Ann Claire Williams served on the federal bench as a trailblazing judge for more than 32 years before joining Jones Day law firm in 2018 to lead its efforts in advancing the rule of law in Africa.
Nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1985, Williams was the first woman of color to sit on the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois. In 1999, President William J. Clinton nominated Williams to become the first judge of color appointed to the three-state Seventh Circuit and the third woman of color to serve on any United States Court of Appeals.
Williams has a long history of service to the judiciary. She was the first woman and judge of color appointed to chair the Court Administration and Case Management Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States and the first to be elected as president of the Federal Judges Association. She also has a longstanding commitment to education and training, in the United States and abroad. In her work, she travels across the eastern, western, and southern regions of Africa, helping train judges and lawyers on topics such as domestic and gender violence; human, labor, and wildlife trafficking; case management; alternative dispute resolution; and trial advocacy.
Williams has committed herself to public interest law and expanding the pipeline for minorities and women. She cofounded Minority Legal Education Resources, which has helped more than 4,000 lawyers pass the Illinois bar. Williams also helped to create the Black Women Lawyers Association of Chicago, and she cofounded Just the Beginning – A Pipeline Organization, which encourages students of color and individuals from other underrepresented groups to pursue legal and judicial careers. Her contributions have been recognized with numerous awards.
Williams serves on the boards of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, iCivics, Weinstein International Foundation, and the University of Notre Dame, among others. She was a trustee of Carnegie Corporation of New York from 2012 to 2020 and rejoined the board in 2021. Williams began her career teaching in the inner-city schools of Detroit, Michigan, after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Wayne State University, and a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from the University of Michigan. She received her law degree from the University of Notre Dame and was a criminal division chief in the Chicago United States Attorney’s Office before joining the bench.
Photo credit: John Reilly Photography
