William R. O'Bryan, Jr.
Office Information
Bill is a member of the Commercial Litigation Practice Group. His practice is focused on the resolution of business disputes, commercial litigation, creditor rights, bankruptcy and restructuring matters.
Biography – View PDF Bio
- Associations
- Bar Admissions
- Distinctions
- Education & Honors
- Experience
- In the News
- Papers, Presentations, & Publications
- Recent Blogs
Bar Admissions
- Tennessee, 1977
- U.S. District Courts
- Tennessee: Eastern, Middle, Western
- U.S. Court of Appeals
- 6th Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Tax Court
Distinctions
- Martindale-Hubbell®
- AV® – Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated, 1998-2017
- Super Lawyers®
- Mid-South Super Lawyers, Business Litigation, 2006, 2008-2013, 2015-2020
- Best Lawyers in America®
- Litigation – Bankruptcy, 2011-2021
- Commercial Litigation, 2006-2021
- Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, 1993-2021
Education & Honors
- Vanderbilt University Law School, J.D., 1977
- Wabash College, A.B., magna cum laude, 1974
- Phi Beta Kappa
Experience
- Successfully defended $16.8 million avoidance action in Rocin Liquidation Estate v. Comdata Network, Inc. d/b/a Comdata Corporation, Adv. Proc. No. 04-12-1244, United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.
- Represented Comdata in appellate litigation resulting in seminal decision on attorney-client and work-product privileges. Boyd v. Comdata Network, Inc., 88 S.W.3d 203 (Tenn. App. 2002).
- Successfully pursued jury trial to $1.5 million verdict piercing corporate veil and imposing judgment debt on sole shareholder.
- Successfully represented automotive dealer against manufacturer concerning manufacturer’s efforts to reduce size of dealer network.
- Successfully represented commodity supplier in enforcing long-term supply contract.
- Successfully represented large fundraising company in litigation involving contract, securities and employment issues.
- Successfully represented large behavioral health provider against MCO.
- Represented lead bank in workout, potential foreclosure and receivership proceedings.
- Successfully represented will beneficiaries against surviving spouse on claim of undue influence. More...
- Served as mediator in business litigation, creditors’ rights and bankruptcy cases.
- Successfully argued to Tennessee Supreme Court for reversal of errant grant of summary judgment in construction lien case.
In the News
- William R. O’Bryan, Jr. Appointed to Board of Directors of Turnaround Management Association’s Tennessee Chapter
- 86 Butler Snow Attorneys Listed in 2020 Mid-South Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars
- 198 Butler Snow Attorneys Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2021
- 93 Butler Snow Attorneys Listed in 2019 Mid-South Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
- 173 Butler Snow Attorneys Named in Best Lawyers® 2020, 19 Named “Lawyer of the Year”
- 106 Butler Snow Attorneys Listed in 2017 Mid-South Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
- 102 Butler Snow Attorneys List in 2015 Mid-South Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
- 117 Butler Snow Attorneys Listed in 2013 Mid-South Super Lawyers®
- Epilogue Class Notes '77 More...
- Two Local Butler Snow Lawyers to Lead Groups
Papers, Presentations, & Publications
- Moderator, “Valuation in Bankruptcy: Theory and Practice – Who? What? When? Why?” Mid-South Commercial Law Institute, 2016.
- Co-Presenter, "Ethics for In-House Counsel, Adapting to a Changing World: A CLE for In-House Counsel (November 2014).
- Presenter, "Recording Time, Billing & Writing Bills Clients Will Pay," Tennessee Bar Association, 2010.
- Presenter, "Business Torts in Tennessee," Duties of Officers and Directors and Deepening Insolvency, Lorman Education Services, 2005.
- Presenter, "Trial Practice," Observations and Tips Regarding Jury Issues, Focus: Commercial Issue Tried to a Jury, Nashville Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division, 2005.
- Presenter, "Basic Bankruptcy Litigation in Tennessee," National Business Institute, 1989, 1990, 2001, 2003, 2004.
- Presenter, "Advanced Real Estate Remedies," Law Seminars International, 2003.
Recent Blogs
- ABA Formal Opinion 498: What You Don't Know (About Practicing Law Virtually) Can Hurt You...Professionally
- Really? I Shouldn’t Bring My BFF to My Lawyer’s Office?
- Litigating with the Lawyerless ... It’s Still Happening
- Sex, Lies, (Drugs) and Videotape … and Malicious Prosecution
- Veil Piercing Redux
- Personal Jurisdiction Lessons Learned . . . Forgotten . . . and Remembered
- You’re Not My Client … But the Attorney-Client Privilege Still Applies!
- What’s Good for the Goose May Not Be for the Gander.
- Litigating with the Lawyerless (Redux) and in the Right (Local) Court More...
- There’s no legal duty in Tennessee to facilitate service of process or even give contemporaneous notice of defective service efforts.
- Yes, Virginia … You Can Pierce Your Own Corporation’s Veil
- How do you litigate with the "lawyerless?"
- Sports Torts and Courts
- What’s Mine is Mine, and What’s Ours is Now Mine
- Tennessee Business Court Awards Big Bucks against Violator of Tennessee Consumer Protection Act
- Demanding that a person “take it or leave it” in negotiations does not impose economic duress
- Tennessee Business Court Requires Arbitration of Franchise Agreement Disputes Notwithstanding Provision for Application of Tennessee Law
- What’s Mine is Mine, and What’s Yours is (Not) Mine . . .
- Joint Tenancy/Survivorship Property Now Severable by Unilateral Acts of Co-Owner
- Tennessee Business Court Provides Further Guidance on Jurisdictional Challenges
- Word Games Aside … an agreement to settle is an agreement to settle
- Secured Creditor’s Obligations to Dispose of Collateral in Commercially Reasonable Manner Triggered Only Upon Possession
- Recent Child Pornography Conviction May Not Be Used to Impeach Injured Truck Driver
- The Business Court Tackles Jurisdiction and Forum Non Conveniens Issues
- Tennessee Business Court Decides "Who Goes First" In Discovery In Trade Secrets Case - IP Frontline
- Tennessee Business Court Decides “who goes first” in Discovery in Trade Secrets Case
- Tennessee Business Court Accepts “Bad Faith Defense” to Dissolution of Dysfunctional LLCs
- The Tennessee Business Court Further Defines LLC Law
- The Tennessee Business Court Tackles Privilege Claims
- The Tennessee Business Court Clarifies Fiduciary Duties of LLC Members
- Becoming a Creditor in a Bankruptcy Case Triggers a Duty to Preserve Documents
- The Golf Channel Needs a Mulligan
- Do we lawyers really know it all? What about the "focus group"?
- Fee Shifting in Trade Secrets Cases
- Competitor’s Privilege a Competitive Advantage? Only if there’s not improper means!
- Arbitration is not just for those who have agreed…
- Avoidance Powers of a Federal Court Receiver - Redux
- Avoidance Powers of a Federal Court Receiver a la Bankruptcy Trustee
- ADR: What If There Are No Rules?