William L. Dunker This is Me

Education

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1. 1. Bales Weinstein Attorneys at Law

   www.balesweinstein.com/wdunker - [Cached]

   Published on: 3/21/2006   Last Visited: 3/21/2006

   William Dunker
   ...
   William Dunker bdunker@balesweinstein.com
   ...
   William Dunker
   ...
   William L. Dunker bdunker@balesweinstein.com
   
   William Dunker
   
   William L. (Bill) Dunker is an aggressive business attorney with extensive experience in complex business transactions in the engineering, technology, energy, environmental and general business sectors. His practice is focused principally in the areas of corporate, business, transactional, environmental, and engineering and construction law.
   
   Bill began his legal career with the Tennessee Valley Authority where he served as lead licensing counsel in the Phipps Bend Nuclear Plant licensing proceeding and as assistant licensing counsel for the Hartsville and Yellow Creek nuclear projects. Bill then joined the legal department of the Coastal Corporation, where he served as Manager of the Refining and Environmental Law Group, handling permitting and environmental compliance matters for Coastal's domestic and foreign refineries, its oil pipelines, terminals, and related operations; litigation management; HR matters; and contracting and operational support matters related to the refineries, including all engineering and construction contracting for major refinery projects. While at Coastal, Bill also served as General Counsel for Belcher Oil Company where his responsibilities included all legal operations of this $1.5 Billion retail and wholesale marketing, refining, and terminalling company. His Belcher activities included business contracting, marketing, antitrust, environmental compliance, and acquisitions. Bill negotiated and closed the acquisitions of four refineries, several major pipelines, two multi-state chains of convenience stores, and numerous other facilities while at Coastal.
   
   In 1989, Bill joined Dames & Moore (now URS Corporation) where he was a Principal, Vice President, and Division Counsel with responsibility for legal and regulatory matters affecting the Eastern U.S. operations of this major, diverse engineering, consulting, and construction company. His personal activities included negotiating major business relationships (acquisitions, joint ventures, partnering agreements, limited liability companies, etc.), risk management, dispute resolution/litigation management, and engineering, construction, and technology contracting. As a result, Bill gained extensive experience in corporate acquisitions, engineering and construction-related business matters, technical and general contracting, technology transfer and licensing agreements, and environmental compliance matters.
   
   Bill is a member of the Florida, Tennessee, and Texas Bars. He received a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, and his Juris Doctor from the University of Tennessee College of Law. While at the University of Tennessee, Bill was Editor in Chief of the Tennessee Law Review and Order of the Coif.
   
   Bill served as a Commissioned Officer in the United States Nuclear Submarine Service.

2. 2. Willy v. Coastal States Management Co.

   www.michaelariens.com/legaleth - [Cached]

   Published on: 5/3/2006   Last Visited: 11/9/2007

   His supervisor at that time, William Dunker, documented the reason for Willy's termination as follows:
   
   The primary reason for this termination is the fact that you failed to report certain actions taken by you with respect to the Corpus Christi Refinery environmental matters. When asked if you had taken such action, you unequivocally denied such action.
   
   Before he was fired, Willy had never received a reprimand, had never been subject to disciplinary action, had received merit raises, and was considered by his peers and superiors to be a well-qualified environmental attorney.
   
   When Willy was hired, Coastal employed two other environmental attorneys in its legal department, Troy Webb and William Dunker. When Willy was hired, Coastal employed two other environmental attorneys in its legal department, Troy Webb and William Dunker.
   ...
   Webb asked Willy to speak to the EPA regional director, a personal friend of Willy, in support of the letter.
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   Willy refused to do so because in the letter, Webb "lied to the EPA about the use of processed gas in the [Derby] refinery."
   ...
   Willy testified that it took him two years to rectify the harm caused by Webb's misrepresentations, but that at his insistence, Derby purchased-at great expense-a sulphur recovery plant that alleviated the processed-gas problem.
   
   Willy also testified that because of groundwater contamination at the Derby refinery, a trench to intercept organic chemicals had to be built. The company's original plans called for a trench a quarter-mile long, but Willy believed that was not long enough. Although he was asked to tell the Kansas Department of Water Quality that the shorter trench was sufficient, he refused. Willy stated he persuaded the company to build a longer, more expensive trench.
   
