Ann Claire Williams

Hon. Ann Claire Williams (Ret.), a trailblazer and leader, heads Jones Days efforts to advance the rule of law in Africa. Devoted to promoting the effective delivery of justice worldwide, particularly in Africa, she has partnered with judiciaries, attorneys, NGOs, and the U. S. Departments of Justice and State to lead training programs in Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. She also has taught at the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. President Ronald Reagan nominated her in 1985 to the U. S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, making her the first woman of color to serve on a district court in the three-state Seventh Circuit. In 1999, President William Clintons 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. She brings her vast experience on the bench to serve as a resource for the Firms leading trial and appellate practices. She has served on many judicial committees and, as treasurer and president of the Federal Judges Association, was the first person of color to become an officer. Committed to public interest work, she helped found Just The Beginning - A Pipeline Organization, the Black Women Lawyers Association of Chicago, Minority Legal Education Resources, and the Public Interest Fellowship Program for Equal Justice Works. She serves on the boards of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Weinstein International Foundation, Museum of Science & Industry Chicago, University of Notre Dame (emeritus) and National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) (emeritus), the Board of Counselors for Equal Justice Works, and chairs the Advisory Board of the International Law Institute-South African Centre for Excellence. She was chair of the American Bar Associations Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary from 2021 through 2024.