Williams has vaulted quickly into the ranks of firm leadership. He is the current chair, and past vice chair, of our real estate practice, and a member of the firm’s executive committee. For four years prior, he served as vice office managing partner, and also previously served as the firm’s hiring chair. Williams is an extraordinary real estate lawyer, skilled at galvanizing teams through projects that are changing the landscape of Philadelphia. He represents Drexel University in the $3.5 billion Schuylkill Yards project, and is leading the firm’s team in a $250 million development deal for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Williams and his team are also developing a new high-rise acute care facility for Penn Medicine, and just closed Phase 2 of the Hamilton housing facility for the Community College of Philadelphia.

What career path would you have pursued if you weren’t a lawyer?  I taught English and Journalism for a year in a high school on the Navajo nation reservation in Window Rock, Arizona before going to law school. It was a volunteer year, but I was offered a paid position to stay on staff and continue teaching. I came very close to accepting that offer and not pursuing a legal degree. It was a wonderful, life changing experience, but I am glad I returned home for law school.