James T. Williams, Jr (’62, JD ’66)
By Nathan O. Hatch
February 18, 2016
Wake Forest was first introduced to James T. Williams, Jr. in the late 1950s, when he enrolled as a student on a football scholarship. Nearly six decades later, we recognize him as a 2016 Medallion of Merit recipient.
Mr. Williams, a first generation student and standout tackle with dreams of playing in the NFL, admittedly loved the game a lot and the books not enough. Sometime after his third semester, the athlete’s two advisors called him in for a serious discuss about his future. That conversation ignited a new passion for the law and an insatiable curiosity about life.
After earning his law degree from Wake Forest, he began a long, storied career as a widely recognized top litigator representing corporate and professional organizations in high-stakes cases related to securities, antitrust issues, contracts and intellectual property. His belief that law is a moral enterprise and his reputation as a public servant has earned him notable honors from the North Carolina Bar Association, including being named a member of Business North Carolina’s “Legal Elite” Hall of Fame. He has also been consistently listed in The Best Lawyers in America, North Carolina Super Lawyers and Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers.
In addition to his legal acumen, he has offered his time and resources to his community in Greensboro, North Carolina. Whether it is serving at his church, on the school board or in his community, Mr. Williams readily offers his help to anyone who asks.
When Wake Forest asked, Mr. Williams never forgot the people who cared about him enough to give him the opportunity to excel. For the past six decades, Mr. Williams has seen the University from every angle: as a student, parent, alumnus, die-hard fan and trustee. He was a member of the Alumni Council, College Board of Visitors and Law Board of Visitors. He has served on the boards of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Wake Forest Health Sciences Board and the Wake Will Campaign Cabinet. While he was on the Board of Trustees, he served as chair and vice chair before being named a life trustee. He has faithfully supported Wake Forest as a Giving Society member and a member of the Legacy Society. In 2014, he was recognized with our Distinguished Alumni Award.
In gratitude for his decades of service to his profession, his clients, his colleagues and his community, for always answering when his alma mater called, for the wisdom and care he offers to his friends and family, and for living a life that demonstrates what it means to be a professional for the common good, Wake Forest confers its highest honor, the Medallion of Merit, upon Mr. James T. Williams, Jr. on this Eighteenth day of February, Two Thousand Sixteen.