Professional Resume

December 1990 – Present (incorporated as William C. Hearon, P.A. in October, 1994)
Miami, Florida

Practice areas: (i) litigation focusing on business torts and commercial, real estate, corporate, contract, trusts and estates, and construction disputes; (ii) general business representation for clients in a wide range of businesses, including but not limited to the distributorships, construction, marine vessel repair, maritime chandlery, real estate development and ownership, brokerage, internet and other tech start-ups, medical equipment and shopping center businesses; (iii) appellate briefing and oral arguments in various courts regarding interlocutory and post-trial appeals and writs; and (iv) serving as a mediator in both federal and state court actions with an emphasis on business disputes.

Mediation practice has covered a broad range of cases in both federal and state courts involving individuals, classes, privately held entities and publicly traded companies. In addition to commercial cases, mediations have included various types of significant personal injury and premises liability matters, insurance claims and other torts. The commercial cases have included class actions involving publicly traded companies, insurance coverage, construction, real estate and brokerage, employment and discrimination disputes, trusts and estates disputes, civil RICO claims, copyright, trademark, trade name and trade dress claims, internet and computer technology cases, franchise, distributor and agency cases, director and officer liability claims, partnership and shareholder disputes, corporate dissolutions, as well as a broad range of contract, lease and fraud disputes.

Partner, Katz Barron Squitero & Faust, P.A.
September 1987 – November 1990
Miami, Florida

Handled litigation involving construction, real estate, and varied commercial disputes and business torts, primarily representing developers, banks, shopping centers, construction companies and individuals in various types of cases, including but not limited to contract actions, construction, leasing and brokerage disputes, foreclosures, and land use and assessment issues.

General business representation of certain clients in the real estate development, brokerage, and construction businesses.

Vice President and General Counsel, The Courtelis Companies
June 1983 – August 1987 (positions held at various times during period) Miami, Florida

The Courtelis Companies, directly or through affiliated companies and partnerships, built, leased and operated through a property management company, a collection of real estate developments (including shopping centers, specialty and neighborhood centers, and a mobile home park), and during my tenure, operated an equestrian/residential development and a construction company. The owner of the company engaged in the business of breeding and racing of Arabian horses, and through unrelated companies, operated corporate jets and a number of T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants as a franchisee.

My responsibility for legal matters included general business representation for all companies and affiliates, litigation, active involvement in governmental relations (both on real estate and horse racing issues), franchise disputes, and transactional, financing, developmental, construction, zoning, land use and governmental regulation matters. Further responsibilities included the selection and oversight of outside counsel, and the development and implementation of measures to reduce and control outside counsel fees and costs. On the business side, I was involved in the structuring and negotiation of acquisitions and in the oversight of the property management department.

Associate, Floyd Pearson Stewart Richman Greer & Weil, P.A. June 1980 – May 1983
Miami, Florida

Education

• J.D. University of Miami, 1978
• A.B. Vassar College, 1975

Professional Acknowledgements

• Public Justice Co-Winner for 2018 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award – July 9, 2018 (along with case team members) for Bahamas Surgery Center, LLC v. Kimberly-Clark Corporation and Halyard Health, Inc., Case No. 14-cv-08390-DMG in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Verdict, April 7, 2017)
• Martindale-Hubbell Rating: AV

Memberships, Certifications, Committees, Continuing Education

• Supreme Court of the United States, 2017 – present
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2019 – present
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit, 2016 – present
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, 1981-present
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, 1980
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, 1979-present
• Trial Bar, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, 1990-till discontinued by Court
• The Florida Bar, 1978-present; Member of Alternative Dispute Resolution Section
• Certified Mediator, U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida, 1993-present
• Certified Circuit Court Mediator, State of Florida, 1991 -present
• Certified Mediator, 11th Judicial Circuit, Dade County, Florida, 1990
• American Arbitration Association Roster of Mediators, 2019 –
• Approved Mediator, Florida Department of Business Regulation, Division of Florida Land Sales, Condominiums and Mobile Homes, 1990-present
• American Bar Association, 1981-2003; 2008-2012
• Ad Hoc Committee on Attorney Admissions, Peer Review, and Attorney Grievance, United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, Member, November 2013 – March 2022; Chair April 2022 – present
• Ad Hoc Committee on Rules and Procedures, United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, Member, November 2013 – November 2022
• Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on Court Annexed Mediation, United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, Chair August 2007-January 2013
• Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law, Preventing Bad Settlement Decisions and Impasse, June 2017
• Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law,  Mediating in the Red Zone, June 2011
• Program of Instruction for Lawyers at PON, Harvard University Law School, The Mediation Workshop, June 2008
• Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law, Mediating the Complex Case, June 2007
• Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law, Advanced Mediation: Skills and Techniques, June 2005
• Lecturer on Mediation: “A Mediator’s Guide for Attorneys: Mediating More Effectively” – CLE – accredited by The Florida Bar; Course 1607987N; 2016-2017
• Lecturer on Mediation and Arbitration, The Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education, January 2003 and April 2001
• Member, The Florida Bar Grievance Committee (11F), July 2000-June 2003; Chairman, January 2003-June 2003
• Author, “Views From The Mediation Conference Table: Is There a ‘Best’ Time to Mediate?” Conflict Management, American Bar Association, Section of Litigation, Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution, Vol. 12, Issue 4, Summer 2008