Perkins Coie Names William Malley Next Managing Partner
Perkins Coie announced that William Malley will become managing partner of the firm, effective July 1, 2019. Malley, who currently serves as the Washington, D.C. managing partner, will succeed John Devaney, who was appointed managing partner of the firm in 2014. Devaney will remain a partner in the firm’s litigation practice.
In a release, the firm said Malley was selected for the firm’s top leadership position following an extensive process that involved interviewing the firm’s partners and senior professional staff. He will work closely with Devaney and others at the firm to ensure a seamless transition and continuity in the day-to-day management of the 1,100-lawyer firm.
The firm said Devaney will return to the litigation practice he has had at Perkins Coie for the past three decades and will continue to manage the client relationships he has maintained while serving as managing partner.
Malley joined Perkins Coie in 2008 as a partner in the firm’s Environment & Natural Resources practice, where he advises public- and private-sector clients on navigating the environmental review process for major infrastructure projects. Over the last 25 years, he has served as lead environmental counsel to project developers on some of the largest transportation infrastructure projects in the United States and has been a thought leader on ways to streamline environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects. Malley also advises clients on emerging federal and state regulatory frameworks for autonomous vehicles. He co-leads the firm’s Infrastructure Project Development practice and its Autonomous Vehicles industry group.
Since 2010, Malley has served as managing partner of Perkins Coie’s Washington, D.C., office.
Before joining Perkins Coie, Malley was a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP for nearly eight years. He started his legal career as an associate at Cutler & Stanfield LLP, where he was promoted to partner.
Malley earned his A.B., magna cum laude, from Harvard University. He also received his M.Sc, with distinction from The London School of Economics and his J.D. from Yale Law School where he served as co-editor-in-chief of the Yale Journal on Regulation. Following law school, Malley clerked for José Cabranes, chief judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. He is a native of Buffalo, New York.
