Kathleen Mary Williams (born 1956) is United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. She previously served as the Federal Public Defender for the Southern District of Florida.

Early life and education

Williams graduated from

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

with her Bachelor of Arts ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

'' in History, in 1978 and from the University of Miami School of Law with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

in 1982.

Legal career

Following law school graduation, Williams became a law clerk for the firm of Colson & Hicks, P.A. in Miami, Florida from 1980 – 1982. From 1982 – 1984 she was an associate attorney with Fowler, White, Burnett, Hurley, Banick & Strickroot where she handled many aspects of insurance defense matters including legal research and writing, filing and arguing pretrial motions, and taking depositions. In 1984, Williams was an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

for the Southern District of Florida where she prosecuted more than 50 defendants in over 20 jury trials, including two litigations involving the first Colombian defendants extradited to the United States on

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...

charges and one involving the Ochoa drug cartel. Williams was in this position until 1988. Williams became an associate attorney for the firm of

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP is an American multinational law firm with approximately 2,200 legal professionals in 31 offices across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Mergers with other law firms stimulated global growth and led to ...

from 1988–1990 and focused on

white collar White collar may refer to: * White-collar worker, a salaried professional or an educated worker who performs semi-professional office, administrative, and sales-coordination tasks, as opposed to a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor ...

criminal defense. Between 1990 and 1995, she became the Chief Assistant Federal Public Defender for the Southern District of Florida. Williams acted as lead attorney or co-counsel in approximately ten trials in defense of clients charged with crimes ranging from firearms violations to

bank fraud Bank fraud is the use of potentially illegal means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently posing as a bank or other financial institution. In many ins ...

. In 1995, Williams became the Federal Public Defender for the Southern District of Florida where she managed and directed the work of 48 Assistant Federal Defenders, 16 investigators, and over 50 support staff. Her responsibilities included all aspects of federal criminal litigation in diverse matters including immigration, narcotics trafficking, securities fraud, and terrorism cases. In 1999, at the request of the Chief Judge of the Eleventh Circuit, Williams became the Acting Federal Public Defender for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida while continuing to serve as the Defender for the Southern District of Florida.

Federal judicial service

On July 21, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Williams to replace United States District Judge

Daniel T. K. Hurley Daniel Thomas Kozachi Hurley (born February 24, 1943) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Early life and education Hurley was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Bot ...

on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The United States Senate confirmed Williams by unanimous consent on August 2, 2011. She received her judicial commission on August 4, 2011.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Kathleen M. 1956 births Living people Assistant United States Attorneys Duke University alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida People from Derby, Connecticut Public defenders United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama University of Miami School of Law alumni 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges