William T. Robinson PLLC is an international law firm serving clients in the US, Asia, Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union.  The firm specializes in international business law, trade and investment in Russia, privatization, international dispute resolution, government relations, energy and technology protection.  Representative clients are in mining, manufacturing, fishing, shipping, forest products, computer services, oil field services, trade, port development, transportation, engineering and construction, and operate in most regions and republics of the former Soviet Union.

Extensive experience in representing clients on public and private projects in the US, Russia and other countries provides a solid foundation to assist clients in entering emerging markets and transitional economies.  Recognizing the need for specialization and potential for conflicts of interest in narrowly defined markets, the firm uses correspondent law firms as necessary to provide clients with the highest quality and cost effective service.  The firm has a reliable network of legal, technical, political and business contacts to assist in developing viable projects. 

EXPERIENCE AND AREAS OF PRACTICE

The principal of the firm, Bill Robinson, has over thirty years of transactional experience in domestic and international practice.  For the past seventeen years Robinson's practice has primarily focused on serving clients doing business in and with Russia and its neighboring countries.  The firm's international law practice is equally divided between representing Russian owned companies, and Western or Asian companies doing business in Russia, many of them in the Russian Far East.  The firm represents clients involved in oil and gas projects on Sakhalin, and recently completed the legal and tax analysis for a Sakhalin development corporation to finance infrastructure projects.

Bill Robinson has diverse experience representing public and private corporations in formation, structure and operations in the United States, and has a solid understanding and working knowledge of comparative structures in Russia.  He has represented open and closed stock Russian companies since 1990, and continues to provide services to state and private organizations in Russia.  The firm regularly advises clients of various nationalities how to structure and manage Russian business operations, including participation of affiliated companies in other jurisdictions.  The firm's clients use all forms of doing business in Russia, including corporations, limited liability companies, associations, representative offices, registered branches and contracts. 

For many years, Robinson advised clients and drafted legislation governing interaction between government and the private sector.  In addition to private companies, his clients included public, quasi-governmental corporations, for which he was responsible for legislation concerning governance, funding, status of personnel, contract authority, property rights, legislative oversight and other matters.  Further experience representing clients with mixed public/private ownership in Russian projects provides a foundation for innovative and practical advice for other clients doing business in transitional economies. 

Much of the firm's practice includes representing clients in connection with infrastructure development and financing Russian projects.  This area of practice includes project finance, preparation of opinion letters, due diligence, construction licensing and regulatory compliance.  The firm frequently assists clients in making projects eligible for financing, whether from private capital or institutional resources.

Education and Admission to Practice

Washington State Bar Association, 1973; US District Court, Western District of Washington, 1974; University of Washington School of Law, Juris Doctor, 1973; Whitworth College, B.A. (International Relations), 1970 ; Language Institute of Japan (with studies at the College of Chinese Culture, Taiwan), Mackinac College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 

Professional and Business Organizations

Rural Development Institute, Board of Directors; University of Washington Jackson School of International Studies, Visiting Committee; past member of the University of Washington School of Law Board of Visitors, Seattle Rotary Service Foundation, Board of Trustees; and the boards of the Evergreen State College, Foundation for Glacial and Environmental Research, American Retail Federation, Mountain Rescue Council, and other non-profit organizations; American and Washington State Bar Associations, committees and sections on international and business law; US - Russia Business Council, Legal and Energy Committees; Foundation for Russian/American Economic Cooperation; World Trade Center Alaska; Rotary Club of Seattle; World Affairs Council Fellow; Russia America Pacific Partnership, (1995-present); American Co-chair, Fisheries Sector (1998-2000), Legal Sector (2003-)