Jones Day's Hon. Ann Claire Williams (Ret.) named to Chicago Daily Law Bulletin's "Top Women in Law"

Hon. Ann Claire Williams (Ret.), now of counsel in Jones Day's Chicago Office, has been named to the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin's "Top Women in Law" list. Honorees are recognized for mentoring and promoting other women in the profession, for their success in the legal community, and for serving as shining examples of leadership. Before joining Jones Day, Williams served as a federal judge for more than three decades.

A member of Jones Day's Issues & Appeals Practice, Williams created and leads the Firm's pro bono Rule of Law in Africa Initiative. Through that initiative, she has partnered with judiciaries, lawyers, NGOs, and the U.S. Departments of Justice and State to lead training programs and justice initiatives in more than 10 African countries. She has also founded three organizations that open pathways to success in the legal profession, such as Jumpstart, a three-day pre-law school preparation program for first-generation law students. Recently, she served for three years as chair of the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. 

Before joining Jones Day, President Ronald Reagan appointed Williams to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 1985, and in 1999, President Bill Clinton appointed Williams to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, where she became the first judge of color to sit on that court. While on the bench, Williams served as president of the Federal Judges Association, chair of the Court Administration and Case Management Committee of the U.S. Judicial Conference, and member of the Supreme Court Fellows Commission. She also mentored and trained new federal judges in Chicago and throughout the United States.