James F. Williams

James Williams is a partner in the firm's Litigation practice. He has been trying cases and managing litigation for over 20 years, as a government attorney and a private practitioner. Mr. Williams graduated in 1985 from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, with honors, and earned his law degree in 1988 from the University of Virginia School of Law. After law school, he served in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the U.S. Air Force before moving to Seattle and joining Perkins Coie in 1993. His practice involves complex business litigation and civil trials, with a focus on mass torts defense, corporate plaintiff asset recovery, insurance broker and consultant liability, consumer protection and unfair business practices, trade secrets, bankruptcy court adversary actions, and federal and state agency litigation.

Professional Recognition

• Selected as the recipient of the Loren Miller Bar Association President's Award, 2008
• Selected as the recipient of the WSBA President's Award, 2005
• Selected for membership in The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation, 2007
• Selected by the American Bar Association as a Business Law Ambassador, 2004 - 2006
• Selected to serve Washington as an ABA House of Delegates Member, 2005 - present
• Selected as a faculty member for “WSBA's Best of CLE 2004” based on instructor evaluations
• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America in Commercial Litigation
• Listed in Corporate Counsel Edition of "Super Lawyers" in Business Litigation, 2008 and 2009
• Listed in Washington Law & Politics, “Washington’s Super Lawyers,” 2001 - 2009, and selected as one of "The Top 100 Super Lawyers" in 2007, 2008, and 2009
• Selected for “40 Under 40,” a profile of young leaders in the business community demonstrating vision and innovation, Puget Sound Business Journal, 2002
• Listed in Washington Law & Politics, “Rising Stars,” 2000

Professional Leadership

• ABA House of Delegates Committee on Credentials and Admissions, Member, 2008 - present
• ABA Section of Business Law, Business Torts Subcommittee, Vice-Chair, 2007 - present
• U.S. Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel for the Western District of Washington, 2004
• WSBA Leadership Institute ("WLI") Chair, 2004 - 2006, and WLI Board Member, 2004 - present 
• Loren Miller Bar Association (Washington affiliate of the National Bar Association), President, 1998 - 1999; Judicial Screening Committee, Chair, 2000 - 2005; Brown v. Board of Education Celebration Committee, Chair, 2004
• American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Legal Committee
• King County Bar Association, Judicial Screening Committee
• Inns of Court, Seattle Chapter, 2002 - present
• Federal Bar Association for the Western District of Washington, CLE Committee Co-Chair, 2006

Community Involvement

• King County Charter Review Commission, 2007
• United Way of King County Campaign Cabinet, 2004 - 2005
• Treehouse (nonprofit resource for abused and neglected children in foster care), Board Member, 2000 - present
• Leadership Tomorrow, Class of 2000
• United States-Japan Foundation Young Leaders Project, Fellow, 2000 - 2001
• Seattle High School Minority Youth Forum on Ebonics

Related Employment

• U.S. Air Force, Judge Advocate General's Corps, 1989 - 1993
• McNair Law Firm, Columbia, S.C., Staff Attorney, 1988 - 1989