   II. The Belcher Report
   
   In January 1984, the newly-appointed president of Belcher asked for an environmental audit of the Belcher facilities. Willy, Webb, and Keith Pardue, an environmental engineer, conducted the audit.
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   Webb and Pardue visited the facilities; Willy reviewed paperwork at Belcher headquarters.
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   Based on the information gathered in the audit, Willy drafted a 22-page memorandum (the Belcher Report) that he described as "an analysis of the legal and technical compliance situation at Belcher."
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   Sometime in May 1984, before the Belcher Report was finalized, Clinton Fawcett, Willy's supervisor, returned the draft of the Belcher report to Willy with a number of proposed editorial revisions that included the deletion of several paragraphs and the rewording of certain text; Fawcett had also put question marks by several passages.
   ...
   It is unclear whether a revised version of the report was ever provided to Belcher's president, but it is uncontroverted that Willy did not make the changes requested by Fawcett.
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   Willy asserts that by making those changes, he would have been "knowingly falsifying, or knowingly failing to disclose, material facts that would have to be used by the clients [Belcher and its president] in their efforts to comply with the law."
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   Willy testified that "[e]veryone knew that the delisting petition would [not] be granted by the EPA," and that the delisting petition was a method by which Coastal could delay correcting the various environmental law violations.
   
   The Corpus Christi facility was considered to be Webb's client. In June of 1984, however, Willy had a telephone conversation with TDWR inspector Lewis concerning financial assurance documents Coastal was required to file.
   ...
   This phone call was the action "taken by you with respect to the Corpus Christi Refinery environmental matters" that Dunker referred to in his letter of termination.
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   Johnston asked that Willy be assigned to replace Webb as the Coastal attorney responsible for the Corpus Christi refinery.
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   In late spring of 1984, Dunker replaced Fawcett as Willy and Webb's supervisor.
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   In late spring of 1984, Dunker replaced Fawcett as Willy and Webb's supervisor.
   ...
   On September 25, 1984, Dunker held a meeting with Willy. Before the meeting, Dunker prepared two documents. One was a memo assigning Willy to the Corpus Christi refinery. The second document was titled "Letter of Warning." In this letter, Dunker stated in part:
   
   [C]ertain of your activities have resulted in severe disruptions in Department personnel relations and have hindered the effective and efficient functioning of the Department. These and other activities on your part have, in my opinion, demonstrated very poor judgment, but even more importantly, they have degraded our ability to provide the highest possible level of legal support to meet the needs of our clients. This situation cannot continue; therefore, consider this a formal warning that if these disruptive activities continue I will be forced to terminate your employment with this company. Additionally, since I believe your course of behavior has detracted from the overall functioning of this Group, I cannot approve a merit pay increase for 1984.
   
   Without Willy's knowledge, Dunker tape-recorded the meeting. He began the meeting by discussing Willy's reassignment to Corpus Christi. Dunker then brought up a perceived personality conflict between Willy and Webb.
   ...
   Dunker asked Willy if he had ever called the TDWR in Corpus Christi. Willy denied making such a call. Dunker told Willy that another Coastal employee, Martin Hall, had told Webb and Pardue that Willy had called Russell Lewis at the TDWR and that Lewis told Willy that the agency was planning to sue Coastal. Dunker told Willy that another Coastal employee, Martin Hall, had told Webb and Pardue that Willy had called Russell Lewis at the TDWR and that Lewis told Willy that the agency was planning to sue Coastal. Dunker told Willy that another Coastal employee, Martin Hall, had told Webb and Pardue that Willy had called Russell Lewis at the TDWR and that Lewis told Willy that the agency was planning to sue Coastal.
   ...
   Dunker called Hall on his speakerphone and asked him if, to his knowledge, Willy had called the TDWR.
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   Dunker called Hall on his speakerphone and asked him if, to his knowledge, Willy had called the TDWR.
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   After the call to Hall, Willy and Webb argued, accusing each other of "backstabbing."
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   Dunker told the men:
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   Dunker never gave the letter of warning to Willy. He wrote across the bottom of the letter, "9/25-Action withheld. Written warning not delivered."
   
