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Before joining Groom in May 2005, Bill was the Benefits Tax Counsel in the Office of the Tax Policy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The Benefits Tax Counsel is the principal legal advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy with regard to all aspects of employee benefits taxation and related matters, including pensions, health care and executive compensation. Bill was the Treasury's primary contact with Congress with regard to the IRA and pension provisions in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. Bill also led the team at the Treasury in its guidance efforts with regard to consumer-directed health care (such as Health Savings Accounts and Health Reimbursement Arrangements) and the new executive deferred compensation rules.

Prior to the Treasury Department, Bill was Tax Counsel on the Majority Staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, under the chairmanship of Senator William V. Roth of Delaware. At the Committee, he was responsible for tax matters in the areas of employee benefits (pensions, medical plans, and executive compensation), retirement savings vehicles (such as IRAs), insurance and tax-exempt organizations (including charitable giving). During his tenure, Bill was involved with the Retirement Savings and Security Act (which unanimously passed through the Finance Committee), the Patients’ Bill of Rights and the IRS personnel flexibility provisions in the IRS Reform and Restructuring Act.

Bill’s government work has taught him that, as he observes, “The law is a living thing that changes all the time.  From a legislative perspective, I tried to help direct some of that change, especially during my time in government.”   He believes that the nature of employee benefits law makes it all the more important to try to influence change in the most positive way possible.  “One of the reasons I chose employee benefits,” he says, “was that, in the end, you were trying to help workers and their families—either helping them to prepare for the future through retirement plan benefits or to help keep them healthy and safe through medical and insurance benefits.”

Bill is admitted to practice in New York and Washington, D.C.