Williams & Connolly LLP (W&C) is an American white-shoe law firm based in Washington, D.C., known for its specialization in white-collar crime defense. The firm was founded by trial lawyer Edward Bennett Williams and Paul Connolly in 1967.
High-profile cases include the successful defense of U.S. President Clinton's impeachment, representation of Enron's law firm Vinson & Elkins, representation of the motion picture studios in the Kazaa/Grokster file-trading litigation, defense of the Vioxx cases, and counsel for the plaintiff states in the United States v. Microsoft antitrust remedy trial. The firm represented Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North during the Iran-Contra Affair and John Hinckley, the would-be assassin of Ronald Reagan. In 2025, the firm was reported to have been hacked in a Chinese state-sponsored espionage campaign.
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Clientele
Williams & Connolly partner Robert Barnett has represented Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, James Patterson, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, Bob Woodward, Sarah Palin, Dick Cheney, Alan Greenspan, Katharine Graham, Ben Bernanke, Paul Ryan, Tim Russert, Barbra Streisand, Jack Welch, Khaled Hosseini, Bill Walton, Mitch McConnell, Jake Tapper, and others.
The firm's corporate clients include Google, Disney, Samsung, Intel, Bank of America, The Carlyle Group, Medtronic, Genentech, Eli Lilly, Halkbank, and 21st Century Fox. The firm represented Elizabeth Holmes in her Theranos criminal trial.
In 2023, the University of Michigan retained Williams & Connolly to consult the University in connection with the alleged opponents’ play signal decoding scandal involving the Michigan football program. In 2024, the University of Virginia retained W&C to investigate allegations against Melina Kibbe following an open letter signed by 128 faculty members declaring no confidence in her.
In 2025, Perkins Coie hired Williams & Connolly to defend itself after being targeted in an executive order by President Donald Trump. W&C filed suit against the order in federal court winning a restraining order. W&C was described as "a very brave law firm" by the U.S. district judge in the case, given that the Trump administration was determined to punish and terrorize law firms that provided services to Trump's perceived opponents.
In January 2026, Federal Reserve Bank chairman Jerome Powell retained Williams & Connolly in response to President Donald Trump's retaliatory prosecution against Powell.
Recognition
Williams & Connolly is notable for having a reputation for being the most aggressive and skilled firm in cases against the Department of Justice, known for a scorched-earth approach.
In 2025, Vault.com ranked Williams & Connolly as the #1 firm for White Collar Defense and Internal Investigation in the United States, and the #2 law firm in Washington, DC. Williams & Connolly was ranked in 2025 as the second most selective law firm in the country, after law firm boutique Munger, Tolles & Olsen. Williams & Connolly is the subject of the 2010 book Masters of the Game: Inside the World's Most Powerful Law Firm by Kim Eisler.
As of 2024, no woman had made as many United States Supreme Court appearances as Williams & Connolly partner Lisa Blatt, who has advocated in front of the Supreme Court over 50 times.
Alumni
Edward Bennett Williams, high-profile founder of the firm, Washington Redskins and Baltimore Orioles team owner, and political power broker
Supreme Court Justices
Elena Kagan, associate justice of the United States Supreme Court
Brett Kavanaugh, associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, worked for one summer as a summer associate
Over the past decade, 45 Supreme Court clerks have been full-time or summer associates with Williams & Connolly.
Judiciary
Whitney Hermandorfer, judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Sven Erik Holmes, former judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma and former chief legal officer of KPMG
Ellen Segal Huvelle, former senior judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and first woman partner at Williams & Connolly
Embry Kidd, judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Scott Matheson Jr., judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Allison Jones Rushing, judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Ana C. Reyes, judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Amul Thapar, judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Nancy Torresen, senior judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine and first female judge to serve in the District of Maine
Government
Joseph A. Califano, Jr., former named partner of Williams, Connolly & Califano, former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under President Jimmy Carter, and former White House Domestic Affairs Advisor under President Lyndon B. Johnson
Gregory Craig, former White House Counsel under President Barack Obama
Jenny Durkan, former mayor of Seattle and former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington
Laurie S. Fulton, former United States Ambassador to Germany under President Barack Obama
Howard Gutman, former United States Ambassador to Belgium under President Barack Obama
Sarah M. Harris, Principal Deputy Solicitor General and former Acting Solicitor General under President Donald Trump
Cynthia Hogan, former Deputy Assistant to the President and Counsel to Vice President Joe Biden
Mary Beth Long, the first woman confirmed by the U.S. Senate as an Assistant Secretary of Defense, the first female civilian four-star military equivalent in the history of The Pentagon, and the first woman to be appointed as Chair of NATO's High Level Group
Daniel Meltzer, former chair of the Intelligence Oversight Board and Principal Deputy Counsel under President Barack Obama
Judith A. Miller, former general counsel of the United States Department of Defense under President Bill Clinton and former general counsel of the Bechtel Corporation
Mike Pompeo, 70th United States Secretary of State
Business
Lon Babby, former President of Basketball Operations of the Phoenix Suns
Greg Baer, president and CEO of the Bank Policy Institute
Kevin Hasson, founder and president emeritus of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
Jeff Kindler, former CEO of Pfizer
Jason Levien, CEO and co-chairman of D.C. United and Chairman of Brisbane Bullets, formerly CEO and Managing Partner of the Memphis Grizzlies
Larry Lucchino, president and CEO emeritus of the Boston Red Sox
C.J. Mahoney, Chief Legal Officer of Meta Platforms
Nicole Seligman, former president of Sony Entertainment
Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service
Jim Tanner, executive director and general manager of the University of North Carolina men's basketball team
Katharine Weymouth, former publisher of The Washington Post
Academia
Paul Butler, criminal law scholar and professor at Georgetown University Law Center and former federal prosecutor
Mary-Rose Papandrea, constitutional law scholar and professor at George Washington University School of Law
Theodore Ruger, constitutional law scholar, professor and former dean of University of Pennsylvania Law School
Michael Tigar, professor emeritus of law at Duke University School of Law, former professor at University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, University of Texas at Austin School of Law, and American University Washington College of Law, after a career as a solo practitioner in criminal defense and human rights