NCC Announces New Legal Affairs Arrangement

William A. Gillon, who has served as General Counsel and Director of Trade Policy for the National Cotton Council, is joining the legal firm of Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens and Cannada of Jackson, MS, effective Nov. 1.

October 22, 2001
Contact: Marjory Walker
(901) 274-9030

MEMPHIS, TN (Special) - William A. Gillon, who has served as General Counsel and Director of Trade Policy for the National Cotton Council, is joining the legal firm of Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens and Cannada of Jackson, MS, effective Nov. 1.

The NCC has retained the services of the Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens and Cannada firm, and Gillon will continue to serve as NCC counsel and provide assistance in the trade policy arena, according to NCC President and CEO Gaylon B. Booker, who announced the change in staffing and new arrangement for handling the NCC’s legal affairs.

Gillon will be located in the Memphis offices of the law firm.

Commenting on the change, Booker said, "Bill Gillon has been a key member of the Council’s senior staff. This retainer arrangement will enable us to have access to Bill’s extensive experience in agriculture and trade policy while enabling us to draw on the special expertise of the firm’s more than 100 attorneys as necessary."

During his 10 years with the NCC, Gillon was at the forefront of the organization’s successful effort to avoid implementation of countervailing duties on U.S. exports of raw cotton to Brazil. He was instrumental in the development of workable rules of origin for textile products in the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Caribbean Basin Trade Promotion Act and the African Growth and Opportunities Act. He also provided staff leadership in crafting new U.S. warehouse legislation and regulations for implementation of electronic processes.

"Additionally," Booker said, "Bill has been an invaluable resource in the industry’s involvement in the farm policy arena, having drafted much of the legislative language reflecting Council-supported policy in 1996 farm law as well as the bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. We expect this retainer arrangement to facilitate our cost containment objectives while enabling Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens and Cannada to expand their services into agricultural law."

The NCC is the central U.S. cotton organization with offices in Memphis and Washington, DC.