William E. Christie

For over a decade, Bill has been recognized for his groundbreaking work in the areas of federal and state criminal defense and complex civil litigation. Whether a client’s best interests involves creative negotiation or an aggressive trial strategy, Bill has been successful in obtaining favorable results for individuals and companies in the state and federal courts of New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

For the past several years, Bill has served as lead plaintiffs’ counsel in seven consolidated wrongful death lawsuits against the United States Government in Federal Court in Boston, Massachusetts arising from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s relationship with longtime Boston area criminals and FBI informants James “Whitey” Bulger and Stephen “the Rifleman” Flemmi. After a six-year legal battle, in September 2006, Bill obtained a $3.1 million dollar judgment against the United States Government that was described by the Boston Herald editorial page as “justice at last” for the plaintiff’s family and for the “community” as well. In October 2010, Bill obtained a $925,000 award of attorneys’ fees against the United States after proving that government attorneys acted in bad faith.

Bill’s civil practice also involves representation of businesses involved in commercial disputes applying his negotiation and trial skills to protect his clients’ commercial interests and trade secrets.

Beyond complex civil litigation, Bill’s main practice area is criminal defense with a focus on federal criminal defense. Bill has represented numerous clients in Federal Court, including those charged with fraud offenses, obstruction of justice, tax evasion and drug offenses. Bill has successfully used his knowledge of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines to obtain favorable results for numerous clients facing federal criminal charges.

Bill also has a significant State Court practice where he has represented clients charged with embezzlement, environmental offenses, as well as a variety of motor vehicle offenses, including negligent homicide and driving while intoxicated.

Combining his expertise in civil and criminal matters, Bill conducts internal investigation for companies regulated by the state or federal governments and has successfully represented corporate and individual clients subject to “parallel” civil and criminal proceedings.

In December 2010, Bill was elected by his peers as the Criminal Just Act District Representative to serve as the liason between the District Court, the United States Attorneys Office and the defense bar. Bill is also a member of the Federal Court Advisory Committee for the District of New Hampshire.

Phi Betta Kappa.