Bill Butterfield died on Tuesday, December 13 after a brief, silent battle with cancer.  He was a good man and an exemplary attorney.  Knowing that I will never meet him again, I mourn that I cannot know him better.   I know well Bill’s tireless efforts to protect every litigant’s right to obtain full and fair discovery.  His was a revered and respected voice at The Sedona Conference, where he stood against multitudes who would cripple our right to seek the truth that lives in electronically-stored information.  Bill employed canny strategies that the naysayers couldn’t match: He was sensible, practical, courteous and kind.  Bill listened.  He considered, and he contributed.  Bill was a worthy opponent to many, an enemy to none.

Exactly five years to the day before he died, Bill testified before a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee concerning electronic discovery.  I watched Bill’s testimony and saw the poise and candor that distinguish a good advocate from a great one.  I was invested in Bill’s success as he’d done me the honor of seeking my thoughts about his testimony the weekend prior.  We had a nice chat, and I shared a memo with talking points afterward that he encouraged me to publish.  I was pleased to see Bill touch on those points in his Congressional testimony, but I don’t imagine they were mine alone.  Bill knew e-discovery as well as anyone, and I expect he sought advice from many who till this field.  He was wise that way.

I am flattered as well that Bill sought to engage me in his cases on several occasions.  For one reason or another, I had to decline each time; so, now I rue having missed the opportunity to work with Bill as his counsel.  That would have been nice.  I expect I would have learned a lot, for Bill, a former Eagle Scout, set a fine example for us all.

I send my earnest sympathies to Bill’s wife, Susan, his family, partners at Hausfield and many friends. Though I know he will be remembered in many lasting ways, like a scholarship or other commemoration, Bill’s legacy is the balance he brought to the last decade of e-discovery standard setting and rule making efforts.  At a time when we really needed someone like Bill Butterfield to step in front of the tanks, we were fortunate indeed that Bill stepped in and stepped up.