William Stephen Norton

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William Stephen Norton: Attorney with Motley Rice LLC
Attorney Awards
  • Martindale-Hubbell Peer AV Preeminent Rating
About Attorney Awards

Biography

Bill Norton litigates securities fraud, corporate governance, False Claims Act, SEC whistleblower and other complex class action, consumer, and commercial matters.

Bill has represented institutional and individual investors in securities fraud and shareholders actions before federal, state, and appellate courts throughout the country. He has also represented whistleblowers before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission through the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program and qui tam relators in actions under the False Claims Act.

Securities Fraud Litigation

Bill represents institutional investors as a member of the lead counsel teams in litigation involving Amazon.com, Inc., Discover Financial Services, Fluence Energy Inc., Globe Life Inc., Seagate Technology Holdings plc, Shoals Technologies, Inc., and Sotera Health Company. His previous securities fraud matters include:

•In re SCANA Corporation Securities Litigation ($192.5 million recovery as Liaison Counsel*)
•Bennett v. Sprint Nextel Corp. ($131 million recovery*)
•Boston Retirement System v. Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ($125 million recovery*)
•In re Qualcomm Inc. Securities Litigation ($75 million recovery*)
•City of Brockton Retirement System v. Avon Products, Inc. ($62 million recovery*)
•Hill v. State Street Corporation ($60 million recovery*)
•City of Sterling Heights General Employees’ Retirement System v. Hospira, Inc. ($60 million recovery*)
•In re Hewlett-Packard Company Securities Litigation ($57 million recovery*)
•In re Medtronic, Inc. Securities Litigation ($43 million recovery*)
•Hatamian v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. ($29.5 million recovery*)
•Ross v. Career Education Corporation ($27.5 million recovery*)

Shareholder Derivative Litigation

Bill has also represented investors in shareholder derivative actions. He currently represents clients in derivative litigation involving Meta Platforms, Inc. and Wells Fargo & Company. His previous shareholder derivative matters include:

•Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust v. Gemunder ($16.7 million payment and significant corporate governance reforms*)
•In re Walgreen Co. Derivative Litigation (corporate governance reforms concerning compliance with Controlled Substances Act*)

Merger and Acquisition Litigation

Bill has represented institutional shareholders in corporate M&A litigation, including:

•In re Allion Healthcare, Inc. Shareholders Litigation ($4 million payment to shareholders*)
•In re RehabCare Group, Inc., Shareholders Litigation ($2.5 million payment, modification of merger agreement, and additional disclosures to shareholders*)
•In re Atheros Communications Shareholder Litigation (preliminary injunction delaying shareholder vote and requiring additional disclosures to shareholders in $3.1 billion merger*)
•Maric Capital Master Fund, Ltd. v. PLATO Learning, Inc. (preliminary injunction requiring additional disclosures to shareholders in $143 million private-equity buyout*)

Other Commercial, Consumer Fraud, and Whistleblower Matters

Bill has represented clients in a variety of commercial, consumer fraud, and whistleblower matters, including:

•Satellite retailers in class action against EchoStar Corporation ($83 million recovery*)
•Municipal bondholders in class action concerning alleged Ponzi scheme ($7.8 million recovery*)
•A qui tam whistleblower in appeal, resulting in reinstatement of claim for employment retaliation*
•Consumers in class action against DirecTV regarding early cancellation fees
•German bank in litigation concerning collateralized debt obligations
•Investors in actions concerning variable life insurance policies funneled to the Madoff Ponzi scheme

Before joining Motley Rice, Bill practiced securities and commercial litigation in the New York office of an international law firm. In law school, Bill served as an Editor of the Boston University Law Review and was a G. Joseph Tauro Distinguished Scholar. He worked as a law clerk in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, represented asylum seekers at Greater Boston Legal Services, and studied law at the University of Oxford. Before law school, Bill worked for the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina and volunteered with the Neighborhood Legal Assistance Program of Charleston. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of South Carolina Honors College. Bill is recognized as an AV -rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell .

