William Marler
William D. Marler is an American personal injury lawyer who specializes in cases involving foodborne illnesses. He is the managing partner of Marler Clark, a Seattle law firm that focuses on food safety lawsuits. He earned three Bachelor of Arts degrees from Washington State University in Political Science, English, and Economics in 1982 and earned his law degree from Seattle University in 1987.
In 1993, Marler represented 9-year-old Brianne Kiner in an E. coli outbreak linked to Jack in the Box, resulting in a $15.6 million settlement. Over more than three decades, he has represented victims in every major U.S. foodborne illness outbreak and in cases abroad, winning more than $850 million for clients affected by pathogens such as E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, and Hepatitis A.
Notable cases include Stephanie Smith, a 19-year-old dancer left brain-damaged by an E. coli-contaminated hamburger from Cargill; her 2010 settlement was intended to fund lifelong care. Another prominent case involved Linda Rivera, a Nevada mother of six who suffered severe E. coli complications. These cases helped draw national attention to food safety and influenced public policy, including the passage of the 2010 Food Safety Modernization Act. Marler has also litigated against major food companies such as Chili’s, KFC, Dole, and ConAgra.
Marler is an active advocate for stronger food safety regulations and speaks regularly to industry groups and public health organizations. He supported the FDA’s 2010-2011 Food Safety Modernization Act and pushed for tougher pathogenic E. coli rules with regulators such as the USDA. Through OutBreak, a nonprofit linked to Marler Clark, he promotes food safety education and funds science scholarships at colleges nationwide. He has testimony before both the California State Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives and is a frequent speaker at public health and industry events.
His work has been covered in Jeff Benedict’s book Poisoned, about the Jack in the Box case, which was adapted into the documentary Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food and released in 2023. Marler’s contributions have been featured in The Seattle Times, The Washington Post, and Bloomberg News, among others. He founded Food Safety News in 2009 and regularly contributes to the Food Poison Journal.
Marler has received many awards, including the Public Justice Award, the Seattle University Distinguished Law Graduate Award, the NSF Food Safety Leadership Award, and the King County Bar Association’s Outstanding Lawyer Award. He has been named to Best Lawyers in America since 2009. He served as the chairman of the Washington State University Board of Regents from 1998 to 2004 and received a 1997 Distinguished Achievement Award from WSU. The Daily Meal named him one of America’s 50 Most Powerful People in Food in 2016. His blog has been listed among the top 100 legal blogs by the American Bar Association, and The New Yorker has called him the most prominent and powerful food-safety attorney in the country.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 05:53 (CET).