William L. Doerler Counsel

Bill Doerler is counsel in the Subrogation Department, practicing exclusively in the field of insurance subrogation. As part of his practice, Bill partners with insurers and self-insured clients to investigate losses and develop cost-effective recovery strategies.

Bill routinely handles subrogation-related construction defect and products liability cases. His practice focuses on researching, briefing and handling complex litigation and appellate matters. Issues Bill frequently analyzes include waiver of subrogation clauses, the made whole doctrine, the admissibility of expert testimony, the economic loss doctrine and damages recoverable. In addition to working on individual cases, Bill is the co-editor of and a blogger for the Subrogation Department’s blog, The Subrogation Strategist.

Before joining the Subrogation Department, Bill was a member of the firm’s Litigation Department, where he handled defense matters including products liability, construction defect and premises liability cases. Bill’s experience on both sides of a lawsuit gives him a thorough understanding of defenses subrogation targets raise.

In addition to working in the Litigation Department, Bill also worked in the firm’s Appellate Practice Group, where he successfully briefed and argued cases in state and federal court addressing a wide variety of issues, including medical malpractice, personal injury and worker's compensation. Bill’s appellate experience gives him unique insights into issues that arise at trial and how to preserve issues for appeal. While working in the Appellate Practice Group, Bill was a co-editor of and contributor for the firm’s weekly electronic publication, Court Crier. 

Prior to joining White and Williams, Bill worked for several years as a trial litigator. Before becoming a lawyer, Bill utilized his accounting degree by working for ten years as the Treasurer and Vice President of Finance for a construction-related company in private industry.

Bill is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware but works on cases throughout the country utilizing the services of local counsel.

Representative Matters

• Worked with an insurer to recover damages arising from the recall of contaminated, adulterated and misbranded food (spices) containing allergens, work that included an analysis of complex and detailed financial records

• Partnered with an insurer to investigate claimed property damage losses associated with computer virus attacks

• Worked with an insurer interested in subrogating a hacking incident involving an educational institution who was transitioning its student information to a cloud-based server using a mongo database

• Litigated a construction defect, roof collapse case involving multiple parties, wavier of subrogation clauses and arbitration provisions
• Handled the appeal of a water loss case against a negligent contractor who secured summary judgment at the trial level, securing a reversal of the trial court’s decision