William D. Furnish

Overview

William Furnish has become a rising star in business litigation, lending his knowledge on cybersecurity, privacy and data security matters to businesses across a varied set of industries. As a litigator, William focuses on professional liability, complex commercial litigation, and privacy and data security matters. He excels at the intellectual, ethical challenges that arise between data privacy and attorney ethical violations and has established himself as a thought-leader in the ethical overlay between attorney privilege and data privacy and ethics violations. 

Of his most recent accomplishments, William provided counsel to the Arizona Attorney General in groundbreaking litigation regarding a law that allowed automobile dealers to access essential and sensitive customer data. He has extended his knowledge on ethics violations to a varied set of industries, including accountants, attorneys, healthcare professionals dealing with nuanced questions surrounding malpractice, securities and privacy. 

Prior to joining Osborn Maledon, William was a litigation and trial associate with a firm in New York, where he advised and represented Big Four accounting firms, pharmaceutical manufacturers and other institutional clients in connection with securities, professional liability, intellectual property and commercial litigation. A skilled writer and presenter, William has written articles for a number of publications and spoken on data breaches and cybersecurity. 

An active volunteer since his year abroad in the Republic of Armenia with the Peace Corps, he is a board member and a member of the Finance Committee at the Phoenix Public Library Foundation and a member of the AZ Technology Network. His commitment to the community extends into his practice, where he dedicates a significant amount of time to pro bono work for asylum seekers.