.
2012 – Profiles in Public Health Law: Interview with William “Bill” Marler CDC Public Health Law News, July.
2012 – Food Safety Lawyer Bill Marler On Sprouts, Raw Milk, and Why “Local” Isn’t Always Safer Blisstree.com, Hanna Brooks Olsen, March 5.
2011 – Listeria outbreak draws Seattle lawyer to battle
Associated Press, Shannon Dininny, October 9.
2011 – Food-Borne Illness Attorney: Top Foods to Avoid
ABC News, Neal Karlinsky, September 29.
2011 – How to Keep Food Free of Salmonella: Lawsuits
The Atlantic, Barry Estabrook, August 31.
2011 – More Stomach-Churning Facts about the E. Coli Outbreak
New York Times, Mark Bittman, June 8.
2011 – Bill Marler: A Personal Injury Attorney and More
The Xemplar, Nicole Black, June 1.
2011 – Good Food Hero: Bill Marler, Food Safety Attorney
Good Food World, Gail Nickel-Kailing, May 23.
2011- Poisoned: The True Story of the Deadly E. coli Outbreak that Changed the Way Americans Eat.
Inspire Books, Jeff Benedict, May 15
2011 – New Book Chronicles Islander Marler’s Work.
Bainbride Island Review, Connie Mears, May 13.
2010 – Food Safety Lawyer Puts His Money Where Your Mouth Is
AOL News, Andrew Schneider September 29
2009 – Food Safety Lawyer’s Wish: Put Me Out of Business
Seattle Times, Maureen O’Hagan, November 23
2009 – WSU Discourse on Food Safety, Courtesy Seattle Lawyer
Kitsap Sun, Tristan Baurick, August 29
2009 – When Food Sickens, He Heads for Courthouse
Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Matt McKinney, June 24
2009 – Bill Marler, The Food-Safety Litigator
Culinate, Miriam Wolf, April
2009 – Food Fight: Bill Marler’s Beef (PDF)
Washington Law & Politics, David Volk, May
2009 – Candidate for Top FSIS Job talks E. coli Testing, Irradiation, Education
The Meating Place, Ann Bagel Storck, February 6
2009 – Five Minutes with Bill Marler, Well Known Lawyer, Food Safety Activist
CattleNetwork, Chuck Jolley, February 5
2009 – Health Surveillance the Key to Fresh Produce
The Packer, Tom Karst, February 3
2008 – Seattle Food Contamination Expert in China as Tainted Milk Sickens Thousands of Kids
Seattle Health Examiner, September 23
2008 – Food Litigation Lawyer Bill Marler Is Careful about What He Eats
Lawyers and Settlements, July 24
2008 – E. Coli Lawyer Is Busier Than Ever
Associated Press, February 4
2007 – Legally Speaking: The Food Poisoning Lawyer
The Southeast Texas Record, John G. Browning, November 20
2007 – The Nation’s Leading Food-borne Illness Attorney Tells All
Washington State Magazine, Hannelore Sudermann, August
2007 – Back to Court: Burst of E. coli Cases Returns Jack in the Box Litigator to the Scene
Meat and Poultry News, Steve Bjerklie, June 8
2007 – Food Fight
Portland Oregonian, Alex Pulaski, March
2007 – Mr. Food Illness Esquire
QSR Magazine, Fred Minnick, February
2006 – Seattle Attorney Dominates Food-Borne Illness Litigation
KPLU, October 20
2006 – How a Tiny Law Firm Made Hay Out of Tainted Spinach
The Wall Street Journal, Heather Won Tesoriero and Peter Lattman, September 27
2005 – Bill Marler – Education Holds Key in Tainted Food Fight
King County Bar Association Bar Bulletin, Ross Anderson, November
2001 – THE INSIDE STORY: How 11 Schoolkids Got $4.75 Million in E. coli Lawsuit
MeatingPlace.com, Bryan Salvage, March 7
2001 – Hammer Time: Preparation Pays When Disputes Escalate to Lawsuits
Meat & Poultry Magazine, David Hendee
2001 – For Seattle Attorney, A Bacterium Brings Riches—and Enemies
The Wall Street Journal, Rachel Zimmerman
2001 – The Bug That Ate The Burger
Los Angeles Times, Emily Green, June
1999 – Courting Publicity, Attorney Makes Safe Food His Business
Seattle Post, Maggie Leung, September 7
Contact Information:
Blog: http://www.marlerblog.com/
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: 206.346.1888