William S. Weltman

Will’s practice focuses on representing private equity firms and their portfolio companies in a diverse array of industries, including companies focused on food, consumer, and industrial product manufacturing and distribution. For many of these companies, Will acts as outside in-house counsel, guiding them through litigation and other risks to avoid litigation and, when necessary, handling litigation for them from inception through trial and appeal.

Because of his varied experiences and adaptability, Will has become a go-to attorney for several of the firm’s clients involved in trust and estate disputes. Will takes the same approach with his trust and estate clients and aims to focus them on resolving their disputes and issues in an efficient manner and to protect against future problems.

Will also has substantial experience in the hospitality industry. He gained his first experience in the hospitality industry several years ago through a four-and-a-half-month client placement at a leading hotel brand, where he acted as an in-house litigator advising internal clients on a variety of commercial disputes and overseeing outside counsel in ongoing litigation and arbitration. This experience also resulted in the retention of Will and the firm to represent the client in a complex international arbitration dispute involving a hotel management agreement.

Will also acts for several clients in international matters, including disputes involving distribution and supply agreements, hospitality agreements, and trade secrets. Since his first international arbitration, he has continued to represent clients in cross-border disputes and international litigation involving parties from Asia and the European Union. Will also continues to work in the hospitality industry on a variety of domestic commercial disputes.

Will serves as the Chicago office’s partner representative on the firm’s Professional Review Committee, which handles ethics and professional responsibility issues, and works with the firm’s Legal Department on legal matters for the firm.

As a member of Reed Smith’s multi-disciplinary Emerging Technologies diagonal group, Will recognizes that all businesses have legal needs pertaining to technology. His practice touches many legal disciplines and commercial disputes involving artificial intelligence, transformative and disruptive technologies, technology transactions, and data-related disputes and investigations.

Will is active in pro bono representation in a variety of matters, including civil rights claims to effectuate change in the criminal justice system.