William J. Perlstein
Washington, DC
FTI Consulting
Union College, B.A.
Yale Law School, J.D.
William J. Perlstein is Vice Chair, Client Services, and a Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting, which he joined in November 2019. He previously served as Senior Deputy General Counsel at BNY Mellon since June 2015, where he led the Legal Department practice groups focused on world-wide government affairs, public policy and regulatory relations, and the corporate services legal functions supporting M&A, real estate, and cyber security. In that role he met with regulatory and governmental leaders throughout EMEA, APAC, and the United States concerning cross-border regulatory cooperation, resolution planning, and cyber security.
Mr. Perlstein joined BNY Mellon after spending his entire legal career at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering and WilmerHale. He led Wilmer, Cutler for six years prior to its 2004 merger with Hale and Dorr, and served as the co-managing partner of WilmerHale until 2012. In his practice, he founded the firm’s bankruptcy practice group and also was involved in a number of significant regulatory and investigative matters. Mr. Perlstein received the American Lawyer 2014 Law Firm Distinguished Leader Award for his accomplishments in law firm management.
Mr. Perlstein is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Economic Club of New York. He is a Fellow and was previously Counsel to the Board of the American College of Bankruptcy and served on the Board of the DC Neighborhood Legal Services Program and on the DC Bar's Leadership Development Committee. He graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in Economics and Political Science from Union College, where he is currently a Trustee and General Counsel to the Board, attended the London School of Economics, and received his law degree from Yale Law School. He served as a law clerk to the Hon. Marvin E. Frankel in the Southern District of New York.
(Partner, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering and then WilmerHale, 1982-2015. Managing Partner, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, 1998-2004; Co-Managing Partner, WilmerHale, 2004-2012. Fellow, American College of Bankruptcy. Board Member, Neighborhood Legal Services Program, 2002-2015. Trustee and Counsel to the Board, Union College. Awarded Law Firm Distinguished Leader Award by American Lawyer Magazine, 2014. Senior Deputy General Counsel, BNY Mellon, 2015-present.)
