Edward Williams

About

I'm the founding principal of E.H. Williams II Law & Strategy PLLC, a boutique civil rights and constitutional litigation firm based in Alexandria, Virginia, launched in July 2026. The firm's work spans two core areas: civil rights–focused litigation — at the trial level, in the federal courts of appeals, and before the U.S. Supreme Court — and strategic advice and counseling for nonprofits, universities, governments, and mission-driven organizations navigating today's legal and political landscape. Before founding the firm, I clerked for now-retired Chief Judge Richard Roberts on the U.S. District Court for D.C. and for Judge Patricia Millett on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and spent my career at Skadden, WilmerHale, and Orrick. I've had the opportunity to work alongside civil rights organizations including the ACLU of Georgia, Civil Rights Corps, and Democracy Forward — including helping lead a trial team that successfully redrew Georgia's state house and state senate districts, and serving as part of the team behind the first successful legal challenge to the original 2025 federal DEI executive orders. I also teach law and politics at the university level as an adjunct professor. The firm exists because institutions in crisis — over democracy, diversity, or their core mission — need counsel that understands both the legal complexities and the moment they're operating in. That's the work I'm here to do.

Practice Areas

Featured Clients

The Law Enforcement Action PartnershipHispanic Scholarship Fund

Services

• Program Defensibility Review

  A privileged, attorney-directed audit of race-conscious/DEI programs assessing legal exposure under current Section 1981, Title VI/VII, and Equal Protection frameworks. Clients receive a risk classification, vulnerability analysis, remediation roadmap, and executive briefing. Designed for universities, nonprofits, and federal contractors seeking a clear-eyed diagnostic before litigation or FCA exposure hits — protecting mission-critical programs proactively, not reactively.
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• Section 1981 Litigation Defense

  Representing organizations facing race-discrimination claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, including challenges to scholarship programs, fellowships, hiring initiatives, and contracting practices. Combines aggressive litigation defense with proactive risk mitigation, drawing on Supreme Court advocacy and clerkship-honed appellate strategy to protect mission-driven programs from an increasingly coordinated plaintiff's bar targeting race-conscious institutional structures.
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• Constitutional Litigation

  Trial and appellate representation in cases implicating equal protection, due process, and other constitutional guarantees. Drawing on D.C. Circuit and federal district court clerkships, BigLaw training, and direct Supreme Court advocacy experience, the practice handles high-stakes constitutional disputes for institutions and individuals navigating a rapidly shifting doctrinal landscape — from complaint through final appeal.
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Work

• 
  Counsel

  Orrick

  Mar 2024 - Jul 2026
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  Counsel

  WilmerHale

  Nov 2017 - Mar 2024
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  Associate

  Skadden

  Oct 2015 - Jul 2016

Education

• Georgetown University Law Center
  J.D.