William S. Thomas

Bill Thomas is a co-founder and member of Gausnell, O’Keefe & Thomas, LLC, in St. Louis, Missouri where he focuses his practice on handling matters involving the construction process, from up-front contract reviews, commercial litigation, professional liability defense and trial work. He has represented owners, contractors, subcontractors, architects, engineers, land surveyors and landscape architects in all phases of construction claims. He also handles product liability claims, other general commercial disputes and general liability claims. He is licensed to practice law in Missouri and Illinois, the Federal Court of Claims, and several Federal Courts. He is a past president of the Lawyers Association of St. Louis, the local trial bar. Recently, he was appointed to the American Arbitration Association’s panel of neutrals as an arbitrator.

Bill is involved in many professional organizations, including the International Association of Defense Counsel, where he serves on the Construction Law Committee as its publications vice chair, and the Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers, the Defense Research Institute and its Construction Law Committee, Product Liability Committee, and Building Products – Substantive Litigation Group, and Professional Liability Committee, where he served on the Steering Committee, and Design Professional Subcommittee. Bill is an associate member of the ASCE, AIA, and the St. Louis Engineer’s Club. He is a Fellow of the Construction Lawyers Society of America. He is recognized by U.S. News – Best Lawyers as a Best Lawyer in Construction Law, and was honored as “Lawyer of the Year” in Construction- Litigation for 2022, and again as “Lawyer of the Year” in 2023 for Construction Law. He is a frequent lecturer and author on a number of issues, from product liability to construction.