Eckert Seamans Adds Former Virginia State Solicitor William Hurd
February 1, 2022
Seasoned Litigator Deepens Firm’s Commercial Litigation and Appellate Benches
Eckert Seamans is pleased to welcome Member William H. Hurd to the firm’s Richmond, Virginia office. Having served as the first solicitor general of Virginia (from 1999-2004), Hurd has handled various appeals before federal and state appellate courts and represents businesses under investigation by state attorneys general across the nation. At Eckert Seamans, Hurd will focus on federal and state appellate litigation, complex and high-stakes issues, and government and internal investigations. He joins Eckert Seamans from the law firm of Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP.
“Bill is a phenomenal legal talent and a huge asset to his clients. We are excited to expand Eckert Seamans’ commercial litigation, appellate, and state attorneys’ general capabilities with Bill Hurd as our partner,” said Matthew B. Kirsner, Member-in-Charge of Eckert Seamans’ Richmond office.
“I am thrilled to join such a highly respected firm and a litigation group with so much depth and talent,” Hurd said. “Eckert Seamans’ outstanding reputation in in the many states where it is known, was a major factor in my decision to join the firm, and I am looking forward to working with new (and former) colleagues who will be instrumental in supporting my practice and my clients.”
Hurd joins Eckert Seamans’ Commercial Litigation and Appellate practice groups. In his career, Hurd has appeared on brief in more than 130 appellate cases and argued more than 50 times before federal and state appellate courts. His appellate victories covered a wide array of legal issues, including reversing the denial of a multimillion-dollar tax credit, securing educational benefits for children with disabilities, upholding statutory procedures for restoration of voting rights, and upholding Virginia’s “minute of silence” law for public schools, among many others.
In the U.S. Supreme Court, Hurd successfully argued three cases, including the landmark decision in Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2008), upholding Virginia’s anti-Klan statute banning cross-burning with intent to intimidate, and another ruling that upheld the trespass policy of the Richmond Redevelopment & Housing Authority.
Hurd also maintains a robust practice representing companies under investigation by state attorneys general. He helps companies resolve actual and threatened investigations in a broad spectrum of industries, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, debt buying, home service contracts, nationwide retailing, and tobacco manufacturing, among others.
Widely recognized as a leading election law attorney, Hurd previously served as chief counsel in the statewide election recounts for the attorney general of Virginia in 2005 and 2013. He served as legal counsel to Virginia’s 2011 Independent bi-partisan Advisory Commission on Redistricting. He is also well-versed in constitutional law.
In addition to practicing law, Hurd is an adjunct professor at the Scalia Law School of George Mason University. He teaches an advanced constitutional law course on the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause.
Hurd is licensed to practice in Virginia. He earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law (1977) and undergraduate degree as an Echols Scholar from the University of Virginia (1973).
Hurd is the latest arrival in what has been an active period at Eckert Seamans for lateral partners. Other significant additions over the past 18 months include intellectual property litigation partner Daniel Melman, cross-border M&A and private equity partner Ernest D. Holtzheimer, professional liability partners Jacquelyn J. Ager, Donna Y. Kramer, and M. Sean Maravich, environmental partner Michelle M. Skjoldal, litigation partner Erik J. Frick, real estate partner Stuart A. Offner, and former Congressman and special counsel Peter King.