Awards, Accolades & Recognitions

Super Lawyers

2013-2019 South Carolina Super Lawyers Rising Stars list
Securities litigation; Class action/mass torts: plaintiff; General litigation

Lawdragon

2019 Lawdragon 500 Plaintiff Financial Lawyers

Blog Posts

May 19, 2020

Whistleblowers are on the front lines of America’s COVID-19 pandemic Causes, Not Just Cases

by: William S. Norton

November 27, 2017

Supreme Court to Hear Whether Dodd-Frank Protects Internal Whistleblowers from Employer Retaliation Causes, Not Just Cases

by: William S. Norton

May 23, 2016

Latest Awards Signal SEC’s Commitment to Whistleblowers Causes, Not Just Cases

by: William S. Norton

News

April 28, 2025

The history and legacy of Workers’ Memorial Day

by:
M. Nolan Webb

April 5, 2024

Motley Rice appointed co-lead counsel in Wells Fargo shareholder derivative suit

by: Motley Rice

See more ›

Areas of Practice (2)

  • Securities Class Actions
  • Whistleblower Claims

Education & Credentials

University Attended:
University of South Carolina, B.A./B.S., 2001; University of South Carolina, magna cum laude, 2001
Law School Attended:
Boston University School of Law, J.D., 2004
Year of First Admission:
2005
Admission:
Massachusetts; New York; South Carolina; U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Court of Appeals for the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Sixth, and Ninth Circuits; U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, Northern District of Illinois, District of Massachusetts, District of South Carolina and the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York
Memberships:

Associations

•American Bar Association
•Federal Bar Association
•American Association for Justice
•New York State Bar Association
•South Carolina Bar Association
•Charleston County Bar Association

Reported Cases:
CaseWork: Alexion Securities Class Action Lawsuit - Settlement: Securities Class Actions; Motley Rice, as co-lead counsel, has negotiated a $125 million settlement to resolve securities class action claims brought on behalf of certain investors in Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The action, which was commenced in late 2016 in...; Foreign Corrupt Practices Violations: Avon Products, Inc.: Securities Class Actions; Motley Rice represented the lead plaintiffs and was appointed sole lead counsel in the class action suit City of Brockton Retirement Systems v. Avon Products, Inc., filed for investors who acquired Avon common stock during the class...; Post-Acquisition Complications: Sprint Nextel: Securities Class Actions; Sprint Nextel agreed to a $131 million settlement to resolve shareholder allegations that complications following Sprint's acquisition of Nextel resulted in a significant drop in stock value.; Private-Equity Buyout: PLATO Learning, Inc.: Securities Class Actions; A $143 million private-equity buyout was preliminarily enjoined because the court found that the proxy statement issued ahead of the shareholder vote contained misleading information and omitted material information about the...; Controlled Substances Violations: Walgreen Co.: Securities Class Actions; A corporate governance reform settlement was reached between Walgreen Co. ('Walgreens'), members of the company's board of directors, and several institutional investors following federal fines against the company for allegedly...; IRS, CFTC and Other Whistleblowers: Whistleblower Claims; Whistleblower protection programs exist for an ever-growing range of industries and we work to ensure that those wishing to come forward with valuable information are protected to the full extent of the law.; Qui Tam Whistleblower Lawyer: Whistleblower Claims; By suing on behalf of the United States government for acts of fraud, a qui tam whistleblower may potentially share in a significant portion of the funds recovered by the government.; Corporate Takeover Litigation: Securities Class Actions; When directors and officers of a public company decide to undertake a corporate transaction such as a merger, acquisition or leveraged buyout, we work with company shareholders to help maximize share value and to avoid conflicts of...; Shareholder Derivative Lawsuit: Securities Class Actions Antitrust; Through shareholder derivative actions, we work with company investors to restore value lost to the company due to willful mismanagement, insider self-dealing or other acts of malfeasance.; Securities Fraud: Securities Class Actions Antitrust; Representing domestic and foreign institutional investors-including union, pension, and hedge funds-in recovering shareholder losses incurred due to corporate fraud.; Off-Label Marketing: Medtronic Inc.: Securities Class Actions; By allegedly engaging in a pervasive campaign of off-label marketing, advising doctors to use its Infuse Bone Graft in ways not approved by the FDA, this securities fraud case addressed Medtronic's sudden stock price drop after...; Missed Earnings Projections: Hewlett Packard: Securities Class Actions; HP settled for $57 million in this securities fraud case alleging that the company did not fulfill promises of new webOS technology, causing stock prices to drop.
ISLN:
918021913

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Peer Reviews

4.5/5.0 (11 reviews)
Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent Rating Badge

  • Legal Knowledge

    4.5/5.0

  • Analytical Capability

    4.6/5.0

  • Judgment

    4.5/5.0

  • Communication

    4.3/5.0

  • Legal Experience

    4.5/5.0
Peer reviews submitted prior to 2008 are not displayed.

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Contact Information:

843-216-9450  Fax

www.motleyrice.com/attorneys/william-s-norton

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