Williams & Connolly LLP

Williams & Connolly continues to hold its own against firms 10 times its size by following a basic mantra: Keep it simple. The firm’s roughly 300 attorneys focus almost exclusively on litigation from a single office in DC, positioning Williams & Connolly as a go-to firm for politicos, celebrities, major American companies and their executives, and even other law firms. 

A Short, Illustrious History

Legendary litigator-to-the-stars Edward Bennett Williams teamed with Paul Connolly, a former student of his at Georgetown Law, to open shop in 1967. The fledgling firm soon boasted a client list that included the biggest names in Hollywood, politics, business, and media. Among its clients have been White House royalty like Bill and Hillary Clinton, Barack and Michelle Obama, and George W. Bush, as well as major household names like Amazon, Walt Disney, Google, Intel, HSBC, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Bank of America, Merck, The Washington Post, Mars, CVS, HBO, Eli Lilly, and T-Mobile.

Go-To

Recognized for handling high-stakes, complex litigation, the firm has a thriving intellectual property practice ranging from pharmaceuticals to electronics, has presented oral argument to the Supreme Court 17 times in the last five years, and serves as national coordinating counsel and trial counsel for large product liability cases. The firm also represents numerous law firms and accounting firms in professional responsibility and other litigation—clients have included almost half of the Am Law 100 and four of the top five accounting firms.

Just as highly regarded is the firm’s White Collar practice. Williams & Connolly sits atop Vault’s White Collar Defense & Internal Investigations ranking, and many of the firm’s partners are recognized as leaders in the industry. The firm represents companies, individuals, and cabinet officials who are under investigation or are involved in criminal matters. Among its subspecialties are anti-money laundering, congressional investigations, False Claims Act & Qui Tam, FCPA, health care fraud, and securities enforcement, to name some.

These practice areas are just the beginning—keeping with its individualist ethos, Williams & Connolly operates without strict departmental boundaries, allowing attorneys to move among any number of litigation areas.

The Future Is Within

While Williams & Connolly has a summer program, many associates don’t join the firm immediately after law school graduation, instead opting to clerk. This allows the firm to have an inside view of the nation’s highest court and the federal appellate courts—former SCOTUS clerks now at the firm are in the double digits, and former federal appellate court clerks are in the triple digits. Indeed, fully three quarters of all associates and partners are former federal clerks. The firm focuses its recruiting on law students, former clerks, and junior-level attorneys and grooms these lawyers for partnership. According to the firm, it “likes to grow its talent from within.” Although it isn’t completely out of the question, the firm rarely hires senior lateral candidates.

• Defended U.S. Senator Ted Stevens against federal corruption charges, leading the Attorney General to move to dismiss the case after the firm exposed a stunning example of prosecutorial misconduct.
• Defended President Bill Clinton in the impeachment trial before the U.S. Senate, and represented Hillary Clinton during the Benghazi investigation.
• Won a complete defense verdict in Mitre Sports v. HBO, the first major defamation case to go to trial against a national television broadcaster in years.
• Successfully defended AstraZeneca at trial and on appeal against allegations of an antitrust conspiracy in the settlement of patent litigation concerning the blockbuster drug Nexium®.

• Ranked among leading firms nationwide for Appellate, Corporate Crime & Investigations, Antitrust, First Amendment, General Commercial, Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment, Products Liability, and Securities Litigation, 2022—Chambers USA
• “Washington D.C. Firm of the Year,” 2022—Benchmark Litigation
• Named to “Appellate Hot List,” 2021—The National Law Journal
• “Litigation Department of the Year – Products Liability,” 2021—The National Law Journal
• Ranked Among Top Pro Bono Firms, 2021—The American Lawyer and Washington Business Journal