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William Kershaw

William Kershaw

Proven Verdicts
Managing Partner at Kershaw Talley Barlow
Sacramento, CA

About William Kershaw

For over 40 years, Bill Kershaw has represented clients in class actions, mass torts, and complex litigation in state and federal courts, including coordinated and multi-district proceedings. Prior to entering civil practice, he spent nine years in the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office, where he tried more than 75 cases to verdict, including a seven-month jury trial resulting in the conviction of Sacramento's then-former Vice Mayor. He also supervised the Consumer and White-Collar Fraud Division and the Career Criminal Unit. Bill is a founding partner of Kershaw Talley Barlow PC (formerly Kershaw, Cook and Talley, PC) and has served as court-appointed lead class counsel, co-lead counsel, and liaison counsel in numerous class action, mass tort, and consumer proceedings across the United States.

He is a Northern California Super Lawyer for 20 consecutive years (2005-2025) and has been named Best of the Bar by Sacramento Business Journal and Top Lawyer by Sacramento Magazine. Notable matters include a $330 million-plus global settlement against American Honda in a dealer antitrust MDL, an $87 million class settlement against UPS for meal and rest period violations, and a $6.8 million class settlement on behalf of California state retirees following a successful California Supreme Court appeal. He chairs Kershaw Talley Barlow's Class Action Practice Group and is a Master Emeritus of the Anthony M. Kennedy American Inns of Court.

Proven verdicts and settlements

$330 millionSettlement

William Kershaw served on the plaintiffs' executive committee in a nationwide RICO and antitrust class action by roughly 1,800 Honda and Acura dealers alleging that Honda executives ran a vehicle-allocation bribery scheme, resulting in a $329.85 million court-approved settlement in 1998.

U.S. District Court, D. Maryland (MDL 1069), Judge J. Frederick Motz · 1998Product LiabilityRead the full story →
$87 millionSettlement

William Kershaw served as co-lead class counsel in a wage-and-hour class action on behalf of roughly 23,600 California UPS drivers, securing an $87 million settlement for systematic denial of meal and rest breaks -- the largest California wage-and-hour class action settlement at the time.

U.S. District Court, N.D. California (3:03-cv-02001), Judge Thelton Henderson · 2007Workplace InjuryRead the full story →
$5 millionSettlement

William Kershaw served as lead plaintiffs' counsel in a certified class action on behalf of roughly 2,000 unlicensed California audit associates at PricewaterhouseCoopers, securing a $5 million settlement in 2015 after more than eight years of hard-fought litigation over unpaid overtime.

U.S. District Court, E.D. California (2:06-cv-02376) · 2015Workplace InjuryRead the full story →
View all 4 proven verdicts →

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.

Practice areas

Education

University of Santa Clara
J.D.
University of Santa Clara
Undergraduate

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$60 million · $60 Million Settlement Resolves Class Action Over Morgan Stanley Data Breaches Affecting 15 Million Clients
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