William Talmadge joined King & Spalding in 1987 and is Counsel in the Government Advocacy and Public Policy Practice Group. Mr. Talmadge has represented clients across a broad range of issues including defense, healthcare, campaign finance law, trade, tax, telecom and food and drug matters before committees of Congress, federal agencies and state legislatures. He had primary responsibility for the government relations support King & Spalding supplied to the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. Working in concert with King & Spalding lawyers, his practice has involved not only standard legislative advocacy, but also the drafting of statutes and regulations, the preparation of public comment on proposed regulations, and the preparation of committee report language.
Prior to joining King & Spalding, Mr. Talmadge worked with the Public Affairs Department of The Coca-Cola Company where he was involved with legislative and regulatory issues at the federal level, and lobbied state legislative issues, working at one time or another in more than forty state legislatures. He also served as campaign manager of the Georgia gubernatorial campaign of the Honorable Ronald B. Ginn and served as Administrative Assistant to Congressman Richard B. Ray.
A graduate of the University of North Carolina, he earned his J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1967. Mr. Talmadge served as law clerk to Chief Justice Bond Almand of the Georgia Supreme Court, and Legislative Assistant to United States Senator Herman Talmadge.