Bill initially received a BS degree in Civil Engineering from Auburn University in 1959. After a short career in civil engineering and city planning, during which he completed course work for a master’s degree in public administration, he turned to law, and received a JD degree from Emory University in 1968. During law school Bill worked as a city planner for the City of Atlanta. For the past 42 years Bill has been a partner in the law firm of Smith, Bassett, Purcell & Koenig, and its predecessor firms. In 2018, after the last of his partners retired, Bill established a solo office, where he intends to finish his career.
Bill has been a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 1968, and is licensed to practice in all state courts in Georgia. He has also been admitted to practice in the federal courts in the Northern District of Georgia, the Eleventh Circuit federal Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. He is a long-time member of the Atlanta Bar Association and the Lawyer’s Club of Georgia. His hobbies include travelling and gardening, and he serves as an elder in his church.
