In Memoriam: William H. Needle, Esq.

We are deeply saddened by the passing of JAMS Atlanta neutral and preeminent intellectual property attorney William H. Needle, Esq. on April 11, 2026. Honored by Chambers & Partners as a “dean of the IP Bar of Atlanta,” Bill handled complex patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret and other IP matters as a mediator, arbitrator and special master at JAMS for more than 15 years. He was known for his business pragmatism and his common sense approach to legal analysis.

Bill began his career at Newton, Hopkins & Ormsby before founding Needle & Rosenberg in 1983. The firm merged with Ballard Spahr LLP in 2008, where Bill served as the inaugural Chair of the Intellectual Property department and later retired as a partner in 2016. Bill also served for more than 30 years as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Georgia on IP matters. He was listed annually in The Best Lawyers in America (1991-2021) and was named a Georgia “Super Lawyer” by Atlanta Magazine for more than a decade. Bill was a supporter of the Atlanta Bar Association IP Section and the Georgia IP Alliance. He received GIPA's most prestigious recognition, the IP Legends Award, in 2015.

Bill served as an adjunct professor at law schools throughout the South and traveled to Beijing to teach U.S. intellectual property law at universities there. In addition to being a world traveler, Bill enjoyed racquetball, tennis and weightlifting.

Bill is survived by his wife, Valerie; his four daughters, Jennifer, Julianne, Meredith, and Amanda; his brother, Jack; and seven grandchildren.

JAMS was proud to have him on our panel and he will be greatly missed.