Erica Williams

Partner, Kirkland & Ellis

Erica Williams is a partner in the Government, Regulatory & Investigations Group of Kirkland & Ellis.

Erica previously served as Special Assistant and Associate Counsel to President Barack Obama in the White House Counsel’s Office, where she advised the president and his senior advisors on legal and constitutional issues involving economic policy, financial regulation and reform, financial technology, trade, intellectual property and data protection and privacy. 

Before that, Erica spent 11 years at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, serving as Deputy Chief of Staff under Chairs Mary Jo White, Elisse Walter and Mary Schapiro, and Enforcement Counsel to Chair Schapiro. Earlier in her career, Erica served as Assistant Chief Litigation Counsel in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement Trial Unit where she led a number of successful prosecutions, including cases involving insider trading, accounting fraud, violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and financial reporting. 

Erica began her legal career as a litigation attorney at the law firm of Arnold & Porter.

Erica holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and a B.A. with distinction from the University of Virginia.