CHICAGO, July 17, 2024 – American Bar Association President Mary Smith will present an ABA Presidential Citation to retired federal judge Ann Claire Willliams at the 2024 ABA Annual Meeting.
Williams, of counsel at Jones Day in Chicago, is currently serving a third consecutive term as chair of the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. Her judicial experience, experience as a nominee for two Senate judicial confirmations, reputation for bipartisanship and outstanding judgment have been invaluable in navigating the committee’s demanding workload.
Williams is cited “for her extraordinary and tireless leadership as chair of the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary; her dedication to building a pipeline aimed at inspiring young students and increasing diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and the judiciary; and her lifetime commitment and devotion to the rule of law, both at home and abroad.”
President Ronald Reagan nominated Williams in 1985 to the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, making her the first woman of color to serve on a district court in the 7th Circuit.
In 1999, President Bill Clinton’s nomination made her the first judge of color to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit and the third Black woman to serve on any federal circuit court.
Williams has partnered with judiciaries, lawyers, NGOs and the U.S. Departments of Justice and State to lead training programs in Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. She also has taught at the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
She has served on many judicial committees and, as treasurer and president of the Federal Judges Association, was the first person of color to become an officer. She helped found Just the Beginning — A Pipeline Organization, the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Chicago, Minority Legal Education Resources and the Public Interest Fellowship Program for Equal Justice Works.
Williams serves on the boards of numerous organizations, including iCivics, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, National Institute for Trial Advocacy (emeritus), the Board of Counselors for Equal Justice Works and the Advisory Board of the International Law Institute-South African Centre for Excellence.
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