About William S.
William S. Adams built his legal foundation at West Virginia University. He earned both a B.S. in Secondary Education and a B.A. in Spanish in 1991, then returned to WVU for his J.D., graduating in 1996. Those years in Morgantown framed a career that has moved between trial work, court service and private practice.
He began his post-law school career in 1999 as an associate at Huddleston Bolen Beatty Porter & Copen. A year later he took a position as supervising law clerk for the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. The court role offered daily exposure to appellate procedure and the written craft that opinion work demands. In 2001 he became a partner at MacCorkle Lavender Casey & Sweeney, a step into firm leadership and case responsibility. He later joined Bailey & Glasser in 2007. In 2011 he opened his own firm, Adams Legal Group, PLLC, which identifies itself as WV Accident & Wrongful Death Lawyers.
Adams is admitted to practice in West Virginia and Pennsylvania and is also admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He has been a member of the West Virginia State Bar since 1999 and the Pennsylvania State Bar since 2001. Locally, he holds membership in the Monongalia County Bar Association. Earlier in his career he belonged to the West Virginia Defense Trial Counsel from 2001 until 2009.
The thread running through Adams’s work is courtroom practice. His early years at regional firms and his court clerkship gave him experience on both sides of litigation. Cases handled over the course of his career have included complex civil matters and serious personal injury claims. Those matters require drafting pleadings, taking depositions and arguing motions at both trial and appellate levels.
Colleagues and opposing counsel often notice an attorney who understands trial mechanics and appellate procedure. Adams’s move to open his own practice in 2011 put him in charge of case selection and firm management. Running a small firm has meant balancing courtroom time with administrative duties and client counsel.
He continues to participate in professional organizations at the county and state levels. That involvement keeps him connected to changes in court rules and local practice. He also maintains his admissions to state and federal courts, which supports work that can move from state trial dockets to appellate review.
Adams currently practices through Adams Legal Group, PLLC, where he handles accident and wrongful death cases and related civil litigation matters.
