Who is William Cheeseman from A Civil Action and what is their importance?

Cheeseman is a senior partner with another Boston law firm, Foley, Hoag and Eliot, and he has consistently represented W. R. Grace in a variety of lawsuits, most of which have related to environmental pollution. Unlike Facher, he takes the filing against Grace far more seriously, if only because of the publicity related to the deaths of children. Cheeseman's strategy is to stop the suit before it gains any momentum, as he does not have a lot of trial experience.