Jeffrey Williams has over 20 years of experience litigating a wide variety of cases across numerous industries.
Most recently, he has concentrated his practice in the area of employment-related litigation. Mr. Williams has defended single and multiple-plaintiff suits involving alleged race, age, gender, disability and religious discrimination, as well as sexual harassment and retaliation claims. In addition to his Ohio-based practice, he has handled employment and other cases nationwide, including cases in both federal and state courts in California, Indiana, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, Oregon and Washington.
Mr. Williams’ recent, larger-scale matters have included defense of an EEOC Commissioner’s Charge alleging nationwide racial and gender discrimination, several California-based class actions involving wage and hour violations, a trade secrets dispute involving the lift-out of an employee sales organization by a competitor and a False Claims Act government investigation.
In addition to matters he personally handles, Mr. Williams coordinates all employment-related, labor and other matters for one of the firm’s largest clients. In this capacity, Mr. Williams is involved with day-to-day strategic counseling and decision-making and has led large projects involving revisions to the client’s internal policies and procedures in a variety of areas.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Williams had a more general commercial litigation practice. He represented the investment advisor subsidiary of a multinational insurance company in both commercial and employment matters and successfully defended the advisor in a California arbitration initiated by a third-party marketing contractor seeking commissions exceeding $10 million. In other securities-related litigation, he defended shareholder derivative actions against the directors of an investment company and other closely held businesses. He has also successfully defended controlling shareholders of closely held businesses against claims by minority shareholders alleging “freeze-outs” and other wrongdoing.
In the commercial area, Mr. Williams has prosecuted and defended contract and warranty claims involving software licenses, electronic credit verification systems and “yellow pages” advertising. He also has defended numerous ERISA suits alleging the wrongful denial of claims for a healthcare insurer/third-party administrator. Mr. Williams successfully represented the owner of a national chain of membership camping facilities in a variety of consumer claims, including two putative class action lawsuits in which class certification was denied.
In probate litigation, Mr. Williams brought a will contest on behalf of family members disinherited under a deathbed will, which, after two years of litigation before multiple courts, resulted in a settlement valued in excess of $20 million for the family. He has also defended will contests on behalf of executors. Most recently, he defended the will of a family matriarch challenged by two of her adult children involving an estate in excess of $10 million.
In the construction area, Mr. Williams has defended owners, general contractors and property managers against a variety of claims, including multimillion-dollar claims alleging defective design, construction and maintenance of office buildings and apartment complexes. He represented a leading manufacturer of external insulation and finish systems (EIFS) in cases involving the construction of a hospital, a hotel and large residences. He has also prosecuted claims for owners and tenants. Mr. Williams represented an international oil and chemical company whose product was destroyed in the collapse of a 300,000 square-foot warehouse.
During his career, Mr. Williams has periodically been involved in cases involving serious personal injury. He has defended product liability claims against manufacturers of medical devices, power tools such as nail guns, lawn and garden equipment. He has also represented a national chain of daycare centers in suits involving allegations of sexual and physical abuse of students. In one highly-publicized case, he defended an international provider of medical and industrial gases in nine wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits arising from an incident in which industrial nitrogen were introduced into a nursing home’s medical gas delivery system.