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William (“Bill”) A. Mullins is a Partner at Baker & Miller PLLC where his practice concentrates on all aspects of the transportation industry, including government grant and loan funding, antitrust review, railroad privatization, railroad mergers, shortline line sales and acquisitions, regulatory rulemakings, litigation and legislative initiatives. He represents clients in proceedings before the Surface Transportation Board (“STB”), the Department of Transportation (“DOT”), the Federal Railroad Administration ("FRA"), the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) as well as at U.S. appellate and district courts.

Mr. Mullins was directed toward a career in transportation law via his first position out of law school when he served (1987-1993) as Chief Counsel and then as Chief of Staff to Commissioners at the predecessor agency to the STB, the Interstate Commerce Commission (“ICC”). While at the ICC, he was responsible for providing legal analysis of railroad rate and service issues and rail restructuring transactions (mergers, line sales, line construction, and line abandonments); the interplay between federal and state laws regulating the transportation industry; trucking and shipping company matters; intercity passenger bus company structure, financial and operational matters; and rates and services of pipelines not regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Before his service at the ICC, he held a position reporting to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice and served as a member of the Task Force for the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist. He also worked as an intern in the Office of the Secretary at the Department of Transportation. Prior to joining Baker & Miller PLLC in 2003, Mr. Mullins was an equity Partner and the Transportation Practice Group Leader at Troutman Sanders, LLP (1993-2003).

Colorado born (1961) and raised, Mr. Mullins was educated at the University of Colorado where he had the honor of joining Phi Beta Kappa his junior year and later graduated in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts in General Studies Summa Cum Laude and a B.A. in Political Science Magna Cum Laude. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Colorado School of Law in 1987.

Mr. Mullins’ has an active representation of a Class I railroad, two holding companies who own several shortline railroads, and state and county governments who own railroads.  In this capacity, he has gained significant experience providing antitrust, STB, FRA, and Congressional advice.  Most recently, he was lead counsel in obtaining TIGER grants in two out of the past three application processes and has obtained two RRIF loans for his clients.  He also has experience with the rail relocation grant program.

Other representative engagements include representing a Class I railroad or large shippers in every railroad merger transaction since 1994, including BN/SF, UP/SP, CN/IC, CN/WCL, KCS/TFM, CN/EJ&E, CP/DM&E/Soo, and CSX/NS/Conrail and the CN/BNSF attempted merger.  He consistently represents shippers and carriers in rail line construction proceedings; shortline railroads in line sales and acquisitions; providing contractual and due diligence advice in transactions involving rail line and rail companies; transportation advice and counsel on several transactions undertaken by one of Wall Street’s largest private equity placement and financing firms; representing companies and state and local governments in transactions whereby the common carrier obligation is separated from the ownership of rail assets and thereby allowing for development of both freight and passenger operations; advising shortline railroads and city and county governments on the scope of federal preemption over the transportation industry; and briefing corporate officers for Congressional meetings and preparing testimony.  Perhaps his most significant engagement involved serving as lead counsel in the proposed "NAFTA Rail" transaction, which involved placing a Class I U.S. railroad and the largest privately owned Mexican railroad under common control and management, a transaction that had never before been proposed.  He was involved with the railroad privatization process in Mexico both inside and outside of the government.