Biography

Bill Schlinkert has a broad-based business and tax practice emphasizing corporate, partnership, real estate, and foreign investment matters. He served as chairman of the firm from 1997-2005, as well as previously chairing the Commercial Department and Tax Practice Group.

Bill has extensive experience in corporate purchases and sales, joint venture formations, real estate acquisitions and exchanges, and both inbound and outbound foreign investments. He has represented numerous companies, both private and public, in matters related to a myriad of corporate combinations and divisions. For his real estate clients, he has provided counsel on a wide array of tax and business concerns, including the formation of large real estate investment funds and the intricacies of REIT operations. Working with hotel clients from Hong Kong, Japan, Monaco, and the Middle East, he has established acquisition and management structures for hotel purchases both in the United States and in Europe.

As a member of the firm's wine industry team, he has also been intimately involved in structuring vineyard investments for Canadian, German, Spanish, Middle Eastern, and South American investors.

Thanks in no small measure to his tenure at the helm of Farella, Bill brings a unique and strikingly effective business perspective to the counsel he provides clients. More specifically, he combines technical expertise, creativity, and practicality. He puts his work into a relevant, meaningful business framework, with a strong emphasis on risk assessment. He gauges legal work against the client’s exposure and risk, performing a cost/benefit analysis that drives practical, creative analysis that solves difficult problems.

Clients come to Bill not to simply determine the answer to a question, but to also determine the risks and benefits of a particular course of intended action, and alternatives. Based on decades of both advising and operating a business, Bill’s counsel delivers effective, specific, and actionable recommendations with a grounding in the real world of business.

Distinctions

  • Best Lawyers in America in the area of Tax Law (2017-2024)
  • Certified Tax Specialist, California Board of Legal Specialization

Firm Highlights

News

Farella Braun + Martel Earns San Francisco Green Business Recertification

Read More
Publication

Corporate Transparency Act: State of the Law and Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements

Key Points: Despite ongoing legal challenges, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) generally remains in effect and enforceable. Clients should continue to abide by its regulations. Initial reports for entities formed in 2024 are due within...

Read More
News

Scraping Battles: Meta Loses Legal Effort to Halt Harvesting of Personal Profiles

Alex Reese spoke to Matt Fleischer-Black of  Cybersecurity Law Report about the Meta v. Bright Data decision and its impact on U.S. scraping case law. Read the article here (paywall or trial).

Read More
Publication

Corporate Transparency Act: A Guide on Beneficial Ownership for Nonprofit Executives

The Corporate Transparency Act, enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, represents a significant shift in regulatory requirements for entities across the United States. This act, set to...

Read More
Publication

Nonprofit Quick Tip: State Filings in North Carolina and South Carolina

Welcome to  EO Radio Show - Your Nonprofit Legal Resource . Episode 75 is the tenth in a series of Quick Tip episodes focusing on the details of state registration of nonprofit corporations. With...

Read More
News

JPMorgan Chase Accuses TransUnion of Stealing 'Trade Secrets'

Intellectual property practice chair Eugene Mar provided expert commentary to American Banker for the article "JPMorgan Chase Accuses TransUnion of Stealing 'Trade Secrets'." In the article, he said: "By filing this as a trade...

Read More
Publication

Employment Law Update for Nonprofits With Holly Sutton

Welcome to  EO Radio Show - Your Nonprofit Legal Resource . Charities, foundations, and their founders often request help addressing employment practices and compliance questions. In this episode, host Cynthia Rowland is joined by Holly...

Read More
News

Farella Announces 2024 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Pathfinders: Taylor Rottjakob and John Ugai

Farella Braun + Martel is proud to announce that senior associates  Taylor E. Rottjakob and John M. Ugai have been named 2024 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Pathfinders. Pathfinders have been identified as...

Read More
Publication

Insurance Market Crushes Wineries and Wine Country Homeowners

We keep hearing about how difficult it is for winery and vineyard owners to get property insurance these days, both for their homes and their wine businesses in California’s wildfire-prone areas. Those who have...

Read More
News

North Coast Industry Insiders Weigh In on Why California Cannabis Tax Revenue Slipped in 2023

Jeff Hamilton spoke to Susan Wood with the North Bay Business Journal for the article "North Coast Industry Insiders Weigh In on Why California Cannabis Tax Revenue Slipped in 2023." Read the article with Jeff's...

Read More