He lived nearly his entire life in Santa Barbara, attending Laguna Blanca School and practicing law there for 35 years. The crowd at his funeral service overflowed into the parking lot of the church he had attended as a child. “Every lawyer in town knew him,” one of the eulogists said. Notable in town for his collection of bow ties and his erudite vocabulary, he won a reputation for legal skills and for a determination to serve clients from all backgrounds.
At Princeton, Bill belonged to the Westminster Foundation and the Savoyards, ate at Campus Club, and wrote a thesis on the Second Spanish Republic. After college he went to UCLA Law School and spent a year in Chile to master Spanish before opening a solo practice.
Surviving at the time of Bill’s death were his wife of 32 years, Karen; three daughters, Jennifer, Elisabeth, and Emily; his mother, Barbara; and three brothers, Douglas, Laird, and Rand.