William P.Perkins

Counsel

Bill draws upon more than four decades of experience to counsel his clients and solve their employment law challenges.


More About Bill

Clients turn to Bill to help them through their most difficult labor and employment matters. In addition, he helps them understand new employment law legislation, hire or fire senior employees, address employment matters related to disabled employees, and understand application of leave laws. Bill also provides guidance in matters of nationwide reductions in force, WARN compliance and FLSA determinations and exemption status.

Bill advises clients on numerous other labor and employment law matters. These include all forms of discrimination and harassment claims, wage-and-hour claims, contract negotiations, affirmative action plan design and compliance review defense, executive employment contracts, FMLA matters, and day-to-day advice and counsel, as well as human resources policies. He regularly represents clients i before federal and state administrative agencies, arbitrators, and mediators.

Bill has more than 40 years of legal experience dealing with matters relating to employment. He also offers understandable, practical solutions by drawing upon 10 years of experience as senior HR, and more than a decade of employment law experience as in-house counsel at two broadcast networks.

Bill stays at the forefront of the industry through his thought leadership and authorship. He has been rated as A/V Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell since 2000. He has been listed by Legal 500 (Legalese Ltd.) from 2009-2021 and ranked as a "Leading Lawyer in Employment Law Counseling" by Legal 500 from 2013-2020 (one of a handful of US attorneys with such a rating). He is listed in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame from in 2017 and in 2021. Bill has been included in ALM's Top Rated Lawyers Annual Guide to Labor & Employment (ALM Media Properties, LLC) from 2012-2019 and is an endorsed employment lawyer by PLC's Labour and Employee Benefits Multi-Jurisdictional Guide (Thomson Reuters) (2006). He has been listed in New York Super Lawyers for Employment & Labor (Thomson Reuters) from 2014-2019 and ranked as one of the Top 100 Nation's Most Powerful Employment Attorneys by Human Resources Executive and Lawdragon (2015-2019). Bill was recognized in the Best Lawyers in America (2020-2023) (Woodward/White Inc.). He has written a number of published employment law articles and edited employment law resources guides. Bill actively represents pro bono clients. He received a Cornerstone award from Lawyers Alliance for New York in 2006 and was included in their 15 Year Circle in 2019. In 2017 he received a Certificate of Merit from the New York State Assembly for his pro bono representation of a social service agency.

Bill enjoys his Seyfarth practice because of the diversity of his clients and the challenging issues they present on a daily basis.

  • JD, Western New England University School of Law

    Cum laude

  • BS, Marietta College
  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • New York
  • US District Court, District of Connecticut
  • US District Court, District of Maine
  • US District Court, District of Massachusetts
  • US District Court, District of New Hampshire
  • US District Court, Eastern District of New York
  • US District Court, Southern District of New York
  • US District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin