Lawyer Bio : Jack M. Williams

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Jack M. Williams

Atlanta

Jack Williams is a Member in Womble Carlyle’s Atlanta office. He has 20 years experience as a trial lawyer and a litigator. His practice primarily involves products liability and mass tort litigation, and he has tried over 20 cases to verdict. Jack has also practiced in the areas of white collar criminal defense and internal corporate investigations.
 
Jack was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia from 1995-2000, primarily prosecuting business crime. Jack served as the government's lead trial counsel or co-counsel in a number of cases in which convictions were obtained on behalf of the United States, including a case in which a securities dealer defrauded 45 investors out of over $3.5 million in a 4-year Ponzi scheme; a case in which a mortgage company owner defrauded a local bank out of over $1.2 million in an extensive check-kiting scheme, and a case in which, after a month-long jury trial, a criminal defense lawyer was convicted on corruption charges. Jack successfully defended before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit several convictions he obtained on behalf of the United States. Jack has extensive experience in grand jury investigations and he was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the United States Secret Service for his successful investigation and prosecution of a large bank fraud and money laundering conspiracy operating throughout the southeast United States.
 
Jack also has significant litigation defense experience in the areas of tobacco, asbestos, and pharmaceuticals. At a prior law firm, Jack served as trial counsel for one of the defendants in the multi-billion dollar Louisiana medical monitoring class action, Scott, et al. v. The American Tobacco Company, Inc., et al. The trial lasted nearly three years from 2001 to 2004, and an appeal of the only claim won by plaintiffs is ongoing. Plaintiffs sought a $10 billion medical monitoring fund to cover a wide variety of diagnostic tests for cancer, heart disease, and respiratory ailments. In a sweeping victory on the medical monitoring claim, the jury found in defendants' favor on every medical test sought by plaintiffs. Defendants also won a defense verdict on each of plaintiffs' claims for product defect.  
 
In other cases, Jack represented an Atlanta bank that was defrauded of several million dollars via a complex factoring scheme, a former insulation contractor embroiled in asbestos litigation, and he served as trial counsel to Americasmart Real Estate, L.L.C. in a Superior Court of Fulton County trial in which the jury returned a verdict on Americasmart's behalf. Jack also defended a multi-national pharmaceutical company in personal injury litigation involving one of the world's best-selling prescription medications.
 
In other product liability suits, Jack served as trial counsel in Taylor v. General Motors Corporation, in which General Motors obtained a defense verdict after an eight-day jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Jack successfully defended before the Georgia Supreme Court the case Love v. Whirlpool, et al. 264 Ga. 701, 449 S.E.2d 602 (1994), in which the Court upheld the constitutionality of Georgia's Statute of Repose.
 
In June 2008, Jack was appointed by the Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia as Chair of the Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel.
 
Jack was inducted as a Fellow in Litigation Counsel of America, a trial lawyer honorary society, in 2007. Membership is limited, representing less than one-half of 1% of American lawyers, and is by invitation only. Fellows are selected and invited into Fellowship after being evaluated on effectiveness and accomplishment in litigation and trial work, along with ethical reputation. Jack served as LCA's President in 2010.
 
In 2003, Governor Sonny Perdue appointed Jack to a seat on the five-member State Ethics Commission, which enforces Georgia's campaign finance disclosure and reporting requirements under the Ethics in Government Act. Jack served on the Commission until January 2007 and is a past Chair.
 
Jack has served as an adjunct faculty member at Emory Law School and has been a seminar speaker on class actions, trial practice, and various issues relating to e-discovery, white collar crime and internal corporate investigations.
 
Before attending law school, Jack earned an M.B.A. from Cleveland State University, and he played professional football for seven years, with the then St. Louis Cardinals of the NFL and the Ottawa RoughRiders and Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL.

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Professional Activities

Bar and Court Admissions: State Bar of Georgia; Georgia Court of Appeals; Georgia Supreme Court; Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals; U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia; The Florida Bar; Supreme Court of the State of Florida.
 
Admitted to the bar: 2010, Florida; 1989, Georgia.

Education

J.D., University of Michigan, 1989; M.B.A., Cleveland State University, Accounting and Tax, 1985; B.S., Bowling Green State University, Business Administration, 1980.

Prior Legal Experience

Partner, Tort Litigation & Environmental Practice Group and Special Matters and Investigations Group, Powell Goldstein LLP, Atlanta, GA, 2006-2008; Partner, King & Spalding LLP, Atlanta, GA , 2000-2006; Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, 1995-2000; Associate, Products Liability Practice Group, King & Spalding LLP, 1989-1995.

Publications

The Sedona Conference Commentary on ESI Evidence & Admissibility, Co-authored with Kevin F. Brady, Conor R. Crowley, Paul F. Doyle, Maureen E. ONeill and James D. Shook, March 2008.

Whether Inadvertent Disclosures of Privileged Electronic Information Constitute a Waiver Under New Federal Rule 26(b)(5) and Whether Spoliation Sanctions will Be Affected By New Rule 37(f), co-authored with The Hon. John D. Bates, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and Conor R. Crowley, Sucharow & Rudoff LLP, October 2006.

Jury Persuasion, American Bar Association, June 2005.

Class Actions: Selected Issues in the Trial of Class Action Cases, Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, October 2004.

Presentations

The Sedona Conference Webinar: ESI Evidence & Admissibility, Panel Member, March 2008.

What Triggers a Legal Hold Obligation, Litigation Readiness Workshop, West LegalWorks, Atlanta, Georgia, March 2008.

2007 Trial Academy, Faculty Member, Georgia Defense Lawyers Association, Pine Mountain, Georgia, November 29 December 1, 2007.

How to Perform an Effective Compliance Audit Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, Practicing Law Institute, Atlanta, Georgia, March 2007.

Document Management and the Use of Expert Jury Consultants in Criminal Trials, Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia, January 2007.

Electronic Discovery Amendments to Federal Rules, 2006 Federal Civil Litigation Seminar, Federal Bar Association, Washington, DC Chapter, October 2006.

Law Firm ADR Diversity Initiatives, ADR On My Mind in Georgia, American Bar Association, Atlanta, Georgia, April 2006.

Closing Argument, National Conference for the Minority Lawyer, American Bar Association, Seattle, Washington, June 2005.

Class Actions: Selected Issues in the Trial of Class Action Cases, Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia, October 2004.

Additional Information

Honors and Awards

Litigation Counsel of America – President (2010); Fellow (2007 to present)
 
Georgia Super Lawyer (2006-2011)
 
Leadership Georgia (2004)