William R. Skinner
Will assists companies on corporate and U.S. international tax planning issues, with a focus on advising corporate transactions in the technology and life sciences industries. He has been the lead tax counsel on numerous complex and high-stakes transactions, including M&A, internal restructurings, debt and equity financings, partnerships and licensing, and IP-related transactions.
Prior to entering private practice, Will clerked for the Honorable Carlos T. Bea, on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He is a frequent writer and speaker, including authoring “Bloomberg BNA Tax Management Portfolio - CFCs : Sections 959 – 965 and 1248” and co-authoring a monthly Tax Notes column, “U.S. International Tax Review.”
He's a highly sophisticated professional with a broad tax vision."
- Morphic Holdings in its $3.2 billion acquisition by Eli Lilly
- Smartsheet in its $8.4 billion acquisition by Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners
- Redfin in its pending $1.75 billion acquisition by Rocket Companies
- Niantic in its pending $3.5 billion acquisition by Scopely and PIF
- Cupertino Electric in its $1.54 billion acquisition by Quanta Services
- Figma in its proposed $20 billion acquisition by Adobe (transaction mutually abandoned by both parties)
- Symantec in the $10.7 billion sale of its enterprise security assets to Broadcom
- Coinbase Global in its $1.1 billion convertible debt offering and Bill.com in its $1.4 billion convertible debt offering
- CoreWeave in its $650 million and $642 million minority investment transactions and Metropolis Technologies Inc. in its $1.7 billion financing for its acquisition of SP Plus
- A public company in complying with Tax Matters Agreement following a § 355 spin, including issuing several tax opinions
Recognition
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Chambers USA2025Recognized by Chambers USA as a leading lawyer in Tax in Northern California.