Overview

Bill has extensive experience advising clients on major corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity transactions, and securities offerings. He also regularly advises the firm’s public company clients with respect to the federal securities laws and corporate governance matters, including Exchange Act reporting, ESG matters, and shareholder activism.

Bill’s clients engage in a wide variety of industries, including banking, gaming, consumer products, B2B services, luxury goods, mortgage origination, and mortgage servicing, healthcare and technology.

Bill also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, where he teaches “Business Planning.”

Prior to joining BFKN in 2015, Bill practiced in the Chicago office of Sidley Austin LLP as a member of the Corporate and Securities group.

Credentials

Admissions

  • State of Illinois

Education

  • Harvard Law School, J.D., cum laude, 2006
  • Dartmouth College, A.B., summa cum laude, 2003

Experience

M&A Transactions

  • Represented Town and Country Financial Corporation in its sale to HBT Financial, Inc. (Nasdaq: HBTF).
  • Represented Iowa First Bancshares Corp. (OTC Pink: IOFB) in its acquisition by MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: MOFG).
  • Represented Level One Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEVL) in its sale to First Merchants Corporation (Nasdaq: FRME).
  • Represented Moët Hennessy USA and its affiliates with various M&A transactions, including its acquisition of Woodinville Whiskey Company, LLC and an equity interest in Colgin Cellars.
  • Represented Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: BWB) and its subsidiary Bridgewater Bank (HQ: Minnesota) in M&A, IPO, subordinated debt, and other transactions.
  • Represented Level One Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEVL) and its subsidiary Level One Bank in M&A, IPO, subordinated debt, and other transactions.
  • Represented Midland States Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: MSBI) in its acquisition of Alpine Bancorporation, Inc.
  • Represented Midland States Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: MSBI) in its acquisition of Centrue Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: CFCB).
  • Represented CNB Bank Shares, Inc. in its acquisition of Jacksonville Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: JXSB).
  • Represented Cummins-American Corp., the bank holding company of Glenview State Bank, in its sale to First Busey Corporation (Nasdaq: BUSE).
  • Represented a national insurance company in connection with the creation of joint ventures with respect to its credit card and banking businesses.

Capital Raising Transactions

  • Represented Midland States Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: MSBI) in its $80.1 million initial public offering of common stock.
  • Issuer’s counsel for the $69.1 million initial public offering of Alerus Financial Corporation (ALRS/Nasdaq), a financial holding company headquartered in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
  • Served as underwriters counsel in the $34.5 million follow-on equity offering of Mackinac Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: MFNC).
  • Represents many financial institutions with respect to public offerings and private placements of common stock, subordinated debentures, and convertible subordinated debentures.

Securities Regulation & Compliance for Publicly-Traded Bank Holding Companies

  • Represents multiple publicly-traded bank holding companies in structuring transactions, conducting due diligence, drafting disclosure documents, coordinating the filing of documents with the SEC, preparing applications to national exchanges, and provides counseling to ensure compliance with all applicable federal and state securities laws.

Newsroom

News

Publications

Recognitions

  • Emerging Lawyers Network (2015-2023)
  • Illinois Rising Stars, Super Lawyers (2016)
  • Nelson A. Rockefeller Prize in Economics, Dartmouth College

Organizations

  • Member, Dartmouth Alumni Council
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