Our Team
Principal Managing Member

William N. Riley

Will is the principal managing member of the Central Indiana-based firm RileyCate, LLC. His practice focuses on plaintiffs’ complex litigation, including class actions, pharmaceutical and medical device injury cases, product liability, serious personal injury, defamation, and business litigation. He has served as lead or co-lead counsel in litigation that has recovered billions of dollars, including the landmark tobacco litigation and numerous consumer class actions.

37+

Years Practicing

16B+

Recovered / Won

Will Riley’s practice focuses on plaintiffs’ complex litigation, including class actions, pharmaceutical and medical device injury cases, product liability, serious personal injury, defamation, and business litigation.

Will has served as lead, co-lead counsel, or a leadership position in litigation with far-reaching impact, including the tobacco litigation that recovered billions of dollars for the states of California and Indiana, and allocation counsel work in the nationwide settlement involving the drugs Bextra and Celebrex.

Will has tried numerous cases to verdict. In 2013, after two years of appeals, the Indiana Supreme Court authorized release of a jury verdict exceeding seventeen million dollars to his client following a six-week defamation trial against State Farm, the largest defamation verdict in Indiana history. He has also recovered significant settlements for individual clients injured by prescription drugs including Vioxx, Zyprexa, and Yaz, as well as for clients catastrophically injured in falls and motor vehicle collisions.

Recognition

Will was one of the youngest attorneys in Indiana to receive the AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest available rating for legal ability and ethical standards. He has been selected to Indiana Super Lawyers every year since 2009, named among Best Lawyers in America since 2012, and recognized as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer. He was named Best Lawyers’ Lawyer of the Year for Personal Injury Litigation in Carmel in 2026 and 2022, and for Mass Tort and Plaintiffs’ Class Action Litigation in Indianapolis in 2015.

Representative Settlements & Decisions

  • 12.5 Billion – State of California from Tobacco Companies
  • 3.9 Billion – State of Indiana from Tobacco Companies
  • 89 Million Settlement – In re Bextra & Celebrex Mktg. Sales Practices & Prod. Liab. Litig.
  • 14.5 Million Dollar Jury Verdict Awarded Against State Farm Insurance
  • 5 Million for Hoosiers’ vehicles damaged by BP Gas
  • Tens of millions for Individuals injured by defective pharmaceutical drugs and devices
  • 1.5 Million for injured motorcyclist
  • 1.2 Million for an injured worker in a fall
  • 1.25 Million for medical malpractice victims in numerous cases

*Past results are not predictive of future results in individual matters

Awards, Distinctions & Honors

  • Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year 2026 – Personal Injury Litigation, Carmel
  • Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year 2022 – Personal Injury Litigation, Carmel
  • Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year 2015 – Mass Tort/Plaintiffs Class Action Litigation, Carmel
  • Best Lawyers in America (2017)
  • Best Lawyers (2012 to the present)
  • AV Rating from Martindale-Hubbell (1996 to the present)
  • Indiana Super Lawyers (2009 to the present)
  • Distinguished Fellow, Indianapolis Bar Foundation (2016)
  • National Association of Distinguished Counsel, National Top One Percent of Lawyers (2015)
  • Rue Ratings Charter Member, Best Attorneys of America
  • Knighted in the Sovereign Military Order of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem by John Cardinal Foley in Cleveland, Ohio, September 26, 2010
  • Promoted to Knight Commander by the Holy See in 2013
  • Goodrich Lecturer, Wabash College
  • Executive Editor, Indiana Law Journal

Education

B.A. from Indiana University – Bloomington (1986); Double-major in History and Political Science and Minor in Philosophy

Bar Admissions

  • Indiana
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, First, Third, Fifth, and Seventh Circuits

Publications

  • On the Telos of Man and Law, Indiana Journal, Vol. 64, No. 4, 1989
  • Commons Truths, ISI Books, 2000

Speaking Engagements

  • Indiana Trial Lawyers 2002

Memberships & Associations

  • Indiana State Bar Association (1989 to the present)
  • Indianapolis Bar Association (2015 to the present)
  • The Federalist Society (2007 to the present)
  • Fellowship of Catholic Scholars (Inducted 2010)
  • Thomas More Law Center

Representative Cases

  • State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Radcliff, 987 N.E.2d 121 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013) (defended the State’s largest defamation verdict in history)
  • State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Radcliff, 18 N.E.3d 1006 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014) (successfully defended trial court’s dismissal of State Farm’s final attempt to overturn State’s largest defamation verdict in history)
  • Stewart v. Kingsley Terrace Church of Christ, Inc., 767 N.E.2d 542 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002) (defended Church’s 1st Amended rights in the employment context by protecting judgment on appeal)
  • Zollman v. Gregory, 744 N.E.2d 497 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001) (successfully defended trial court’s denial of doctor’s motion to dismiss)
  • Gilliam v. Contractors United, 648 N.E.2d 1236 (Ind. Ct. App. 1995) (obtained reversal of summary judgment order for motorcyclist who was catastrophically injured)
  • Wilson v. AC&S, Inc., 864 N.E.2d 682 (Ohio Ct. App. 2006) (obtained reversal of dismissal of widow’s wrongful death claim)

News

  • Carmel man files class-action lawsuit against Volkswagen – 13 WTHR Indianapolis
  • Former Contractor Victorious After State Farm Legal Defeat – The Indy Channel
  • Jury Orders State Farm to Pay Contractor $14.5M for Defamation – Property Casualty 360º
  • Contractor Awarded $14.5M in Defamation Suit Against State Farm – The Indy Channel
  • Judge: State Farm owes Fishers contractor $14.5M – WishTV 8
  • Contractor wins $14.5M judgment against State Farm – IBJ
  • Hail creates firestorm for State Farm – The Indiana Lawyer
  • 14.5 Million Dollar Jury Verdict Awarded Against State Farm – Dallas News ~ The Dallas Morning News
  • Contractor wins $14.5M judgment against State Farm – RemodelCrazy Forum
  • Contractor wins $14.5M judgment against State Farm – Roofers Coffee Shop Forum
  •  BP settles lawsuit over tainted gasoline sold in Midwest – WLS-TV