Bill was born and raised in Bishopville, South Carolina.  He attended North Carolina State University where he received his B.S. degree in Textile Chemistry in 1988. After graduation, Bill worked for nearly three years for Springs Industries, Inc., a large textile company, at a dyeing and finishing plant in Lancaster, South Carolina.  Bill was working as a third shift superintendent at the time he was accepted into law school at the University of South Carolina.

During law school, Bill served as the Research Editor for the South Carolina Environmental Law Journal.  It was also during law school that he began clerking for the law firm of Whaley, McCutchen, Blanton & Rhodes, LLP, one of the oldest and most prestigious litigation firms in South Carolina, which had originally been founded in 1936. Bill continued to work at the firm after graduation and ultimately became a partner in the firm and then was elected Managing Partner in 2005. Bill and the firm were selected by South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster to represent the State of South Carolina in lawsuits brought against several pharmaceutical companies regarding their reporting of false and inflated prices for drugs which resulted in overpayments by the State Medicaid and State Health Plan programs, known as the AWP litigation. Bill remained as the Managing Partner until December 31, 2007 when the firm dissolved after 71 years of continuous practice. Bill founded and started a new law firm called McCutchen Blanton Hopkins & Campbell, LLP, where he continued to practice with Thomas McCutchen and Hoover Blanton, two of the most well known and respected leaders of the South Carolina Bar.  Bill ran this law firm until November 1, 2010, when he joined Beasley Allen in the Consumer Fraud section with an emphasis on class action litigation.

Bill was active in both the Richland County Bar Association and the South Carolina Bar.  At the time he joined Beasley Allen, Bill was serving on the Professional Responsibility Committee and the Conventions Committee of the South Carolina Bar.  Bill served as the Chairman of the Employment Rights Section of the South Carolina Association for Justice for three years.  Bill was also active in the Columbia community, serving on the Board of Directors of the Pilot Foundation of Columbia, a non-profit organization assisting elderly and disabled persons.

Bill was recently elected to the South Carolina Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), which is a distinct recognition and privilege. ABOTA is a national organization comprised of both plaintiff and defense trial attorneys which is committed to the preservation of trial by jury.  To be eligible for consideration, an attorney must have tried at least 20 civil jury trials to verdict as lead counsel.  Bill has tried over 50 civil cases to jury verdict as sole or lead counsel, in areas such as business torts, fraud, products liability, trade secrets, unfair trade practices, insurance matters and employment.

Bill has also had an active appellate practice and has argued 8 cases before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, including an en banc argument in the case of Ocheltree v. Scollon Productions, Inc., a seminal case regarding the law of sexual harassment, in which many organizations (including the EEOC) made appearances and submitted amicus briefs, and which case was the subject of numerous articles, including an article published in the New York Times.  Bill has also argued several cases before the South Carolina Court of Appeals and the South Carolina Supreme Court.

Bill has developed a successful class action practice, being appointed by several different courts as lead counsel or liaison counsel in many different class action cases.  In fact, Bill had a long standing relationship with Beasley Allen prior to joining the firm, going back to 1995 when they joined forces in a class action suit against Life of Georgia Insurance Company.

Bill was named one of America’s “Best Lawyers” by U.S. News & World Report for 2011 and 2012.

Bill is married to the former Rachel Jackson, who is from New Iberia, Louisiana, and they have a 4-year-old son named Jack.  Bill's son Clay attends Jones School of Law and his daughter Jordan attends the University of South Carolina.