   The next day, Dunker called Russell Lewis at the TDWR; Lewis confirmed that he had spoken to Willy in June. On October 1, Dunker and Willy met again. Dunker tape-recorded the conversation.
   ...
   After Lewis hung up, Willy and Dunker argued about whether the call took place.
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   Dunker told Willy:
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   Dunker then asked for Willy's resignation. When Willy refused to resign, Dunker fired him.
   
   Willy asserts that the reasons given for his termination-his inability to get along with others and the "lie" he told Dunker regarding the phone call to Lewis-were pretextual. He stated at trial that he was fired because "they didn't like what I said in the Belcher Report and wanted to try to bury it so they wouldn't have to spend the money at Belcher and the fact that I spent three and a half million dollars at Derby to comply with the environmental laws." Coastal, he asserted, did not want him to assume responsibility for the Corpus Christi refinery because he would insist on expensive remedial measures for the environmental problems at that facility, just as he had done with Derby.
   
   Coastal asserts that although Willy was a capable environmental attorney, his inability to get along with others, coupled with Dunker's belief that Willy had lied about his communications with the TDWR, led to his termination.
   ...
   Coastal also asserts that even if Willy could maintain a suit for wrongful discharge, his claim must fail as a matter of law because he cannot prove his claim without breaching his ethical obligations to Coastal.
   ...
   The rule governing preservation of a client's confidences and secrets that was in effect at the time Willy brought his suit [The Code of Professional Responsibility was in effe

3. 3. Florida Personal Injury Lawyer - John Bales Attorney

   www.calljohn.com/wdunker.htm - [Cached]

   Published on: 4/4/2004   Last Visited: 10/14/2006

   William Dunker
   ...
   William Dunker
   
   William L. Dunker bdunker@balesweinstein.com
   
   William L. (Bill) Dunker is an aggressive business attorney with extensive experience in complex business transactions in the engineering, technology, energy, environmental and general business sectors. His practice is focused principally in the areas of corporate, business, transactional, environmental, and engineering and construction law.
   
   Bill began his legal career with the Tennessee Valley Authority where he served as lead licensing counsel in the Phipps Bend Nuclear Plant licensing proceeding and as assistant licensing counsel for the Hartsville and Yellow Creek nuclear projects. Bill then joined the legal department of the Coastal Corporation, where he served as Manager of the Refining and Environmental Law Group, handling permitting and environmental compliance matters for Coastal's domestic and foreign refineries, its oil pipelines, terminals, and related operations; litigation management; HR matters; and contracting and operational support matters related to the refineries, including all engineering and construction contracting for major refinery projects. While at Coastal, Bill also served as General Counsel for Belcher Oil Company where his responsibilities included all legal operations of this $1.5 Billion retail and wholesale marketing, refining, and terminalling company. His Belcher activities included business contracting, marketing, antitrust, environmental compliance, and acquisitions. Bill negotiated and closed the acquisitions of four refineries, several major pipelines, two multi-state chains of convenience stores, and numerous other facilities while at Coastal.
   
   In 1989, Bill joined Dames & Moore (now URS Corporation) where he was a Principal, Vice President, and Division Counsel with responsibility for legal and regulatory matters affecting the Eastern U.S. operations of this major, diverse engineering, consulting, and construction company. His personal activities included negotiating major business relationships (acquisitions, joint ventures, partnering agreements, limited liability companies, etc.), risk management, dispute resolution/litigation management, and engineering, construction, and technology contracting. As a result, Bill gained extensive experience in corporate acquisitions, engineering and construction-related business matters, technical and general contracting, technology transfer and licensing agreements, and environmental compliance matters.
   
   Bill is a member of the Florida, Tennessee, and Texas Bars. He received a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, and his Juris Doctor from the University of Tennessee College of Law. While at the University of Tennessee, Bill was Editor in Chief of the Tennessee Law Review and Order of the Coif.
   
   Bill served as a Commissioned Officer in the United States Nuclear Submarine Service.