SDNY US Attorney Damian Williams Lands at Paul Weiss

Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2021 through the end of last year, has joined Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York as a partner, the firm said Friday.

Williams, based in New York, is joining as a partner in its litigation department.

“Damian is a transcendently talented lawyer who has led many of the government’s highest-profile prosecutions and investigations,” Brad Karp, chair of Paul Weiss, said in a statement. “He will be an exceptional addition to our already outstanding team of white-collar and regulatory lawyers and a leader in the national legal community.”

Williams began his career at Paul Weiss, where he was an associate from 2009-2012. After joining the Southern District U.S. Attorney’s office in 2012, he was appointed chief of the Securities and Fraud Task Force in 2018. In 2021, he was named U.S. Attorney for SDNY, the first Black man to hold the position.

“Working with Damian as a young associate was a true pleasure, and I could not be happier that he has chosen to rejoin us for the next chapter of his extraordinary legal career,” Ted Wells, co-chair of Paul Weiss’s litigation department, said in a statement.

Williams was not available for an interview but did issue a statement.

“This is a real full-circle moment for me, and it’s an honor to rejoin the firm where my professional journey began,” he said.

As the U.S. Attorney for SDNY, Williams oversaw a team of over 450 and oversaw dozens of investigations and prosecutions.

He led a number of initiatives for the office, including the creation of a civil rights unit within SDNY’s criminal division to combat the rise of hate crimes. He also sought a court-appointed receiver for Riker’s Island prison and “launched an initiative to fast-track high-priority evidence extraction,” which changed the way prosecutors were able to obtain, analyze and use data, Paul Weiss said.