Beth Ann Williams

Beth Ann Williams
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy
In office
August 21, 2017 – December 11, 2020
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byChristopher H. Schroeder
Succeeded byHampton Dellinger
Personal details
Born
Beth Ann Schonmuller

(1979-07-14) July 14, 1979 (age 45)
Glen Ridge, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationHarvard University (BA, JD)

Beth Ann Williams (born July 14, 1979) is an American lawyer who has served as a board member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board since 2022 and the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy from 2017 to 2020.[1] In her role as Assistant Attorney General, Williams served as the primary policy advisor to the United States Attorney General and the United States Deputy Attorney General. Before her governmental work, she was a partner at the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis.[2][3][4]

Early life and education

Williams was born on July 14, 1979.[5] She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and literature. She received her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, where she was president of the school's chapter of the Federalist Society. After completing law school, Williams served as a law clerk to Judge Richard C. Wesley of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.[4]

Career

From 2005 to 2006, Williams served as Special Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. In her role at the Senate Judiciary Committee, Williams assisted with the confirmations of Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito.[4]

Williams became a litigation and appellate partner at Kirkland & Ellis, where her practice focused on complex commercial, securities, and First Amendment litigation. She was on the Kirkland team that represented Shirley Sherrod in her defamation lawsuit against Breitbart News. Her pro bono work included a United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit appointment to represent Patrick Proctor, a New York state inmate who had been held in solitary confinement for 18 years. Williams won a decision allowing Proctor to proceed with a challenge to his confinement. Williams also crafted six U.S. Supreme Court briefs at the certiorari and merits stages.[4]

On June 12, 2017, President Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Williams to become the next United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 3, 2017, and sworn in on August 21, 2017.[1]

On February 7, 2022, the Senate confirmed her to the PCLOB.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Perlman, Matthew (August 3, 2017). "5 DOJ Officials Confirmed In Bulk Senate Vote". Law360. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  2. ^ "Four Nominations Sent to the Senate Today". whitehouse.gov. June 12, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017 – via National Archives.
  3. ^ "PN597 — Beth Ann Williams — Department of Justice". Congress.gov. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Coyle, Marcia (June 28, 2017). "Meet the Kirkland Partner in Line to Shepherd Trump's Judicial Nominees". National Law Journal. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  5. ^ "Beth Williams" (PDF). senate.gov. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  6. ^ "PN1706 - Nomination of Beth Ann Williams for Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". February 7, 2022.
Legal offices
Preceded by United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy
2017–2020 		Succeeded by