M.J. Williams, Esq.

M.J. Williams owns the practice and manages its work for you. She has successfully practiced law in New York City for over a decade, gaining experience at a firm renowned for its intellectual property and media law practices. Before that, she worked with artists and arts institutions in the U.S. and abroad for over 15 years.

At M.J. Williams Law, M.J. brings real-world experience to the table, intelligence, curiosity, a love for challenges, and a tenacious, fighting spirit. She opened the practice to personalize and right-size legal work for her clients. In her practice, she offers flat-fee and capped-fee arrangements whenever possible, which free her up to focus on the work.

Extending beyond her expertise and New York City location, M.J. works regularly with Los Angeles-based business & tax law attorneys of The Law Offices of Steven D. Rubin, APC. This means that clients active in New York and California receive seamless, coordinated advocacy.

M.J. also works closely with law firms around the world to register and protect your trademarks, service marks, and copyrights internationally.

And when your legal issues demand more people-power, M.J. looks to her network of trusted attorneys and law firms to find the additional counsel you need.

EDUCATION

J.D. cum laude, Brooklyn Law School
B.A. with distinction, University of Michigan

ADMISSIONS

New York
U.S. District Courts, Southern & Eastern Districts of New York
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS & PRESENTATIONS

"How to Report on the Police (#FOILthePolice)," Panelist, Study Hall and Gumshoe Group, June 11, 2020

"Whose Rights?: A Start-Up Case Study in Six Acts," Guest Lecture, Start-Up Law, Brooklyn Law School, September 24, 2019

"FOIL Wars: The Fight for Accountability," Panelist and Co-Organizer, Continuing legal education (CLE) program, New York County Bar Association, May 21, 2019

"Freedom of Information Law for Journalists," Guest Lecture, Social Journalism workshop, Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York, February 20, 2019

PUBLICATIONS

New York State Assembly Judiciary Committee Chair Sponsors Significant Expansion and Toughening of New York’s Anti-Slapp Law, Media Law Resource Center

"Local and Specialized Outside Counsel," Chapter 20, Successful Partnering Between Inside and Outside Counsel, ed. Robert L. Haig, Thomson Reuters Westlaw & Association of Corporate Counsel

Framing Art Vandalism: A Proposal to Address Violence Against Art, Brooklyn Law Review

The Sense in Yawning, Fuse Magazine and Umelec

Who Do They Serve? Who Do They Protect?, Occupy Wall Street

Decisions on Jails Are About People, Not Zoning, City Limits

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Advisory Board, Marsha P. Johnson Institute

Member, Radical Know Your Rights Collective