William Austin Nilson

Biography

William Nilson is an attorney in the real estate group of Jackson Walker’s Austin office with a practice focused on assisting lenders, buyers, sellers, developers, investors, owners, managers, and others in the acquisition, disposition, investment, leasing, and management of commercial property.

Guiding clients through transactions from start to finish, William has broad experience handling commercial real estate matters from managing the closing of a single parcel retail agreement valued at more than $13 million, to conducting due diligence components on a more than $250 million asset portfolio transaction, and everything in between. He has authored comprehensive title, survey, and due diligence reports and schedules of critical contingencies, including reports on layered development agreements and environmental restrictions for clients in a myriad of commercial property transactions. William also regularly works with property owners, developers, and governmental authorities to protect use rights, future dispositions, and finance options for retail properties.

As an adjunct to William’s real estate work, he supports local property tax incentive work for clients including negotiating and documenting agreements authorized by Chapter 312 of the Texas Tax Code and Chapter 380 and 381 of the Texas Local Government Code.

William’s real estate financing experience includes serving as a trusted advisor to clients when deciding the appropriate financing vehicle for each transaction, including lender-side financing and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) financing, as well as CMBS loans and portfolio loans. For portfolio financing in particular, clients appreciate William’s comprehensive understanding of complex title, survey, zoning, and borrower entity risk mitigation analysis and reporting.

In his leasing work, William often assists clients in the structuring and negotiation of commercial leases, with experience in lease turnovers, lease and sublease CMBS guideline risk assessments and related lender representations.

Prior to joining Jackson Walker, William developed substantial legal experience as an Associate at another top real estate law firm for several years, and during law school served as a legislative intern to the Florida House of Representatives, where he researched topics and drafted memoranda related to bills and interests of the members and staff of the Health and Human Services Committee. Prior to that role, William held a legal intern position with the office of the Solicitor General of Florida.

William is an operatically trained lyric baritone and has performed in various collegiate, community, and professional settings and was trained in classical guitar at the collegiate level.

Education

B.M.E., magna cum laude, Florida State University College of Music

J.D., summa cum laude, Florida State University College of Law

• Order of the Coif
• Ladd Scholar
• Florida State University Law Review
• Journal of Transnational Law & Policy

Bar Admissions

Texas
Massachusetts
Florida