Faculty Profile: William Cheek III

Will Cheek gets the liquor licenses you need to stock your bar or fire up your still. Restaurants, bars, hotels, entertainment venues, grocers and other retailers benefit from Will's insight, experience and enthusiasm with licensing and regulatory compliance issues for liquor, beer, catering and special event licensing throughout Tennessee. Will also counsels Tennessee craft distilleries and breweries, as well as national spirit producers and other suppliers operating in the state.

With a well-earned reputation as the go-to attorney for alcoholic beverage law in Tennessee, Will Cheek leads Waller's alcoholic beverage law team.

Will authors the firm's Last Call blog covering Tennessee alcohol, restaurant and hospitality news.

Will represents clients before the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission and local beer boards in licensing, enforcement actions and administrative hearings. Working in concert with Waller's Government Relations team, Will has extensive experience drafting state and local liquor legislation. Will also represents clients in state court actions challenging existing ordinances and statutes and regulations.

Will is also a trusted legal adviser to startup businesses and emerging companies in a wide range of industries. Serving as "on-call general counsel," he has played a critical role in the growth and success of mom-and-pop and closely held companies, ranging from Nashville-based Gigi's Cupcakes, the largest cupcake chain in the country, to Kraft CPAs, one of Tennessee's largest independent accounting firms.