Member
Location: Augusta, Georgia
Phone: (706) 737-3138
Fax: (706) 738-3973
Email: E-mail Me

Bill concentrates his practice in handling commercial litigation, with emphasis on real property law. He also has substantial experience in commercial transactions and banking law.

Active in his profession and community, Mr. Trotter is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Augusta Bar Association, the Bar of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia and the Bar of the United States Courts of Appeal for the Eleventh Circuit.

Representative cases:

• Johnson v. Fleet Finance, Inc., 4 F.3d 946 (11th Cir. 1993)
• Johnson v. Fleet Finance, Inc., 785 F. Supp. 1003 (S.D. Ga. 1983)
• Sims Crane Service, Inc. v. Ideal Steel Products, Inc., 800 F.2d 1553 (11th Cir. 1986)
• In re Ferris, 764 F.2d 1475 (11th Cir. 1985)
• Ga. Railroad Bank & Trust Co. v. FDIC, 758 F.2d 1548 (11th Cir. 1985)
• FDIC v. Willis, 497 F. Supp. 272 (S.D. Ga. 1980)
• Fleet Finance v. Jones, 263 Ga. 228; 430 S.E.2d 352 (Ga. 1993)
• Pollman v. Swan, 305 Ga. App. 369 (2010).

Mr. Trotter served as general counsel and member of the Board of Directors of First Columbia Bank and FCS Financial Corporation, a single-bank holding company acquired by Georgia Bank & Trust Company through a merger; served as counsel and co-counsel to numerous financial institutions in the defense of consumer class action litigation in the Superior Courts of the Augusta Judicial Circuit and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia; member of the Board of Directors of University Health Care Foundation, Inc.; appointed by former Governor Zell Miller as the consumer member of the Composite Board of Medical Examiners of the State of Georgia and a member and Chairman of the Board of Directors of St. Joseph Hospital Foundation.

Mr. Trotter received his B.S. from the University of Georgia in 1968 and his J.D., cum laude, from the Walter F. George School of Law, Mercer University in 1971. Bill was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia. He is married to Susan and has 3 children and 7 grandchildren.

Areas of Practice

• Commercial Litigation
• Real Property Law
• Commercial Transactions
• Banking Law

Litigation Percentage

• 25% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Bar Admissions

• Georgia, 1971
• U.S. District Court Southern District of Georgia
• U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit

Education

• Mercer University, Walter F. George School of Law, Macon, Georgia
• J.D. cum laude – 1971
• University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
• B.S. – 1968
• Major: Business Administration

Representative Cases

• Johnson v. Fleet Finance, Inc., 4 F.3d 946 (11th Cir. 1993)
• Johnson v. Fleet Finance, Inc., 785 F. Supp. 1003 (S.D. Ga. 1983)
• Sims Crane Service, Inc. v. Ideal Steel Products, Inc., 800 F.2d 1553 (11th Cir. 1986)
• In re Ferris, 764 F.2d 1475 (11th Cir. 1985)
• Ga. Railrod Bank & Trust Co. v. FDIC, 758 F.2d 1548 (11th Cir. 1985)
• FDIC v. Willis, 497 F. Supp. 272 (S.D. Ga. 1980)
• Fleet Finance v. Jones, 263 Ga. 228; 430 S.E.2d 352 (Ga. 1993)
• Pollman v. Swan, 305 Ga. App. 369 (2010)

Professional Associations and Memberships

• State Bar of Georgia, Member
• Augusta Bar Association, Member
• First Columbia Bank, General Counsel
• FCS Financial Corporation, General Counsel
• First Columbia Bank, Member of the Board of Directors
• FCS Financial Corporation, Member, Board of Directors
• University Health Care Foundation, Inc., Member, Board of Directors
• Medical Examiners of the State of Georgia, Consumer Member, Composite Board
• St. Joseph Hospital Foundation, Member
• St. Joseph Hospital Foundation, Chairman of the Board of Directors