WILLIAM L. TOLBERT (BILL), Partner Publications · Professional Activities Washington, DC Office Office: (202) 639-6038 Fax: (202) 661-4986 Email: wtolbert@jenner.com  Add to Outlook Contacts

William L. Tolbert, Jr. is a partner in Jenner & Block’s Washington, DC office.  He is a member of the Firm's Corporate and Mergers & Acquisitions Practices and Co-Chair of the Securities Practice.  Mr. Tolbert focuses on securities regulation and disclosure issues and sophisticated capital markets counseling.  He represents public companies in mergers and acquisitions, public offerings and all aspects of equity and debt offerings as well as corporate governance matters.

A former Associate Director of the Division of Corporation Finance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Tolbert concentrates his practice in securities law.  As a senior member of the SEC, Mr. Tolbert set policy and resolved issues on disclosure matters on registration statements, proxy statements, periodic reports and requests for confidential treatment for all public companies.  He provided guidance and interpretive advice regarding federal securities laws, rules, forms and policies relating to the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Trust Indenture Act of 1939.  Most recently Mr. Tolbert drafted rules and assisted in setting policy for the implementation of the Sarbanes Oxley Act rulemaking and the emergency Arthur Andersen rulemaking.  He also represented the SEC before Congressional Committees and Executive branch meetings.  He has been a speaker on securities issues on numerous occasions for continuing legal education programs, at meetings with shareholder groups and corporate groups.

Prior to his promotion to Associate Director, Mr. Tolbert served as an Assistant Director.  In this position he managed the Office of Transportation and Leisure, taking final action on all matters for over 1,000 public companies and for initial public offerings.  He has extensive experience in the areas of mergers, going private transactions, capital raising transactions, initial public offerings and offerings of tracking stock.

In addition to his work at the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Tolbert was an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC, teaching a class in takeovers, mergers and acquisitions.  Mr. Tolbert is the Vice Chair of the ABA Subcommittee on Proxy Statements and Business Combinations.

Mr. Tolbert graduated cum laude from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1988, and from The Ohio State University cum laude in 1985.