Attorney and retired Army colonel achieves second seven-figure settlement in under a year
By Chris Carter
In less than a year, the Bill Connor Law Firm, led by attorney and retired U.S. Army Infantry Col. Bill Connor, has achieved its second seven-figure settlement: Placing him in a very small and elite group of attorneys who have attained multi-million-dollar results, not once, but twice and within months of each other.
Connor’s story began three decades ago following his 1990 graduation from The Citadel. His follow-on career in the U.S. Army as an Airborne and Ranger qualified Combat Infantryman, included multiple deployments to the Middle East and to Afghanistan. During that time, he served in Mechanized, Light, and Ranger Infantry units, commanding both light Infantry and Ranger training companies. After over a decade on active duty, Connor switched to the Reserve component (remaining Infantry) and attended law school at the University of South Carolina. Shortly after becoming a lawyer, Connor returned active duty, deploying to Afghanistan from 2007-2008 and becoming the senior U.S. military adviser in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Returning home, Connor became the lead Command and General Staff Officer Course instructor for South Carolina and was then promoted to colonel and the senior Army North officer representing South Carolina. In December 2020, Connor retired from the Army and began focusing his efforts on his law firm, the Bill Connor Law Firm.
The result: Connor has successfully represented numerous clients, including achieving two $one-million-plus results for clients in less than a year.
Connor’s client (for privacy reasons we are not revealing the name) in the most-recent case was the widow of a Vietnam-era veteran who was killed when struck at a highway intersection. His widow was acting in her personal capacity under the South Carolina Wrongful Death Statute and as the personal representative of her husband’s estate. The accident was “horrendous,” as the other car was driven full-speed through the intersection despite a posted stop sign.
Connor attempted to negotiate a fair settlement before being forced to file suit and begin litigation. The litigation was tough, as it was in the previous multi-million-dollar case he litigated and settled at the end of July 2023. According to Connor: “It was not unlike combat in the attempts of the other side to leverage their numbers and resources of a sizable defense law firm. In most cases of this nature and involving these dollar amounts, a larger Plaintiff’s firm with massive resources takes these kinds of cases from the smaller firm. Well under one percent of lawyers will act as principle counsel in a case that resolves over a million dollars.”
This case was moving along in litigation, but the other side reached out to Connor in January about attempting to resolve the case. They had previously offered only $50K to settle, but Connor decided to go to mediation. At mediation in March, Connor used his military planning experiences to concisely explain to the other side (which included representatives of the company and their insurance carriers) the reasons they should consider settling at or around a million dollars.
“The other side was reasonable during this long mediation, whether due to the understanding our firm was able to impart or the work during litigation, and started above $50K,” Connor said. “The day was long and involved the same kinds of analysis I used in the military. If the case didn’t settle, my client faced the possibility of the jury determining we didn’t prove the liability and give her nothing. Judgment was critical, and this is something else the military taught well.”
In the end, the case settled for just above $one-million (including $50K underinsured coverage) with the final hearing for the Court to approve the settlement on April 15.
“Few lawyers will experience this milestone and yet we’ve achieved it twice in under a year,” said Connor. “We constantly prayed with our staff about the case, and prayed with our client during litigation and mediation. Similar to what I did when going outside the wire in Afghanistan. God answered prayers in both ‘battlefields.’”
The period July 2023, the time of Bill’s first multi-million dollar settlement through July 2024 has been “a fruitful and blessed year,” said Connor, adding the he will continue practicing law and serving as a Citadel Board Member, and working to advance his new business venture, NATIONAL DEFENSE CONSULTANTS, LLC.
Recognizing he is in a “unique category among his legal peers, Connor gives God all the credit,” he said. “And though this money will not bring back the fallen, it will give the widow and family a measure of peace and security they deserve.”
For more information about the Bill Connor Law Firm, visit – billconnorlaw.com/
– Chris Carter is a former semi-pro football player and U.S. Air Force veteran whose articles have appeared in Ops Lens, Human Events, Canada Free Press, Deutsche Welle, and NavySEALs.com among other publications.