History

William “Bill” Thrush's entire career has been focused on the design and construction industries. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Bill received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Dayton.  During his civil engineering studies, Bill served as a laborer on commercial roofing crews, as a rodman and transitman on surveying crews, and as a co-op designer for the structural engineering group of an ENR Top 100 Design Firm.  After graduating from the University of Dayton, Bill moved to Portland, Oregon and earned his Professional Engineering license while working as a civil designer and project engineer for a global infrastructure and environmental services company, where he focused on site design and stormwater management for commercial and mixed use developments.

While working as an engineer, Bill earned his J.D. from the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College, where he was awarded an Environmental Law Certificate and Environmental Leadership Award from the Environmental Law Program that is consistently ranked #1 in the country by U.S. News and World Report. 

After law school, Bill transitioned from engineering to his legal practice, joining a Portland, Oregon firm that focused on the representation of design professionals in the construction industry.  As he worked his way up to shareholder in the firm, Bill applied his engineering background to counsel his design clients, advise them on key risk management issues, and represent their interests in disputes. During this time, Bill maintained a well rounded practice where he litigated a variety of complex multi-million dollar construction/real estate matters, negotiated and drafted legal documents for his real estate and construction industry clients, and advised on general business matters.

In 2014, Bill returned to his hometown and joined a large firm headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, where he became a partner in its Construction Group that is consistently ranked as Top Tier by U.S. News and Business Report, Chambers and the Legal 500.  Bill's practice included representing clients at trial and in arbitrations, mediations and appeals involving a wide range of complex multimillion-dollar construction and real estate matters. His practice also included a transactional component in which Bill prepared and negotiated construction contracts, design agreements, leases and other contract documents for construction and real estate clients.  In 2019 and 2020, Bill was one of eight lawyers in the U.S. recognized by the Legal 500 as "Rising Stars" in the field of construction law and Bill has been recognized a “Recommended Attorney” by Legal 500 for four straight years.  During his time with the firm, Bill also served as the Chief Operating Officer for its wholly owned subsidiary project management consulting business.

In 2024, Bill started Thrush Law with a focus on applying his unique set of knowledge and skills to provide his real estate and construction clients a more personal, pragmatic and cost-effective way to achieve solutions and resolve disputes on their projects. 

Bill maintains his professional engineering license in Oregon and was a LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design + Construction.

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