William C. "Bill" Killian is the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Killian is responsible for representing the legal interest of the United States and prosecuting federal criminal violations throughout the District's 41 counties, which extend from Johnson County in northeastern Tennessee to Lincoln County in the middle of the state. The Eastern District is the largest federal district in Tennessee and serves approximately 2.6 million citizens.

Prior to being sworn in as U. S. Attorney on October 4, 2010, U. S. Attorney Killian, since 1979, was a sole practitioner in his law firm in Jasper, Tennessee. He served as the City Attorney for the Town of Monteagle, Tennessee for a total of 21 years. Until recently, Killian held positions on the Tennessee Court Reporting Board, the Tennessee Bar Association House of Delegates, and the Board of Directors of the Chattanooga area Chapter of the American Red Cross. He is a master member of the Brock/Cooper Inns of Court in Chattanooga. He has been certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and the Tennessee Commission on Legal Specialization, as a civil and criminal trial advocate, since 1995. He has tried civil and criminal cases in several states and several federal jurisdictions.

Killian graduated from the University of Tennessee School of Law in 1974, after receiving a B.S. degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in April 1975. From 1976 through 1979, he was employed as an Assistant District Attorney with the Twelfth Judicial District, serving seven counties in southeast Tennessee and returned to this position part-time from 1988 through 1990. Through the years he has held various teaching positions with colleges in east Tennessee as well as the University of Tennessee College of Law. He served in the U.S. Army, Tennessee National Guard, from December 1970 through January 1973.

Killian says, “I am deeply honored to be able to serve with the other United States Attorneys, who are the greatest group with whom I have ever associated. Their core principles and constant pursuit of equal justice under law, make them the most impressive people whom I have ever known. You’re right, Mr. Attorney General, this is the greatest job ever.”