Dentons

Energy, Transport & Infrastructure

Bill is a Corporate partner in our Edinburgh office. He specializes in private M&A, joint ventures and equity funding transactions with a particular focus on the energy and corporate real estate sectors. He has more than 25 years' experience, both in private practice and in-house, and is qualified under both Scots and English law. 

Earlier in his career, he was one of two legal counsel in Scottish opto-electronics company, Kymata, where he was responsible for the legal affairs of its overseas subsidiaries in the US, Canada and the Netherlands as well as corporate M&A and financing transactions. He has also spent several months on secondment to the Falklands Business Unit of UK-listed Premier Oil, where he supported its legal, drilling and logistics teams in relation to its Sea Lion project and drilling operations with Noble Energy.

In the energy sector his work spans both upstream oil and gas, and renewable energy. He has a particular interest in renewable energy projects and has worked with landowners, developers and industrial operators on a range of projects, including wave and tidal energy, onshore wind developments, anaerobic digestion and biomass, ground- and roof-mounted solar, energy from waste, and onshore aquaculture and hydroponics projects. He regularly advises on private wire electricity supply, feedstock supply and heat offtake arrangements as well as M&A, equity funding and shareholder/corporate governance arrangements. 

Bill also provides a broad range of corporate and commercial advice to clients in relation to corporate/joint venture structuring, acquisitions and disposals via a variety of corporate structures (onshore and offshore and through limited companies, LLPs, limited partnerships and community interest companies), joint ventures and corporate governance compliance and risk management.

Trained McClure Naismith; qualified 1993; assistant, associate, senior associate MacRoberts 1993-2001; in-house counsel Kymata Ltd 2000-01; partner Archibald Campbell & Harley WS 2001-05; partner Semple Fraser LLP 2005-13; partner Dentons March 2013 to date.

Robert Gordon University tutor in oil and gas law.

George Heriot’s School, Edinburgh; University of Glasgow (1986-91 LLB (Hons) and DipLP); Robert Gordon University (2010-11 PG Cert (Oil & Gas Law)(distinction); Qualified Lawyer Transfer Test – English Law (2008).

Sailing, cycling, fell running.