About James
James Williams is a partner in the firm's Litigation practice. He has been trying cases and managing litigation for over 25 years as a government attorney and a private practitioner. James graduated in 1985 from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, with honors, and earned his law degree in 1988 from the University of Virginia School of Law. After law school, he served in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the U.S. Air Force before moving to Seattle and joining Perkins Coie in 1993. His practice involves complex business litigation and civil trials (see a sample opening statement), with a focus on contract disputes, mass torts defense, corporate plaintiff asset recovery, consultant liability, consumer protection and unfair business practices, trade secrets, bankruptcy court adversary actions, and federal and state agency litigation. James has served on the firmwide Executive Committee and Associate Evaluation Committee, and has chaired the firmwide Litigation Training Program, Community Service Committee, Women and Minority Lawyers Committee, as well as the Seattle Office United Way Campaign.
Case History
Education
Professional Affiliations
Awards & Recognition
- Recognized: Bet-the-Company Litigation
- Recognized: Commercial Litigation
- Recognized: Litigation - Bankruptcy
- Practice Area: Mass Tort Litigation
- Practice Area: Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants
- Special Focus: Mass Tort
- Listed in Seattle Business, “Best Lawyers in the Business,” 2012 - 2013
- Listed in Washington Law & Politics, “Rising Stars,” 2000
- Listed in Washington Law & Politics, “Washington’s Super Lawyers,” 2001 - present, and selected as one of "The Top 100 Super Lawyers"
- Listed in Corporate Counsel Edition of "Super Lawyers" in Business Litigation, 2008 - present
- Selected for “40 under 40,” a profile of young leaders in the business community demonstrating vision and innovation, Puget Sound Business Journal, 2002
- Selected as a faculty member for “WSBA's Best of CLE 2004” based on instructor evaluations
- Selected by the ABA as a Business Law Ambassador, 2004 - 2006
- Selected to serve Washington as an ABA House of Delegates Member, 2005 - 2011
- Selected as the recipient of the WSBA President's Award, 2005
- Selected for membership in The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation, 2007
- Selected as the recipient of the Loren Miller Bar Association President's Award, 2008
- Selected as a recipient of The Burton Awards for Legal Achievement, 2010
- Selected as the recipient of the King County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Outstanding Mentor Award, 2012
- Selected as a recipient of the 2013 Perkins Coie Annual Pro Bono Leadership Award for the Wilbur v. City of Mt. Vernon indigent right to counsel class action litigation