William Sorrell
| Bill Sorrell | |
|---|---|
| 25th Attorney General of Vermont | |
|
In office May 1, 1997 – January 5, 2017 |
|
| Governor |
Howard Dean Jim Douglas Peter Shumlin |
| Preceded by | Jeffrey Amestoy |
| Succeeded by | T. J. Donovan |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
March 9, 1947 Burlington, Vermont, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education |
University of Notre Dame (BA) Cornell University (JD) |
William H. "Bill" Sorrell (born March 9, 1947) was the longest-serving attorney general in the history of the U.S. state of Vermont. Originally appointed by Governor Howard Dean in 1997, he was reelected nine times since then in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014. He did not run for re-election in 2016, and was succeeded by T. J. Donovan in January 2017.
A native and resident of Burlington, Vermont, Sorrell received his AB, magna cum laude, in 1970 from the University of Notre Dame, then earned his Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School in 1974.
Sorrell was Chittenden County Deputy State’s Attorney in 1975–1977, then Chittenden County State’s Attorney from 1977 to 1978. After working in private law practice at McNeil, Murray & Sorrell from 1978 to 1989, he returned to being State's Attorney from 1989 to 1992, then served as Vermont’s Secretary of Administration from 1992 to 1997 until his appointment as Vermont Attorney General.
Within weeks of taking office, Sorrell brought suit against the nation’s largest tobacco companies to end their deceitful behavior of lying about the harmful effects of their products.
The lawsuit resulted in a historic settlement with Big Tobacco that to date has yielded over $300 million for Vermont taxpayers; and, as a result Big Tobacco will continue to pay Vermont approximately $25 million a year in perpetuity.
Sorrell also successfully stopped Big Tobacco’s attempt to include cigarette advertising in national magazines sent to Vermont school children and scored a resounding victory against RJ Reynolds in a closely watched lawsuit attacking the marketing of the company’s so-called “reduced risk” cigarettes.
During Sorrell’s tenure, Vermont became a national leader in national anti-pollution efforts.
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