William is the managing estate planning attorney with Oath in our Nashville Office. He is passionate about helping hardworking people protect everything they've worked so hard for. William grew up in small-town Virginia prior to attending West Virginia University, where he earned his Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. He then went on to earn his Juris Doctor from Belmont University College of Law. William is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association, and is licensed to practice law throughout the state of Tennessee.

I grew up in Abingdon, Virginia, a small town in southwest Virginia. Never heard of it? Don’t worry – most people haven’t, and even less have visited. While not a pin-point on many people’s map, it is an important one on mine. Its environment created by small-town farmers and hard working individuals contributed greatly to my mindset of working hard to get what I want and what I need to support my family. I think anyone from a small town can relate. My mother, Rea, was a pharmacist, and my father, Richard was a businessman and a farmer. I watched them get home from work each day, tired, but still pushing forward. Watching that work ethic day in and day out instilled a hard work ethic and drive within me. While a hard work ethic was common of all people in Abingdon, work ethic and a constant drive also forced them to work constantly – so much so that it easily became a vicious, and somewhat disheartening, cycle. People were so busy providing for their families that it was impossible for them to focus on anything other than what was going on right in front of them. It was never a ladder they were climbing – rather another lap around the track. I was on the wrestling team at West Virginia University, and I saw the same “hamster-wheel” mentality in a lot of my teammates. Their tunnel vision had them focused entirely on wrestling. They didn't care about their grades, and were not concerned about life beyond college wrestling. I, however, always saw the next step. This drive to excel beyond pushed me to make sure I planned for my future – law school. After undergrad and while in law school, I always loved togo back home to visit. The few times I was able to, it reminded me how important it was to plan for the future. When catching up with my parents, I’d ask them how a friend's business was doing that my family had cattle with in the past. Sadly, a lot of what I heard was predicted: they had to close because the business had slowed, and they didn't have enough money to stay afloat during slow times. Especially with COVID, its effects were only that much more apparent in a small town. Unfortunate situations like this truly opened my eyes to how quickly bad things can happen to good, hard-working people. It is terrifying for anyone to think that the outbreak of a virus could cost them a lifetime of work, but it is reality. The good news is that no matter who you are, or what line of work you are in, there are ways you can plan ahead to prevent the worst from happening. After seeing the hit taken on the hardworking people of Abingdon, I want to use my legal skills, business acumen and life lessons to help people avoid any bad situations the future is bound to throw their way. I love hearing what people are proud about and what they’ve worked for. So what better way to spend my time than helping them protect it?