Steve L. Williams, Terre Haute, is the owner of the Williams Law Firm, which focuses on personal injury and business litigation. He received his undergraduate degree from Indiana State University and graduated magna cum laude in 1974 from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, where he served on the Board of Editors of the Indiana Law Review. He is a fellow for the College of Fellows, serves on the Board of Directors, and is a past President of the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA). He was designated Trial Lawyer of the Year by ITLA in 1989 and 2001. He served as State Chairman of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2007 and State President of the American Board of Trial Advocates in 2006. Williams previously served on the Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission/Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications from 2007- 2010, 2013 - 2016, and 2019 - 2021. He was honored with the Sagamore of the Wabash Award by Governor Evan Bayh in 1990, the Alan Rankin Award by Leadership Terre Haute in 1997, and the Indiana State University Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999. Williams has been named in The Best Lawyers in America since 1995. The National Board of Trial Advocacy has certified him as a Civil Trial Advocate and Civil Pretrial Practice Advocate. Williams is a board member of the Terre Haute Boys/Girls Club, and he previously served as Board President of United Way of the Wabash Valley and as Board President of Big Brothers/Big Sisters. He is a frequent speaker/author for ITLA and the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (ICLEF).
Pursuant to I.C. 33-27-2-8(b)(4), Williams submits the following statement concerning his efforts and achievements towards the improvement of the administration of justice:
During my years of practice, I have remained deeply committed to the preservation of the right to trial by jury. During this time, I have been privileged to represent individuals and small businesses harmed by the negligence of others.
Because of my service on the Indiana Judicial Nominating/Qualifications Commission, I have worked against multiple efforts to eliminate our present system of appellate judge appointment. For example, in 2009, I testified and helped defeat a bill which would have jeopardized the independence of our appellate courts by eliminating the present system of appointment of appellate judges.
I served two years as Indiana State Chairman of the American College of Trial Lawyers and served as Indiana State President of the American Board of Trial Advocacy. Both organizations are comprised of plaintiff and defense attorneys. I have also served as President of the ITLA College of Fellows, which funds and implements charitable projects for Hoosiers, including anti-texting while driving campaigns, which involved live multi-media presentations in Indiana high schools. In each organization, I have taken a leadership role to improve the quality of legal services to the public.
I have remained active in continuing legal education in our profession, writing and speaking on a regular basis for ICLEF and ITLA. I have also attempted to promote civility in the law, in part by organizing and holding seminars on civility for our local bar and have written and published on civility in the law.