Williams & Connolly

Williams & Connolly LLP
Williams & Connolly
Headquarters680 Maine Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C.
United States
No. of offices1
No. of attorneys300–400
Major practice areasLitigation
Date founded1967
Founder
Company typeLLP
Websitewc.com

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.

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

Supreme Court Justices

Over the past decade, 45 Supreme Court clerks have been full-time or summer associates with Williams & Connolly.

Judiciary

Government

Business

Academia

References

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  12. 1 2 Schmidt, Michael S.; Vogel, Kenneth P. (March 10, 2025). "Firm Targeted by Trump Over Clinton Campaign Work Hires Top Litigators". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
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  63. ↑ Lattman, Peter (October 15, 2013). "Lawyer Leaves Williams & Connolly to Start Sports Firm". DealBook. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
  64. ↑ McCarthy, Ellen (September 3, 2014). "Katharine Weymouth reflects on departure from The Washington Post". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
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