William Dale Greenlee, Jr.

William (Billy) Greenlee is an Of Counsel attorney working in our Business & Finance practice group out of our Oakland office. Billy is a senior legal practitioner with more than two decades of experience providing legal advice and structuring deals in North America and Asia. He works with clients in many industries including technology, media, telecommunications, manufacturing, retail, banking and finance, real estate development, aviation, hospitality and tourism, mining, power and oil and gas.

His practice focuses on M&A transactions, commercial and corporate law, securities, regulatory compliance, corporate governance, legal transaction structuring, banking and finance, project finance, data protection, global anti-corruption regulations, labor, and arbitration matters. Billy also work on an array of tech and internet matters, such as SaaS and Master Service Agreements. He also leads Fennemore’s “Cloud” initiative – providing quality legal business services to clients without the need for specific brick and mortar locations.

Billy was raised overseas as his father was an American diplomat, and this experience forever shaped his worldview. From an early age, Billy had an interest in the law and how government and commerce touch almost every aspect of our lives. As an attorney, Billy relishes his ability to influence the world in which we live through his legal skills. He has an extensive history of managing large transactions, and focuses on business and commerce in his global practice, profession and lifestyle. Although based in our Oakland office, Billy and his family reside in Silicon Valley. And as such, he is interested in everything technology-related, which is clear by his long list of established cutting edge technology clients and start-up clients. Through his commitment to pro bono work, he’s also passionate about providing access to legal services to numerous environmental and conservation organizations.

Outside of the office, you’ll probably find Billy with his family, which includes his wife, two children and two dogs, exploring the mountains and ocean around Northern California through activities like hiking and surfing. A voracious reader, Billy also places his legal brain in a different space with fiction and nonfiction books.

Education

  • J.D., University of San Francisco School of Law
  • B.A., Asian Studies, University of Oregon

AREAS OF PRACTICE

Our business attorneys recognize and appreciate the value of entrepreneurship and innovation, and are committed to providing efficient, straightforward and business-oriented solutions that facilitate success and avoid pitfalls while recognizing early capital is precious and expensive.

Our business and finance attorneys represent national, regional and local clients participating in significant transactions.

Representative Matters

ACQUISITION OF ONLINE MARKET PLACE – Alibaba

  • Advised Alibaba in its acquisition of Daraz Group, an online shopping platform with operations across Asia.

SINGAPORE ACQUISITION OF ONLINE PAYMENT COMPANY

  • Counsel for LSE-listed company providing payment solutions and technologies for online and mobile merchants in acquisition of a Singapore company with subsidiaries and operations throughout Asia.

YANGON HANTHAWADDY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

  • Counsel for the development of the country’s main international airport with anticipated cost of $1.5 billion. Provided advice on optimal legal structures and Myanmar laws, editing project agreements, leading negotiations with the Myanmar government and procuring required licenses and permits.

MYINGYAN HYDROELECTRIC POWER PROJECT

  • Acted as lenders’ counsel for $300 million, 225MW gas-fired combined power plant in Myanmar.

MYANMAR ORIENTAL BANK

  • Provided advice to lending institution as counsel for $7 million convertible loan from IFC to Myanmar Oriental Bank. First convertible loan approved by the Central Bank Myanmar of a foreign investment into a Myanmar owned bank which established a precedent for future investments.

LAOS RESORT CASINO

  • Negotiated gaming monopoly with Lao PDR government and developed optimal structure for the development of resort casino and drafted relevant agreements.

CAMBODIAN BANK

  • Led negotiations with the Cambodian government. Complied with Cambodian banking regulations and secured one of the limited number of banking charters to be issued to a foreign company.

MACAU CASINO

  • Negotiated a dispute settlement with a Chinese company transaction counterparty and the Macau government.

GLOBAL SUBSIDIARY STRUCTURES

  • Devised the optimal and secure entity structures for investment group to conduct business, own real estate and invest in the U.S., China, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.

Awards and Honors

  • Chambers USA, Leading Lawyers for Business, 2023
  • Myanmar, General Business Law, Banking, Corporate M&A, Infrastructure, and Project Finance (2014 – Present)
  • Lao PDR, General Business Law, Energy & Infrastructure (2014 – Present)
  • Leading Individuals Myanmar, Corporate M&A/Projects – Legal 500 (2017 – 2020)
  • Band 1 Myanmar, General Business Law – Chambers & Partners Asia Pacific (2018, 2020)
  • Band 1 Myanmar, General Business Law – IFLR 1000 (2020)
  • Highly Regarded Myanmar, Energy – IFLR 1000 (2018 – 2019)
  • Distinguished Practitioner Myanmar, Corporate and M&A – Asia Law Profiles (2020)
  • Leading Lawyer, Myanmar, Corporate and M&A – Asia Law Profiles (2018 – 2019)
  • Elite Practioner, Myanmar, Corporate and M&A – Asia Law Profiles (2021)

Articles and Presentations

  • Featuring, “DFDL Singapore managing director departs for US,” Asia Business Law Journal, March 8, 2023
  • “Data Privacy in ASEAN Region: Singapore, Malaysia and Myanmar”, ABA International Law News, broken into three sections in Winter, Spring Summer volumes, 2022
  • “Evolving M&A Trends: Private Equity Transactions Amid the Covid-19 Crisis”, International Bar Association, July 14, 2020
  • “COVID-19 and the Pharmaceutical Industry in Singapore and Myanmar: A Comparison of Developed and Frontier Markets”, American Bar Association, The Health Lawyer, June 4, 2020
  • “The Future of M&A in Myanmar”, International Bar Association, March 2020
  • “Foreign Investment in Mobile Financial Services in Myanmar”, Digital Business Global Guide, September 2016
  • “Improvements in Myanmar’s Banking Sector”, Southeast Asia Infrastructure magazine, August 2016
  • “Cambodia and Myanmar to Ride ‘OBOR’ Wave”, Asia Business Law Journal, July 12, 2016
  • “ASEAN: Will the Puzzle Pieces Fit?” in Volume 13, Issue 1 2015, Asian-MENA Counsel magazine, July 2, 2015

PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

  • Member, Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce

Admissions

  • California
  • Nevada

Languages

  • Mandarin Chinese