William C. McCahill

William C. McCahill joined Wilmer Cutler Pickering LLP in 2002 after a distinguished career in the American Foreign Service and hands-on experience doing business in China. He brings to the firm a deep knowledge of the Chinese language, culture, and business practices, nurtured over a decade of living and working in the country. In addition, he brings to WCP international negotiating experience, as well as management skills honed in running a diverse group of American diplomatic missions.

At WCP Mr. McCahill has focused on building the government relations aspects of the Firm’s China Practice, living in Beijing and traveling in China on client matters. To date, has projects have ranged from publishing the first Chinese edition of the world’s standard guide to antibiotics, to securing Chinese cabinet approval for a Fortune 100 company’s investment in a flagship Chinese enterprise to matching an American credit card with Chinese card-issuing banks. Mr. McCahill’s pro bono work includes consulting on two documentary films in China, commentary on Chinese national television and university lecturing.

On retiring from the Foreign Service in March 2000, Mr. McCahill joined the Washington-based business advisory group Projects International. Directing the group’s China practice for nearly two years, Mr. McCahill successfully managed client matters in financial and legal services, telecommunications, logistics, aircraft sales and leasing, and marine and public safety He also undertook a number of public speaking and teaching engagements aimed at better acquainting the U.S. public with developments in contemporary China.

Mr. McCahill’s Foreign Service career spanned nearly twenty-five years, ten in assignments in Greater China, the remainder in Europe and Canada. In his final tour of duty, Mr. McCahill served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé of the American Embassy in Beijing, where he played a key role in successfully concluding the U.S.-China bilateral WTO agreement and in arranging reciprocal state visits. Earlier phases of his China service saw Mr. McCahill doing political and economic analysis, as well as trade promotion, in Hong Kong and Beijing. Mr. McCahill’s Canadian and European diplomatic experience includes service as Consul General in Québec, Chargé and Deputy Chief of Mission in Oslo, executive assistant to then-NATO Secretary General Lord Carrington, and political work at the U.S. Mission to the European Communities. In Washington, Mr. McCahill served on the Secretary of State’s staff under Secretaries Haig and Shultz.

Mr. McCahill works in Chinese, French, and Norwegian and has used those languages in numerous media appearances abroad. He holds an A.B. from Boston College and completed graduate studies in Sanskrit, South Asian Studies, and the History of Religion at Harvard University.

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