Thomas S. Williamson Jr.

Tom Williamson chairs the firm's employment practice group and is a member of the firm's management committee. His litigation practice includes employment law, complex litigation, and health and welfare law matters for state governments.

Representative Matters

• Mr. Williamson is currently co-lead counsel in defending a nationwide class action alleging race discrimination against a major financial services firm.
• Mr. Williamson won a jury trial for a major credit card firm, defending claims based on race and national origin discrimination, and he obtained an award of $265,000 in attorneys' fees against the law firm of plaintiff's counsel.
• Since October 2002, Mr. Williamson has been retained by the National Football League as special advisor to the owners' Workplace Diversity Committee and the general managers' Working Group established to facilitate increased diversity in the head coaching and front office ranks of NFL clubs.
• Mr. Williamson is defending a variety of discrimination and whistleblower litigation matters that have been brought against a major pharmaceutical company in Washington, DC, Minnesota, and Oregon.

Previous Experience

• U.S. Department of Labor, Solicitor of Labor (1993-1996)
• U.S. Department of Energy, Deputy Inspector General (1978-1981)
• Texaco Task Force on Equality and Fairness, Chair (1998-2002)
  • A court-appointed panel that monitored and evaluated Texaco's nationwide efforts to reform and enhance diversity initiatives and equal opportunity.
• Harvard University, Board of Overseers, President (2002-2003); Member (1997-2003)
  

Honors and Rankings

• Wiley Branton Award for Lifetime Commitment to Equal Justice, 2007, presented by the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.

Publications and Speeches

• "Executive Exemption: FLSA Revisions Will Clarify When White Collar Workers Get Overtime Pay," Legal Times (5/19/2003), Co-Author
• "The Contingent Workforce, Business and Legal Strategies," Law Journal Press (2000), Co-Author