Bill maintains transactional and litigation business practices representing both public and private ventures.

Bill’s transactional practice includes M&A advice and counsel for both domestic and international deals, corporate reorganizations and other strategic business plans.

Bill has significant experience in all aspects of the transportation industry throughout the U.S. and global markets. He is well-versed in all areas of domestic and international logistics law and policy. He has a keen understanding of the intricate multi-party contractual arrangements and business relationships central to the movement of products in intrastate, interstate and foreign commerce, including the sale or purchase of companies in or out of this market. Bill regularly consults with and defends clients regarding co-employer or misclassification claims related to independent contractor relationships in this industry. 

Whether in transportation or any other enterprise, Bill has represented private and publicly-traded corporate clients in asset and equity-based mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, successorship planning, complex contract strategies and negotiations. He provides day-to-day counseling and assists business clients with internal and external legal requirements, including regulatory compliance matters before local, state and federal administrative agencies. He regularly represents clients in hearings before administrative agencies with jurisdiction over enforcement and compliance issues, including the California's PUC, DMV, and CHP, and CARB, as well as the U.S. DOT, FMCSA and other federal agencies, including defensive structural options in order to minimize exposure to such actions. 

Bill is frequently called upon to address industry associations regarding contract issues and related litigation strategies.

Bill is a past president of the Transportation Lawyers Association and the founder of Hanson Bridgett's Transportation and Logistics Practice Group. He served as President of Globalaw LTD (2012-2014), an international legal network of firms located throughout the world. Hanson Bridgett is the Northern California representative of Globalaw.

Bar Admissions

• California
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
• U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

Education
J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law (1971)
A.B., California State University, Chico (1968)

Significant Accomplishments
Business formation strategies and implementation of founder's business plans and goals.

Shareholder disputes and resolution of associated business conflicts.

Managing stock and/or asset transfers from origin to closing.

Providing advice and counsel to both emerging and mature companies regarding the legal consequences and implications of internal and external management initiatives for safety and hazardous materials violations.

Administrative agency proceedings at all levels with a focus on regulatory permitting and compliance.

Defend complex independent contractor misclassification cases at regulatory, litigation and appellate levels.

Professional Associations

• Globalaw LTD, former President, Board of Directors
• The Sutter Club, Board of Directors, former Member
• Sacramento County Bar Association, Member
• Bar Association of San Francisco, Member
• Transportation Lawyers Association, Executive Committee Member, and former President
• American Trucking Association, Forum for Motor Carrier General Counsel
• Conference of Public Utilities Counsel, Conference of Freight Counsel Member
• Association for Transportation Law, Logistics and Policy, Member
• American Bar Association, Transportation and Insurance Practice, Member
• Trucking Industry Defense Association, Member
• Schwartz/Levi Inn of Court (U.C. Davis, King Hall); Executive Committee, Master Attorney
• San Jose State University, Graduate School of Business and Management, Associate Professor (1998-2012)
• Law360's 2021 Transportation Editorial Advisory Board, Member

Professional Activities and Experience
Accolades

• Best Lawyers in America©, Transportation Law (2018-2023)
• Lawyers of Distinction, Excellence in the Practice of Law (2021)
• Lawyer International's Legal 100, Transportation & Logistics Law Firm of the Year Contact (2021)
• Martindale-Hubbell, AV Preeminent for Peer and Judiciary (2013-2014, 2018-2022)
• Super Lawyers, Transportation Law (2004, 2006, 2012-2019, 2021-2022)
• The American Registry - Most Honored Lawyers (2022)
• American Lawyer Media, Top Rated Lawyer in Northern California (2019)
• Sacramento Magazine, Top Lawyer (2016, 2019)
• Sacramento Business Journal, Best of the Bar (2014-2019)
• The American Lawyer and Corporate Counsel, Top Rated Lawyer in Transportation Law (2014)
• Transportation Lawyers Association, Lifetime Achievement Award (2006)
• Transportation Lawyers Association, Distinguished Service Award (1995)

• The Trucking Industry Absorbs Yet Another Blow at the Hand of the California Supreme Court

  By William Taylor |May 2018

Additional Articles“California’s Proposition 22: It Passed, Now What?” The Transportation Lawyer (February 2021)
"The Force of Force Majeure in Supply Chain Contracts," Corporate Law Alert (March 2020)