William J. “Bill” Ricci is a shareholder and one of the founding members of Ricci, Tyrrell, Johnson & Grey, LLC.
Mr. Ricci is national, regional, lead trial and appellate counsel for American and worldwide manufacturers of industrial, construction and agricultural equipment, printing presses, roofing and building supplies, automobiles, aircraft, motorcycles, and various recreational and consumer products in product liability and commercial cases.
Mr. Ricci is admitted to the Supreme Courts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York; the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania; the District Courts of New Jersey and the Southern District of New York.
In his years of practice, Mr. Ricci has defended many high profile cases, both trials and appeals, before juries in state and federal courts throughout the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He has tried cases to verdict in 27 jurisdictions nationwide. He has been actively involved in all phases of design development of many industrial and construction equipment and consumer products. He has served as an expert witness is numerous professional liability cases.
He now offers his services as a Mediator and Arbitrator in the Tri-state area, as well as a Judge Pro Tempore in Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.
Mr. Ricci is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is also a member of The National Association of Distinguished Counsel, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the National Academy of Jurisprudence, and America’s Top 100 Attorneys (Lifetime Achievement).
Mr. Ricci serves as an adjunct professor in the Temple University School of Law Masters in Trial Advocacy Program and lectures frequently on product liability law, trial tactics, litigation management and in various CLE programs and seminars, as well as the annual Joint Litigation Tactics Program presented by the American College of Trial Lawyers and the James A. Beasley Temple University School of Law .
Bar Admissions
- Pennsylvania
- Supreme Courts
- United States District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- Supreme Courts
- District Courts of New Jersey
- New York
- Supreme Courts
- Southern District of New York
Education & Judicial Clerkship
Mr. Ricci graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, in history from St. Joseph’s University, in 1975. He graduated from St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in 1971.
He earned his Juris Doctor from the Temple University School of Law in 1978, where he served as Research Editor of the Temple Law Review.
Following graduation, he served as law clerk to the Honorable Robert Lee Jacobs, President Judge, Superior Court of Pennsylvania.
Professional Affiliations
Mr. Ricci is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
He is also a member of The National Association of Distinguished Counsel, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the National Academy of Jurisprudence, and America’s Top 100 Attorneys (Lifetime Achievement).
Mr. Ricci is an active member of many bar, professional and client-related industry associations, including: The American, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York State and Philadelphia Bar Associations; the Product Liability Advisory Council; the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel; the American Board of Trial Advocates; the Pennsylvania Defense Institute (member of the Board of Directors and co-chair of the Products Liability Committee from 2011 through the present); the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel (current President); the Lawyers Committee of the Industrial Truck Association.
Awards and Honors
In October 2016, Mr. Ricci was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers at its annual meeting in Philadelphia.
In July 2017, Mr. Ricci was named Defense Attorney of The Year by the Pennsylvania Defense Institute (PDI), a statewide organization dedicated to the defense of civil claims through advocacy, education and overall excellence.
Mr. Ricci was recently elected President of the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel for the June 2021-2022 term.
Mr. Ricci was the recipient of the 2005 GEM Award, an honor bestowed by the Saint Joseph’s University Law Alumni Chapter upon an alumnus who epitomizes Jesuit values of excellence and compassion.
Mr. Ricci has been recognized by the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list each year since 2004 and has ranked in the Top 100 lawyers in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia, respectively, for the years 2009 – 2021.
In the ALM publication, Philadelphia’s Best Lawyers 2011- 2012 Editions, Mr. Ricci was named the Best Products Liability Lawyer of the Philadelphia Area. This award is nominated and voted on by peers. The attorneys listed as part of “The Philadelphia Best” are the attorneys listed in “The Best Lawyers in America” survey, also published by ALM.
Mr. Ricci has been listed in “The Best Lawyers in America” Philadelphia area top Products Liability attorneys from 2011-2021.
Mr. Ricci has been nominated by his peers to the “International Who’s Who of Product Liability Defense Lawyers 2008 – 2021.
Finally, Mr. Ricci was recently named by the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys as one of the “10 Best Attorneys” in Pennsylvania.
Personal & Charitable
Mr. Ricci is a semi-professional musician. He and his band have entertained U.S. troops abroad on the U.S. Military Base in Diego Garcia, and perform on a regular basis at locations in Pennsylvania and South Jersey.
Mr. Ricci has been an active member of the Board of Directors of Renovating Hope, an organization which has rebuilt and furnished homes to Veterans of the U.S. Military returning from active duty since 2009.
He is a member of the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania Foundation, and participates in fund raising programs to benefit Leukemia research.