Sole Practitioner
421 Office Park Drive
Birmingham, AL 35223
(404)276-5545 /  

William is a 2002 graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law. In 1999, he received a BA degree in Political Science graduating magna cum laude with a Presidential Scholar honor from the University of Alabama. While at UA, he was elected president of the Student Government Association, a student member of the UA Board of Trustees, and also received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan award. Upon graduating from law school, William received a MBA from Emory University, Goizueta Business School in Concentrations in Finance, Capital Markets and Real Estate. He placed first in the Atlanta Beltline Case competition. William is a sole practitioner, practicing in the areas of Real Estate, Private Equity, and Governmental Affairs.

From 2002-2007, William was a Special Assistant United States Attorney with the United States Department of Justice. In 2008, he worked for Regent Partners, Inc. in Real Estate Investment, Development & Acquisitions. From there, he moved to Birmingham as an associate & In-house counsel in Real Estate Private Equity with Ark Real Estate Strategies. In 2011, William began his Independent Consulting in Legal Counsel & Financial Advisory. He has crafted a comprehensive strategy to raise debt and equity capital for an emerging California-based renewable energy company desiring to establish operations in the southeastern United States. William was a member of the Young Lawyers Division of the Birmingham Bar Association, is a Fellow with The Blackburn Institute, and was a participant in the 2009 class of the Washington Campus Program working with intensive public policy and governmental affairs training for business professionals. He held the position of president of the Birmingham Rotaract Club and also was on the past president’s panel. William is a member of Canterbury United Methodist Church.

The attorney who recommended William said, “I have known Bill for nearly fifteen years from both college and law school, as well as through our time together in Birmingham’s civic and legal community. Having participated in Class 7, I understand the type of person who would fit well in the ASB Leadership Forum and am confident that Bill would be a most excellent addition to Class 8. Bill demonstrates a high caliber of leadership qualities, professionalism and practice diversification that is demanded from Leadership Forum participants. Bill has a proven track record of significant leadership involvement and a passion for serving others. Bill is a servant leader who strives to improve the quality of life in the state of Alabama. Bill played a significant role in building the Rotaract Club in Birmingham, serving as its second president in 2005-2006. Rotaract is Birmingham’s premier young professional organization whose members develop both personally and professionally through speaker programs, fellowship events and community service. The club is now one of the strongest in the world. Most importantly, the club began the long-term planning of the ambitious Ready 2 Read initiative with the goal of putting a library in every second-grade classroom of Birmingham city schools. This multi-year project ultimately raised over $250,000 and received international recognition from Rotary International. Bill continues to remain involved with Rotaract through the club’s Past Presidents’ Panel. Apart from all of Bill’s stellar accomplishments in student and civic organizations, he also would bring a unique legal background to the ASB Leadership Forum. He spent his first five years of law practice working as a special assistant to the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama prosecuting a specialized set of crimes under a federal initiative. Following his work for the government, Bill made a sharp turn in his legal career and obtained an MBA degree. Currently, Bill uses both his law and business acumen for legal and financial consulting for economic development projects in the area. As a long-time friend and colleague of Bill, I know that his background of servant leadership and diverse legal and business experience will add to the depth and quality of Class 8. I also believe that Bill would benefit from this program by continuing his love of working with other talented individuals who have a meaningful desire to develop leadership within the Alabama State Bar.”

