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About William
Biography
Bill is a business lawyer with 26 years experience serving emerging technology companies, serial entrepreneurs and angel investors.
Bill's corporate clients operate in Web Service, Gaming, Robotics, Custom Software Development, VR, Digital Media and other IT industries. He also represents founders and C-level executives of venture-backed companies in transition. Frequently, he works with his firm's litigators to anticipate, avoid or bring lawsuits for clients.
Recent transactions:
- Representation of a successful, privately held FinTech venture in its sale to a public financial services company;
- Representation of a leading developer of Microsoft-based applications in the course of negotiating master services and license agreements with dozens of Fortune 500 companies;
- Counsel to a founder in the formation and organization of a robotics startup;
- Representation of a game company in series of non-or mildly-dilutive financing transactions (e.g., development seeding from Fortune 50 companies; project-specific SPV; note and warrant financing);
- Representation of the owner in the sale of his commercial aircraft customization company to a private equity firm;
- Representation of a digital agency in its spinout and sale of a legacy ecommerce platform to the Canadian affiliate of a European company;
- Representation of executives departing from or onboarding Microsoft, Amazon and Google; and
- Representation of lead investors in I-502 marijuana startups.
Bill is active in national policy impacting angel investing. He serves as Chair of the Angel Capital Association's Public Policy Committee Advisory Council, and writes and presents frequently on general solicitation and accredited investor verification under Rule 506(c). On this topic, he has written articles for the Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, GeekWire and VC Experts, and been quoted by the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, , Forbes, , Compliance Week amd .
Practice Areas
5
Practice Areas
Corporate and Incorporation
20%
34 years
Internet
20%
31 years
Licensing
20%
31 years
Mergers and Acquisitions
20%
34 years
Fees and Rates
Cost
Hourly Rates
$ 470-520 per hour
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Chat withLicenses
Licensed in Washington for 34 years
State: Washington
Acquired: 1991
No misconduct found
Location
McNaul Ebel Nawrot & Helgren PLLC
600 University Street, Suite 2700, One Union Square, Seattle, WA, 98101-4151
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William A. Carleton III's Reviews
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6 Client Reviews
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Practice Areas
Showing 1 - 3 of 3 reviews | Contracts & Agreements
Posted by Kevin | April 27, 2016 | Hired Attorney | Contracts & Agreements
Bill is an excellent resource. Highly recommended.
I hired Bill to help me write an employment agreement that was closely tied to the merger and acquisition of my company. The deal was contingent on the employment agreement and he was able to work with me, and also with the acquiring firms attorneys to craft an agreement which was mutually acceptable...
Posted by Rob | March 09, 2010 | Contracts & Agreements
Optimize your business transactions
Bill has been our company attorney for almost 4 years and has ably helped us through startup, employee agreements, customer contracts, and strategic opportunities. Bill works to get the optimum deal done and is excellent about seeing outcomes where both sides benefit. When you are a startup company, ...
Posted by anonymous | November 03, 2008 | Contracts & Agreements
Listen to Bill
I rely on Bill for his legal and business advice. He has walked us through company formation, a convertible note, Series A funding, and customer contracts. In each stage, Bill has guided us in the right directions with decisions that benefited us from a legal and busines perspective. They say to not ...
William A. Carleton III's Lawyer Endorsements
"Bill is extremely intelligent and well-versed in the law. He listens well and provides valuable and reliable advice."
"I have worked opposite Bill on a few commercial transactions and he is always a tenacious advocate for his clients, while at the same time being reasonable and helping achieve a contract that works for both sides. Highly recommended."
"Bill is a great lawyer and an enjoyable one to work with to boot! I highly recommend him!"
Erik Marks
Real estate lawyer
Experience
Honors
2010
Great Web Startup Lawyers, Giff Constable (http://giffconstable.com/2010/01/great-startup-lawyers/)
1991
Order of the Coif, National Order of the Coif
Work Experience
2002 - 2006
General Counsel, Who's Calling
2001 - 2002
General Counsel, Tamarac, Inc.
1991 - 1999
Associate and Partner, Cairncross & Hempelmann, P.S.
Associations
2014 - Present
Angel Capital Association Advisory CouncilChair
2010 - 2014
Angel Capital Association Public Policy Advisory CouncilMember
Education
1991
Cornell Law School
JD - Juris Doctor, magna cum laude
1986
Cornell University
Master Fine Arts, with distinction
N/A
Lafayette College
Speaking Engagements
2015
Angel Capital Association 2015 Summit
And the Beat Goes On... (General Solicitation, Reg A+ and Accredited Investor Definition)
2014
Thomson Reuters 2014 Online Financial Services Symposium
Disruptive Alternatives: An insight to Crowd Funding and Peer-to-Peer lending, the new investment vehicles for investors
2014
2014 Angel Capital Association Summit
The New SEC Regulations: Practical Interpretation and Guidance for Angel Group Management Activities
2013
Seattle Angel Conference
Crowdfunding, AngelList and angel investing: the Venn of it all
2013
Angel Capital Association: 2013 Northwest Regional Meeting
Two kinds of investment crowdfunding
2012
Webinar: Understanding the JOBS Act
Understanding the JOBS Act
2012
Taking Advantage of the JOBS Act
Private Offerings: Impact of the Elimination of Regulation D Rule 506 Prohibitions on General Solicitation
2012
Legal Stuff Explained 2.4
Equity Crowdfunding Dissected
2012
Legal Advice For Entrepreneurs & Their Companies
Legal Advice For Entrepreneurs & Their Companies
2012
Angel Capital Association: 2012 Northwest Regional Meeting
Public policy update
2012
Angel Capital Association 2012 Summit
The New Reality - Impact of Washington DC Policymakers on Angels and Startups
2011
TWiL #133
Beyonce, Bad Laws, and Breastaurants
2011
2011
Angel Capital Association Northwest Regional Meeting
Public Policy Outlook Panel
2011
2011 IBOP Conference
Technology startups (breakout session)
2010
SMC Seattle Workshop: Social Media and the Law
The Future of Social Media
2010
2010 Angel Capital Association Summit - Pre-Summit Term Sheet Program, Panelist
Angel Term Sheets
2007
The 2007 Annual Entrepreneurship Event: Improving Business Relationships
Improving Business Relationships
Publications
2013
Practical Law Company publication
Expert Q&A on Accredited Crowdfunding
2013
2013
2012
Crowdsourcing.org
Crowdfunding for the 1%
2012
2012
2012
Wall Street Journal
Live Chat: What Will the JOBS Act Mean for U.S. Start-Ups?
2012
Crowdsourcing.org
Crowdfunding is white-hot on Capitol Hill - will it survive the fire?
2012
2011
Atlantic (James Fallows blog)
Imagined Obama Address in "Thanksgiving Guest Post #2: 'This Is What Is Happening'"
2011
Wall Street Journal
Quoted on mobile apps and startup costs
2011
2010
TechFlash (guest post co-authored w/ Dan Rosen & Joe Wallin)
Rules for angel financing saved
2010
The Wall Street Journal Online (Suzanne Barlyn interview)
Compromising on Private Placement Regulation
2009
Seattle 2.0 (guest post co-authored w/ Joe Wallin)
Entrepreneurs, Investors & Lawyers Ask Senators to Protect Startup Financings