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Bill is an attorney with the law firm of Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty Co., L.P.A. and has served on the firm’s Marketing Committee and Management Committee.

Education

  • Franciscan University of Steubenville, B.A.
  • Cleveland State University, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, J.D.

Professional Experience

  • Continues to assist mineral owners in leasing and selling oil and gas rights.
  • Represented 10 Ohio groups of lessors since 2010 for oil/gas leasing involving over 2,500 clients.
  • Initiated various lawsuits and arbitrations for declaratory judgments, underpayment of royalties, Dormant Mineral Act, oil and gas lease breaches, and enforcement of contractual obligations including operating agreements, farm-outs, purchase contracts, etc.
  • Experienced in carbon dioxide sequestration storage option and lease agreement.
  • Has represented oil and gas producer and service companies, real estate developers, public colleges, manufacturers, direct marketing companies, mineral owners, other businesses and industries, in both general corporate and commercial litigation matters. 
  • Has represented dozens of Ohio producers having 20 to 1600 wells for more than 40 years involving every type of transaction from litigation, corporate, acquisitions, disposal wells, assignments, due diligence, title opinions, transportation contracts, etc.
  • Has represented out of state oil & gas public corporations
  • Represented for 10 years a NYSE oil and gas corporation with over 8,000 wells.
  • Successfully defended and prosecuted breach of contract actions, non-competition claims, oil and gas securities, breach of lease, and unitization issues including mandatory pooling and slander of title actions. 
  • Had served, for over 15 years, as appointed special counsel for the Ohio Attorney General for public colleges.
  • Experienced in federal and state court civil commercial lawsuits.
  • Real Estate Title insurance agent, 1985—2012

Courts and Bar Associations

  • Ohio, 1975 – present:  active
  • Pennsylvania licensed initially 1985, current status: retired
  • Ohio Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth District
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
  • Member: Ohio State Bar Association, serving on the Natural Resources Law and Environmental Law Committees, 1986-present
  • Member: Stark County Bar Association, served as Chairman of the Real Estate Law Committee, 1994-2005

Professional and Community Affiliations

  • Legal Counsel: Better Business Bureau Canton Region, 1994—2012, again 2015— 2019
  • First Executive Director (1982—1985), current member, Trustee at Large and past speaker: Energy & Mineral Law Foundation
  • Former Member & Secretary: State of Ohio Oil and Gas Board of Review (NKA Oil and Gas Commission) 1986—1992
  • Member: Ohio Oil and Gas Association, 1986-present
  • Oil and Gas Advisory Council: Stark State College
  • Former Board of Directors (10 years) and former Secretary: Stark State College Foundation
  • Former Member: Walsh University Advisory Board
  • Former President and past Director: Canton Palace Theatre Association
  • Former President and Board of Directors: Downtown Canton Association
  • Former Member and Chairman: Board of Zoning Appeals, Plain Township, 1986-1992

Honors & Awards

  • 2023 Martindale-Hubbell AV preeminent attorney awarded
  • Listed in Best Lawyers in America® (2007 to present)
  • Listed in Best Lawyers in America® Lawyer of the Year 2025
  • Listed in Ohio Super Lawyers® (2006 to present)
    • The only Ohio attorney simultaneously listed for the past 15 consecutive years on both above lists for Oil and Gas/Natural Resources Law
  • AV® Preeminent Rating by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Top Rated Lawyer in Commercial Litigation by American Lawyer Media and Martindale-Hubbell, 2013
  • Maintains a “10.0 Superb” rating by AVVO
    • Rated #1 in AVVO for Ohio Oil & Gas Attorneys

Notable Presentations and Publications

  • “Oil and Gas Leasing In Ohio” (2012) – Stark County Bar Association
  • “Silencing Noisy Titles In Ohio’s Utica Shale” (2013) – Energy & Mineral Law Foundation
  • “Oil and Gas Update”:  Leasing and Litigation” (2013) – Ohio Society of CPAs
  • “Oil & Gas Legal Assets”:  18th Annual (2014) White-Williams Bankruptcy Institute
  • 5th Law of Shale Plays Conference – Institute of Energy Law (2014)
  • “Oil and Gas Legal and Economic Update” (2014) – Northeast Ohio Regional Estate Planners Forum
  • “Surviving in a Downturn: An Examination of Legal and Economic Alternatives” (June, 2016) Ohio Oil and Gas Association Bulletin 

ARTICLES PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM G. WILLIAMS

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Articles Published by William G. Williams

Utica Shale & Pipeline Newsletter November 2020

Click on the link below for the Utica Shale & Pipeline November 2020 Edition Utica Shale & Pipeline Newsletter November 2020  

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Oil and Gas Leasing Commission Finally Appointed

The Ohio Legislature passed a law in 2011 establishing the Ohio Oil and Gas Leasing Commission.  This new State of Ohio Commission was established to oversee, handle and authorize all oil and gas leasing of rights and property that is owned or controlled by a state agency, including state colleges […]

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The Ohio Supreme Court Finds Oil and Gas Leases Are Not Void As Against Public Policy

Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty oil and gas attorneys, Scott M. Zurakowski, William G. Williams, Gregory W. Watts, and Aletha M. Carver successfully defended energy company, Beck Energy Corporation, in two significant cases in the Ohio Supreme Court, Hustack, et al. v. Beck Energy Corp.,[1] 2016-Ohio-178 and State ex rel. Claugus Family Farm, L.P. […]

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KWGD: Oil, Gas & Mineral Law Section Chair William G. Williams Elected To Energy & Mineral Law Foundation Board of Trustees

Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty (KWGD) Attorney William G. Williams was recently elected and installed as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Energy & Mineral Law Foundation (EMLF) at its annual meeting during the 36th Annual Institute. The EMLF is a national nonprofit educational organization which fosters the study […]

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7th District Reaffirms Hupp Decision Overturning Trial Court Decisions Attempting to Invalidate Oil and Gas Leases Still in Their Primary Terms

Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty oil and gas attorneys, Scott M. Zurakowski, William G. Williams, Aletha M. Carver, and Gregory W. Watts successfully defended energy company, Beck Energy Corporation, in two significant cases in the Seventh District Court of Appeals, Bentley, et al. v. Beck Energy Corp., 2015–Ohio–1375 and Belmont Hills Country Club v. Beck Energy Corp., […]

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The Ohio Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Appeal Impacting All Oil & Gas Producers Leasing and/or Drilling in the Utica Shale

Following the successful defense by Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty oil and gas attorneys, Scott M. Zurakowski, William G. Williams, Aletha M. Carver and Gregory W. Watts of an energy company, Beck Energy Corporation, in Hupp, et al. v Beck Energy Corp., 2014–Ohio–4255, the Ohio Supreme Court has accepted an appeal filed by lessors/landowners against Beck […]

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