William Carleton

Bill counsels growing companies, entrepreneurs, investors, board directors and corporate executives. He has a particular passion for new ventures and the people who live them. Bill works across a broad spectrum of corporate, commercial and transactional matters, including venture planning, entity formation, private securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, board and corporate governance processes, operating agreements, executive and non-executive employment issues, software, media and IP licensing, distribution agreements and other commercial contracts.

Bill is frequently involved in the shaping of new enterprises. Representative firm clients with whom Bill has worked since their inception include SiteScout Corporation, Enprecis, Inc. and Zeenami, Inc. In the roaring 90's, Bill was the start-up attorney for F5 Networks, Union Street, Bot.Net, Tamarac and TeraHop Networks, among others.

Bill joined the firm in 2006. From 2003 to 2006, Bill was General Counsel and Secretary of Who's Calling, Inc., a leading enhanced telecommunications services provider. Prior to that, he was General Counsel and Secretary of Tamarac Inc., a leading provider of tax-efficient portfolio management technology, and General Counsel and Secretary of Bot.Net, a predecessor to ePartners Incorporated. In 1999, he co-founded Spangler Ventures, LLC, a manager of private equity investment vehicles. He currently serves on the board of directors of Tamarac Inc. and TechTell, Inc.

Bill has the distinction of having directed the first feature-length movie to be shot in high definition. A black comedy set in a fictional Seattle startup, "Dot Con" aired frequently in the early days of HDNet, the first all-high definition national television network.

Bill earned his law degree in 1991, magna cum laude, from Cornell Law School, where he was Articles Editor of the Cornell Law Review and made a member of the Order of the Coif. Bill also earned a master of fine arts degree in English, with distinction, from Cornell University, where he taught English as a lecturer for two years. His undergraduate degree is from Lafayette College. He was admitted to practice in Washington in 1991.