In his own words, Bill says, “As a ten year old, my world view revolved around sports cars, video games, and the L.A. Dodgers. My perspective changed considerably the afternoon my father walked into my room and asked, ‘Would you like to take a ride with me? I’m going to visit a family who could sure use our help.’ I didn’t know who we were going to visit, but out of curiosity I hopped into the backseat of my father’s Buick, which I found to be stuffed with bags of groceries and supplies. We drove to the opposite side of our small town to a weathered brick house nestled in a yard overtaken by weeds and knee-high grass. We were greeted at the door by a frail, elderly gentleman who my father had recently met. The man’s wife was suffering from a severe case of diabetes and he was having difficulty tending to her needs as well as taking care of his own health and maintaining their home. I’ll never forget the look of relief and gratitude on the couple’s faces when we arrived on their doorstep. After we said goodbye and left the couple’s home, I felt a mix of emotions. Not only was I exhausted from spending the day cleaning and picking up trash outside their home, I was also deeply bothered to see that the kind, elderly couple had been suffering and that they had no one to turn to for assistance. At the same time, I was content knowing that we put their needs first and helped them when no one else would. It was an incredible feeling. For the first time, I discovered that sometimes the greatest gifts are not those we receive, but instead those that we give to others through simple acts of service. That night my eyes were opened to a new dimension of life; a dimension beyond cars, video games and baseball. Looking back it was the first time I experienced true servant leadership in action. Over the years I’ve seen what makes my father such an effective leader both professionally and civically. His efforts are rooted in selfless service to others. Since my adolescence, I have had a number of rewarding opportunities to practice different forms of servant leadership and contribute to my community. For example, while in college, I became passionate about advocating for student interests and was involved in rebuilding the Student Government Association which had been absent from campus for numerous years. I ultimately had the privilege of serving as president of the organization and focused my efforts on building a legitimate governing body that was worthy of the students’ trust and responsive to their needs. My career has also presented me with opportunities to practice servant leadership within the legal profession, with my most significant contribution being my service as a prosecutor. I had not anticipated serving as a prosecutor, but instead planned on a career in private practice. However, my plans took a detour when I was offered the chance to implement a major federal crime-reduction initiative called Project Safe Neighborhoods in the Northern District of Alabama. The project was designed to aggressively combat weapons related offenses and called for the appointment of a special prosecutor who would serve both the state attorney general’s office as well as the U.S. attorney’s office for the district. I viewed the position as a unique opportunity for public service and a chance to immediately do something incredibly rewarding with my law degree. During my five years in the position, I worked to forge partnerships among state and federal law enforcement agencies and promote inter-agency cooperation in the investigation of weapon and drug related offenses. I served as lead counsel for the United States in the successful prosecution of over 200 cases. My work allowed me to make a difference in a district plagued by high rates of weapon-related homicides and drug offenses. After my appointment concluded, I pursued a master’s degree in business administration based on my long-held interests in finance, capital markets and investments. Upon completing my degree, I returned to Alabama to begin working as in-house counsel for a real estate private equity firm in Birmingham. My work in investments and private equity has recently opened additional doors to contribute to the community by presenting me with opportunities to help fledging entrepreneurs. By providing legal and business consultation, I’ve assisted small business owners in navigating regulatory and financial hurdles as they try to create new businesses in Alabama and spur our economy at a time when we need it most. As I look forward to the next phase of my life and career, I’m excited about the opportunities that still await to contribute to the growth and advancement of my city and state. The enthusiasm I developed in my youth for serving and leading continues to grow. There are a number of things I hope to gain by participating in the Leadership Forum, For me, it represents a unique opportunity to beak out of the ideological ‘bubble’ that can often quietly entrap members of our profession, whether due to geography, practice area, or political affiliation. I want to take advantage of that unique setting to engage with lawyers from other areas of the state to learn about the issues they face in their own communities and how they are approaching them as civic leaders. I want the program to challenge me to examine issues facing our state and our profession through a different lens and motivate me to think about new ways of arriving at actionable, effective solutions. I also want to further develop my leadership skills and find creative ways of employing them in my professional and civic activities. Lastly, I hope to cultivate a close network of like-minded leaders who are passionate about making Alabama a better state in the hopes of working alongside those same leaders in the future. Among the many attributes of the Forum’s design, diversity within each class is one of the great benefits. In the spirit of diversity, I bring a unique legal background to the table spanning the practice areas of criminal law, real estate, private equity and governmental affairs. I have worn the hats of prosecutor and a businessman and have worked in both government and private sectors. In the same way, my community involvement and leadership experiences have also been varied. I’m confident that having had these experiences will allow me to make a richer contribution as a Forum participant.”