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Bill Malley has served as managing partner of Perkins Coie since 2019. In this role he applies his deep law firm leadership and management experience to furthering Perkins Coie’s position as a trusted advisor to clients and accomplishing the firm’s strategic goals.
Bill previously served for nine years as managing partner of the firm’s Washington, D.C., office—the firm’s second-largest and fastest-growing location. Under his leadership, the office made significant advances in attorney diversity, was recognized for outstanding pro bono service by the D.C. Circuit Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services, and was included on The Washington Post’s “Top Workplaces” list multiple times.
At the time of his appointment as firmwide managing partner, Bill co-led the firm’s Infrastructure Project Permitting & Development practice and its Autonomous Vehicles Systems industry group. He has spent more than 25 years practicing at the intersection of environmental law and transportation, frequently serving as lead counsel to public agencies and private-sector clients on the environmental review process for major infrastructure projects. He also has advised clients on a wide range of environmental and transportation regulatory matters, including the emerging federal and state regulatory frameworks for regulating autonomous vehicles.
A graduate of Yale Law School, where he served as co-editor-in-chief of the Yale Journal on Regulation, Bill also earned his M.S., with distinction, from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He received his A.B., magna cum laude, from Harvard University. Following law school, Bill clerked for the Hon. José Cabranes, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.

Ranked by Chambers USA Eight Years in a Row
Environment
Professional Recognition
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Listed in Chambers USA "America's Leading Lawyers" for Environment, 2015 - 2022
- Ranked by Chambers USA, as an "Eminent Practitioner," 2022
- Recipient, Burton Award for Legal Writing, 2017
Professional Leadership
- American Bar Association, Section on Environment, Energy and Resources
- District of Columbia Bar Association, Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Section
- Transportation Research Board, Environmental Issues in Transportation Law Committee
Related Employment
- Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Washington, D.C., Partner, 2000 - 2007
- Cutler & Stanfield LLP, Washington, D.C., Associate/Partner, 1993 - 2000
- Hon. José Cabranes, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, 1992 - 1993