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Practice Areas: Civil Litigation, Commercial Litigation

Additional Information: William B. Hill, Jr., or "Hill" as he prefers to be called, concentrates his practice on commercial and complex litigation, with a particular emphasis on products liability, Lanham Act, and employment defense. Hill also regularly serves as mediator and arbitrator in a variety of commercial and civil rights disputes. Prior to joining Ashe, Rafuse & Hill on February 13, 2004, Hill was a partner with Lawrence Ashe and Nancy Rafuse at an international 800-attorney law firm.

Prior to 1995, Hill served as a Judge on the Superior Court of the Atlanta Judicial Circuit in Atlanta, Georgia, which is the highest level trial court in the state. As a Superior Court Judge, Hill presided over both civil and criminal cases. Prior to serving as Superior Court Judge, Hill served as a State Court Judge for the State Court of Fulton County, Georgia. As a State Court Judge, Hill presided over civil matters, and misdemeanor criminal matters.

Before his tenure on the bench, Hill worked for thirteen years with the Georgia Attorney General's Office, where he served in many capacities, including Deputy Attorney General, supervising the operations of one-third of the office, and Director of the Criminal Division. Hill was the youngest Division Director in the history of the Attorney General's Office. Hill was also the first African-American attorney to represent the State of Georgia in the United States Supreme Court, where he argued and won the case of Burger v. Kemp.

Hill has tried products liability, Lanham Act and employment cases successfully in numerous state and federal courts throughout the country, and is known as much for his engaging and good-natured courtroom demeanor as he is for his dynamic and hard-hitting trial skills. In 2005 alone, Hill tried four jury trials and two arbitrations, all to successful results for his clients. Hill has lectured in the areas of civil litigation and criminal law, and has testified on numerous occasions before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee and the Georgia Legislative Judicial Committee. Hill has also served on an American Bar Association Task Force on Federal Habeas Corpus Reform.

Hill is a member of the Governor’s Judicial Nominating Committee. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees for Washington & Lee, the Board of Trustees for the Atlanta History Center, and a past member of the Board of Trustees of Pace Academy.

Hill and his wife Melba, a 1978 graduate of Hollins College, are the proud parents of two daughters, Melba Kara Hill , a 1999 graduate of Washington & Lee University, and Morgan Kristopher Hill , a 2007 graduate of Washington & Lee University, and member of the 2010 class of Harvard Law School.

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Firm Members: James Driver R. Ashe, Jr. Beth Moeller