James T. Williams, Jr., a partner in the Greensboro office of Brooks Pierce, recently received the Distinguished Service Award from the Greensboro Bar Association.
Williams joined Brooks Pierce in 1966 after graduating from the Wake Forest University School of Law. Since that time, he has tried many high-profile cases including defending the hostile takeover of Burlington Industries in 1987, defending class action lawsuits against seven of the largest North Carolina companies and banks, and defending more than 50 lawsuits filed after the collapse of a pedestrian walkway at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
In addition to his work on prominent cases, Williams taught at the Elon University School of Law and mentors young attorneys at Brooks Pierce. He has served as the chair of the Wake Forest University Board of Trustees, chair of the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro Board of Directors, chair of the American College of Trial Lawyers State Committee for North Carolina and as a member of the Greensboro City Board of Education. He is currently on the board of directors for Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and has previously served on the board for Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.
In presenting the Greensboro Bar Distinguished Service Award to Williams, Reid Phillips, a partner with Brooks Pierce said, “He is a lawyer who loves the law; he is a lawyer who is a fierce but fair competitor; and he is, most of all, a lawyer who brings out the best in others because that is what he looks for and what he values.”