November 16, 1949 to July 3, 2009
William Gordon Lewis died suddenly on July 3, 2009, at his home in Half Moon Bay, California. He was 59 years old. Bill was a loving father, an accomplished San Francisco trial lawyer and a tireless advocate for the victims of employment discrimination. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a B.A. in Political Science in 1976 and New College School of Law with a J.D. in 1980.
 William Gordon Lewis |
Bill’s own father died of cancer when Bill was only 16, that and his experience with the Fisher case set him on a career long mission of advocacy for the victims of disability discrimination, with a particular emphasis on cancer discrimination. Bill found that such discrimination was most often the product of stereotypes and phobias about cancer, and Bill devoted countless hours to persuading judges, juries and professional colleagues of the realities of a cancer diagnosis and the responsibilities of employers to work with, and not against, their employees who had been so diagnosed. His empathy and passion for the cause was palpable by juries, clients and the court and counsel.
>In 1992, he teamed up with Eliz. C. A. Johnson, to form LEWIS & JOHNSON. One of the first cases was Spear v. CSAA, (1992) 2 Cal.4th 1035, which he argued in the California Supreme Court, resulting in a very favorable 7-0 decision. It forged a 17 year partnership championing the causes of cancer survivors and those facing discrimination in the work place based on disabilities or age. Bill traveled throughout California lecturing various disability rights groups, including The Rhonda Fleming Mann Resource Center, as it was then called; the American Cancer Society; The Bar Association of San Francisco; and the California Association of Laryngectomees, to name just a few. Bill had 29 years experience in litigation in both State and Federal Courts, including state and federal trials, arguing before the California Supreme Court, as mentioned, and well over 20 appellate court cases.
Bill’s combined interests in employment and healthcare again intersected in the case of Ulrich v. City and County of San Francisco, in the courtroom of Hon. Thelton Henderson, a highlight of Bill’s career. Dr. John Ulrich was a physician at San Francisco’s Laguna Honda Hospital, who claimed he had been discriminated against after speaking out against physician layoffs and in favor of patient care at Laguna Honda Hospital in 1998. The hospital administration attempted to use the physician peer review process as a means to punish Dr. Ulrich and denied him an opportunity for a hearing on false charges of substandard medical care. Bill was brought in to serve as lead trial counsel in Dr. Ulrich’s lawsuit against the City in June, 2004. The result was a federal court jury’s verdict in less than five hours in favor of Dr. Ulrich in the amount of $4.3 million.
He enjoyed being a mentor and resource to any who contacted him, often dedicating many, many hours of free time to help a fellow employment lawyer out. If you have any stories to share with his daughter, it would be most appreciated; she can be reached at wgl_kal@earthlink.net. His professional accomplishments could be listed for days but the man that will be most missed though was the father, partner and friend that he was. His shameless love of the political drama and of conspiracy theories are what fed his spirit and humor. He loved a good ‘throw down’ when politics heated up, particularly at election time. Part of his charm with juries and people generally was his wonderful and inventive story telling and his ability to make whatever he said interesting and compelling. He loved to laugh and he loved his daughter, Kimberlee, more than anything else on Earth. He was so proud of her plans to go to law school, joking that he ‘tried to talk her out of it’ while beaming with pride at her excellent academic achievements.
Bill will be sorely missed by his family, friends, colleagues and clients, leaving behind a huge hole where his ‘giant size 13 feet’ used to stand. He is survived by his daughter, Kimberlee Lewis, of Montara, California and his sister, Peta Hallisey of Coronado, California. In lieu of flowers, and in keeping with his life long work, the family requests that a donation be made in his name to The American Cancer Society, local chapters of which can also be located at www.cancer.org.
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