Some senior members of a law firm would have second
thoughts letting a 29-year-old associate argue a $1
million wrongful death case in front of the Supreme
Court of Virginia. But for Bruce Marshall, managing
director of Richmond-based DuretteBradshaw PLC, the
decision was easy.
After all, Christine A. Williams
had done most of the work on the case. "She earned the right to
do it," says Marshall, who worked on the case
with Williams. "I didn't see any reason not to
allow her to do it, and she did an excellent job."
Williams, now 31, represented
a charity providing hospice and respite care. A plaintiff
sued the organization, alleging negligence because
her mother died from complications in a surgery that
was needed after she had broken her leg at the facility.
When a circuit court ruled the organization was protected
by the state's charitable immunity doctrine, the
plaintiff appealed and the case went to the state
Supreme Court. "It was a great
honor," says Williams of arguing in front of Virginia's
top court. "I know there are some directors here
who have never had the opportunity to do that, so I
was very fortunate."
The full panel of the court,
however, decided the charitable immunity doctrine
does not protect charities from the more serious
forms of negligence, and the case was sent back to
the circuit court. "The
issue was they had already made up their minds," says
Marshall.
At the circuit court, Williams successfully argued
that even if the plaintiff could prove all of the allegations,
the evidence would be legally insufficient to claim
gross or willful and wanton negligence. The judge agreed
and dismissed the case.
The case is just one example
of Williams' impressive short career and the confidence
the firm's directors have in her. She also has argued
another case in front of a three-justice writ panel
of the state Supreme Court and a patent infringement
and breach of contract case before the federal Circuit
Court of Appeals in Washington. The law firm directors
say they value her opinion, ask for her input on
hiring decisions and allow her to handle tough depositions. "I give
her more responsibility than I would customarily give
to an associate with her level of experience," says
Wyatt B. Durrette Jr., a director and founder of the
firm. "I don't hesitate to ask her to do anything
that I would do."
Williams practices primarily
in the firm's commercial and complex litigation groups
but also works in its growing appellate group. She
represents individuals and businesses in state and
national cases, including breach of contract, antitrust
and premises liability. Williams enjoys the research
involved with commercial and complex litigation,
and the opportunity to interact with opposing lawyers. "We're constantly learning
not only about the law but about our clients. You have
to know about your clients' business in order to represent
them," says Williams.
Happenstance stemming gfrom
a high school program helped Williams discover her
career. She worked at a law firm in Long Island part
time throughout high school and later worked summers
at a law firm in Virginia Beach. "It was just really the only professional
environment I'd ever been exposed to," says Williams. "I
pretty much never stopped."
Williams majored in psychology
at Virginia Wesleyan College in Virginia Beach and
studied law at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill. There she volunteered to represent children
in foster care in a volunteer program and needy juveniles
in the school's criminal clinic. "[The programs] taught me, one, a little
bit about how the legal system works, and then they
taught me the power of volunteering," says Williams. "If
someone takes a little out of their lives they can
really have an impact on the life of someone else."
After graduating from law school,
she searched for jobs in Richmond, her husband's
hometown. DurretteBradshaw hired her on a trial basis. "That trial was over
quickly," says Marshall.
Williams keeps busy outside
the office. She and her husband have a 2½-year-old
son and another child on the way. Williams co-chairs
the board of TrePadges, an organization that raises
money through an annual golf tournament for a local
children's charity.
She credits her success to
a little luck and first-class mentors. "They treat me like a contemporary," says
Williams. "If I'm working with them on a case,
it's not just, 'Go do the grunt work and come back.'
They ask for my opinion, they give me major assignments,
and that's treated with the same respect as it would
from anyone else."
