Hon. Ann Claire Williams (Ret.) of Jones Day receives The American Lawyer Lifetime Achievement Award
Hon. Ann Claire Williams (Ret.), of counsel in the Firm's Issues & Appeals Practice in the Chicago Office, received The American Lawyer Lifetime Achievement Award from ALM CEO Bill Carter at a ceremony in New York. In her acceptance remarks, Williams said her work is far from finished: "I will continue to dream big, work hard, stand up, give back, and never give up my commitment to making equal justice under law a living, breathing reality for people here and people in Africa."
Williams heads the Firm's pro bono efforts to advance the rule of law in Africa. As a jurist and in her current role, she has partnered with judiciaries, lawyers, NGOs, and the U.S. Departments of Justice and State to lead training programs and justice initiatives in Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. She recently received the International Law Institute – South Africa Centre for Excellence (ILI-SACE)'s inaugural Lifetime Achievement award; she chairs the group's advisory board, and Jones Day lawyers helped found this international organization.
Additionally, Williams is a recent recipient of an American Bar Association (ABA) Presidential Citation following the conclusion of her third consecutive term as chair of the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, which conducts peer review evaluations of all lifetime-appointed federal judges. She is the only chair in the last forty years to serve three consecutive terms. In its citation, the ABA highlighted her judicial experience and experience as a successful nominee of two Senate judicial confirmations and affirmed that "her reputation for bipartisanship and outstanding judgment have been invaluable in navigating the committee's demanding workload."
In recognition of all of her achievements during and after her tenure on the bench, Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee recently entered a Tribute to Ann Claire Williams into the Congressional Record.
"We are immensely proud of all that Ann Claire has accomplished in her role directing the Firm's initiative to advance and strengthen the justice and legal systems across Africa with Jones Day lawyers traveling to the continent, as well as partnering with important NGOs, universities, and governments," said Managing Partner Greg Shumaker. "As a jurist, appellate lawyer, ABA chair, mentor, and trailblazer, she has consistently set the greatest of examples, and we are truly honored to have been a part of, and a witness to, her lifetime of extraordinary achievements. She really is one of a kind."
President Ronald Reagan nominated Williams in 1985 to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, making her the first woman of color to serve on a district court in the Seventh Circuit. In 1999, President Bill Clinton's nomination made her the first judge of color to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the third Black woman to serve on any federal circuit court.
Williams has served on many U.S. Judicial Conference committees and, as treasurer and president of the Federal Judges Association, was the first person of color to become an officer. She is the founder of the Equal Justice Works Fellowship program, which has funded more than two thousand public interest legal fellowships.
"She is an extraordinary and tireless leader committed to giving back, including as a founder of several nonprofit organizations and in the various leadership positions she has held in the judiciary, bar, and in both the global and local community," said Tina Tabacchi, Partner-in-Charge of the Chicago Office. "We are delighted to see her receive this wonderful recognition of her many accomplishments and contributions."
Williams also helped found Just The Beginning—A Pipeline Organization, the Black Women Lawyers' Association of Chicago, Minority Legal Education Resources, and the Jumpstart pre-law school preparation program for first-generation law students and those from groups historically underrepresented in the legal profession in partnership with the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism and all nine Illinois law schools.
