William K Pao

Practice Areas

Will is a trusted adviser and creative strategist who excels at high-exposure commercial, consumer, and securities litigation. He works closely with emerging technology companies, including advising cryptocurrency and blockchain pioneers on securities, regulatory, and litigation issues. Will understands the business priorities and reputational concerns of traditional banking clients, crafting litigation strategies that have successfully narrowed consumer claims, limited liability and thwarted putative class actions. With many of his clients spanning global markets – including US-listed Chinese companies and US companies that operate in China – Will provides sophisticated, culturally savvy analyses of cross-border conventions and procedures.

Will recognizes that a successful outcome involves more than skillful motion practice. Understanding each client’s business inside and out – from industry dynamics to customer trends to strategic goals – allows him to counsel and guide his clients through highly complex and sensitive matters.

Will has been recognized by Chambers USA for his expertise in blockchain and cryptocurrencies and by Benchmark Litigation as a Litigation Star for his work in securities, financial services and commercial litigation. He has also been named to Benchmark Litigation’s 40 & Under Hot List and The American Lawyer’s list of West Trailblazers, which identifies “professionals in the West who have moved the needle in the legal industry." And Will has been identified by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the Most Influential Minority Attorneys in Los Angeles.

Will served as a law clerk to the late Judge Fortunato Benavides on the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Judge David F. Levi, formerly of the US District Court for the Eastern District of California. He graduated Order of the Coif from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, and summa cum laude from the University of Southern California, with a triple major in political science, economics, and East Asian languages and cultures. As a Fulbright Scholar at Fudan University in Shanghai, Will conducted extensive research on Chinese economic reforms. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.