William Yu concentrates his practice in the areas of commercial litigation, class action litigation, products liability, professional liability and civil rights defense litigation.

He has managed high exposure cases through all phases of general civil litigation, including independent handling of cases to jury trial in U.S. District Court, Cook County and collar counties.

In 2009, Mr. Yu represented a structural engineer in a construction defect case that involved the death of three people, including two young children, in St. Clair County, Illinois. The case went to mediation and settled favorably.
In 2008, he successfully defended physicians in trials in both Cook County and Lake County, Illinois.

In 2007, Mr. Yu represented one of the largest liquid crystal display (LCD) manufacturers in a class action lawsuit alleging antitrust violations.

In 2005, he tried a products liability case to verdict involving an alleged defective trucking seat manufactured by a leading national company. The plaintiff had numerous back surgeries as a result of the defect, and claimed permanent disability. He requested $8 million in damages. After a two-week trial, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty in an hour.

Mr. Yu’s representative cases also include:

• Negotiated favorable terms for majority shareholder in purported buy-out attempt from minority shareholder.
• Obtained summary judgment for a suburban mayor in a defamation lawsuit.
• Defended and obtained favorable settlements on behalf of architects, engineers, and property managers in Federal Fair Housing Act cases.
• Obtained judgment in a bench trial on behalf of a local municipality against civil rights allegations. 
• Defended Korean tour agency in bus accident involving multiple international claimants.
• Obtained favorable settlement for national clinical trial company in a wrongful death action
• Served as regional counsel in multiple states in class action lawsuit alleging antitrust violations against Japanese manufacturer of LCD displays.
• Obtained favorable settlement for accounting firm in embezzlement matters.
• Advised and managed a Fortune 500 company's compliance with Illinois franchise taxes.
• Represented health professionals against HIPAA violations before the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Mr. Yu joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in June 2003.

Upon completing his undergraduate work, Mr. Yu attended the 1994 Summer Law Program at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic where he studied international law.

In November 2004, Mr. Yu began the first year of a two-year term as a Regional Governor for the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). Mr. Yu was honored by NAPABA as one of its “Best Lawyers Under 40” for 2007.

In April 2004, he was selected to serve on the Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, which is charged with aiding the District’s federal judges in the selection of two new Magistrate Judges.

In September 2006, Mr. Yu was appointed to the Hearing Board for the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the State of Illinois. Also in 2006, he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education.

Mr. Yu is an appointed member of the City of Chicago's Commission on Human Relations, Advisory Council on Asian Affairs.

He is a Past President of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicagoland Area. Mr. Yu is also a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Alliance of Minority Bar Associations. He is also a member of the Korean American Bar Association, and was appointed to its inaugural Board of Advisors in December 2008.

In addition, Mr. Yu is a member of the International Association of Korean Lawyers. In 2010 he was appointed to their Overseas Board of Governors. He was also appointed in 2010 to the Board of Directors of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms.

Mr. Yu is a co-chair of the Insurance Agents Subcommittee of the firm’s Professional Lines specialty group. Mr. Yu’s articles have been published in Broker News, a multi-state publication for insurance producers. In addition, he is a co-author of 2001 Municipal Tort Law Update, published by the Illinois Municipal League Risk Management Association.

Mr. Yu’s presentations include:

• “Disciplinary Process in the U.S., Introduction to the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) of the Supreme Court of Illinois,” IAKL 2009 Convention, Seoul, South Korea, October 2009.
• “Professional Engineers and the Law, Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association (KSEA) conference, Oak Brook, Illinois, February 2009.
• “Tips for Junior Associates,” sponsored by the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms, Chicago, Illinois, December 2005.

Mr. Yu is a member of the leadership board of the Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Lend-A-Hand Program, a joint program of the Chicago Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Foundation that helps young people in disadvantaged Chicago area communities by providing them with guidance and support to succeed in school.

In December 2005, Mr. Yu was appointed to the Board of Directors of Heiwa Terrace, a senior residence.