Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

Business & Commercial Disputes

Of Counsel - Litigation and Investigations

Bill Beaver has 40 years’ experience practicing law in the Seattle area. He has represented numerous entities in federal and state court litigation regarding responsibility for remediating environmental contamination. He also has litigated many employment-related cases in federal and state courts including large multistate class actions brought by the EEOC against members of the telecommunications and airline industries. Recognized as a top lawyer by major legal directories, Bill has extensive experience representing entities before various federal and state administrative agencies including the NTSB, FTC, SEC, FERC, DOT and the Washington UTC.

In 1999, the owners of the Olympic Pipe Line Co. (now BP and Shell) retained Bill to manage all of the criminal, civil and administrative matters stemming from the June 10, 1999, pipeline explosion in Bellingham, Washington, as outside Chief Legal Advisor. This included significant property and environmental damage claims, wrongful death actions, business interruption litigation, criminal charges under the Clean Water Act and Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act, litigation with the owner operator and insurance coverage litigation. He also was responsible for managing the company’s interaction with the media. Bill led the company’s investigation into the cause of the accident and its responses to the NTSB while also managing the company’s efforts to obtain federal government approval to restart the pipeline. This work continued until 2005.

After the last of the legal matters stemming from the pipeline explosion concluded, Bill later accepted a position as Vice President/General Counsel with Intelius, Inc., a small startup in which he was a significant investor. He held this position from shortly after the company’s inception until successfully completing a sale of the company in 2015 to a private equity firm for in excess of $100 million. While at Intelius, Bill managed all of the company’s business, regulatory and securities-related matters, civil litigation and corporate governance.

After completing the sale of Intelius, Bill co-founded Wrench, Inc. in 2015 with several of his fellow former Intelius executives. He managed all of its legal and operational matters, including three successful rounds of financing (its investors include Madrona Venture Group, Tenaya Capital, Vulcan Capital, Bridgestone Americas, and Marubeni Corporation). Wrench is now the largest automotive services marketplace in the United States, with operations in all 50 states as well as some operations outside the country. Bill left Wrench in late 2017 to provide full-time care for his terminally ill wife.

A passionate cyclist who counts RAMROD (Ride Around Mt. Rainier in One Day) as his favorite local ride, having completed it seven times, Bill also enjoys wilderness trekking and white water canoeing. He has previously served as President and Chairman of Community Services for the Blind and served as a Board member of the University of Washington’s School of Information.