William J. Wilkins Esq.

William J. Wilkins was sworn in as Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service on August 3, 2009, following Senate confirmation by unanimous consent on July 24, 2009. As Chief Counsel, he is also an Assistant General Counsel in the Department of the Treasury.

Before becoming Chief Counsel, Mr. Wilkins was a partner in the Tax Practice Group of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (also known as WilmerHale), based in WilmerHale’s office in Washington, DC. Mr. Wilkins joined Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, a predecessor of WilmerHale, in 1988. His practice at WilmerHale included counseling nonprofits, businesses, and investment funds on tax compliance, business transactions, and government investigations.

Before joining WilmerHale, he was Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the United States Senate Committee on Finance. Mr. Wilkins joined the Democratic staff of the Committee in 1981 and served as Tax Counsel before becoming Staff Director and Chief Counsel in 1987.

Before joining the Finance Committee staff, Mr. Wilkins was an associate with King & Spalding in Atlanta, GA. He has held several offices in the Section of Taxation of the American Bar Association, including serving a one-year term as Chair just before becoming Chief Counsel. He has also served on the governing boards of the American College of Tax Counsel and the American Tax Policy Institute. Mr. Wilkins was born in Greensboro, NC.

He is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School.