RWO is proud to be recognized in the 2025 edition of Best Law Firms®, achieving national rankings in two practice areas and regional rankings in eight. Inclusion in the 2025 Best Law Firms® list represents professional excellence with notable ratings from clients and...
William Rapson
Of Counsel
Bill Rapson’s practice focuses primarily on litigation and arbitration matters and includes securities work, insurance matters, and a wide variety of other kinds of cases, including representation of both plaintiffs and defendants. He brings decades of wisdom to assist his clients in a career that started at Stanford Law School and has included service as Chief Trial Deputy in the Denver District Attorney’s Office. His practice ranges from small traffic matters to major civil and criminal matters and is very broad in scope.
After graduation from college with cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa honors Bill attended Stanford Law School and served on the Stanford Law Review. Upon graduation from law school, Bill clerked for The Honorable William E. Doyle on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. He has authored several articles and taught legal courses at Metropolitan State College.
Recently Bill has become involved in representation regarding wrongful financial and lending matters and has a particularly strong interest in assisting people who are the victims of usurious loan rates.
Education:
- J.D., Stanford University
- B.A., Occidental College, cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa Society
- Phillips Academy, Andover, MA
Key Matters:
- Represented employer in class action wage dispute matter. Okamoto v. Bradley Petroleum, Inc.
- Represented insurance company in disability action involving claimant’s assertion of Fifth Amendment rights. Steiner v. Minnesota Life Insurance Company
- Represented brokerage firm in federal action challenging arbitration award. The Trading Deck, Inc. v. Crestar Bank
- Represented propane company in trial over non-compete agreement. National Propane Corp. v. Hometown Propane, Inc.
- Represented client in eight-week criminal jury trial in federal court. U.S. v. Byron
- Publications, Presentations & Accolades
- Selected to Colorado Super Lawyers, 2008-2021
- Note, Extending Search and Seizure Protection to Parolees in California, 22 Stan. L. Rev. 129 (1969)
- Rapson, W.R., Recent Changes in Colorado Inheritance Tax Laws, 3 Colo. Law. 23 (Nov., 1973)
- Rapson, W.R., Criminal Prosecutions Under the Colorado Securities Act, 47 Colo. L. Rev. 233 (1976) (reprinted in the 1976 Volume entitled Securities Regulation, published by the National Law Review Service)
- Rapson, W.R., and Bain, S.A., Playing at Your Own Risk: Recreational Waivers in Colorado, 32 Colo. Law. 8 (Aug., 2003)