William Peter Butterfield

On Tuesday, December 13, 2016 of Potomac, Maryland. Beloved husband of Susan Delau Butterfield, devoted son of Louise and William Butterfield of Willoughby OH, brother of Emily Krieger (Keith) of Bellefontaine OH, Douglas (Lori) of Twinsburg OH, and Edward (Gloria) of Mentor OH. Also survived by numerous relatives including eleven cherished nieces and nephews.

Bill was a partner at Hausfeld LLP in Washington, DC and chaired the firm’s Financial Services Practice. His work concentrated on financial services litigation and antitrust litigation and he was also an internationally recognized authority on electronic discovery. Bill was a long-time member of The Sedona Conference, and at the time of his death was Chair of the Executive Committee for the Working Group on Electronic Document Retention and Production. He served as editor-in-chief of the Case for Cooperation (2009) and was a co-editor of the The Sedona Conference Commentary On Preservation, Identification and Management of Sources of Information (2008). Additionally, Bill was an adjunct professor at American University, Washington College of Law, where he taught a course on electronic discovery. He also served on the Advisory Board for the Georgetown University Law Center Advanced E-Discovery Institute.

Bill began his legal career as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney with the Montgomery County (OH) Prosecutor’s Office in 1979. He later represented county office holders in civil matters before moving to Washington, DC in 1988 to enter private practice with the firm of Finkelstein & Thompson. Prior to the formation of Hausfeld in 2008, he was a partner at Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld and Toll.

Over the years Bill devoted a significant amount of time to his community and was a longtime supporter of his alma mater, Bowling Green State University. Most recently, he served as Treasurer of BGSU Foundation, Inc. Having been a former Eagle Scout, Bill also volunteered his time as a Boy Scout leader. An avid golfer, Bill was a member of Tournament Players Club (TPC) Potomac.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, January 6, 2017 at 11:00 am at the Potomac United Methodist Church, 9908 South Glen Road Potomac, Maryland 20854. In lieu of flowers the family suggests contributions in Bill’s memory to the Butterfield/Washington Center Scholarship (301900), c/o BGSU Foundation, Inc., 132 Administration Building, ATTN: Gift Processing, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403; bgsu.edu/Butterfield; or The First Tee of Greater Washington DC, 2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite #106, Washington, DC 20006; http://www.thefirstteedc.org/donate/