LIVING THE MOTTO:
CHRIS WILLIAMS IS STILL PREPARED
EAGLE SCOUT CHRIS J. WILLIAMS BECAME THE FIRST LEED-CERTIFIED ATTORNEY
IN THE STATE OF ALABAMA BY BETSY GRACA
Chris J. Williams considers himself lucky.
He spent his childhood running around
the Mississippi woods, visiting national
parks with his family and camping with
his Boy Scout troop. Three academic
degrees, two careers and a family later,
he’s continuing that environmental
passion as the first attorney to become
an accredited professional (AP) in
Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) in Alabama.
“I have long believed that environmental
conservation and economic development
are not mutually exclusive,” says the
38-year-old shareholder at Birmingham’s
Maynard Cooper & Gale. “The explosive
interest in, and growth of, green
technology and sustainable development
in the last few years is a testament to that
fact.” Obtaining his LEED AP, Williams
says, gives him the chance to better assist
potential clients interested in developing or
updating properties to meet environmental
goals, and at the same time, increase their
company’s efficiency and profitability.
While Williams’ environmental interest
is lifelong, his path to law was not so
direct. After earning a master’s degree at
Yale School of Forestry & Environmental
Studies in 1998, he worked as project
manager for an environmental consulting
firm in Birmingham.
However, the job wasn’t as fulfilling as
he had hoped. “I did a lot of the analysis
and identifying what the problem was for a
particular issue, but didn’t get involved in
what we do about it,” he recalls. He found
he envied the attorneys he worked with
who got the chance to explore and enact
solutions and make decisions. He decided
law was a better fit and enrolled at The
University of Alabama School of Law. After
graduating summa cum laude in 2004, he
joined Maynard Cooper & Gale.
In 2009, Williams’ pro bono work was
recognized by the Alabama State Bar,
which presented him with the Albert L.
Vreeland Pro Bono Award. He believes
he received it partly for his yearlong
work representing a couple who lost
their house in a fire. Halfway through
reconstruction, the contractor abandoned
the project, leaving the couple stranded;
Williams filed a lawsuit on their behalf
and obtained a successful settlement.
“I think that, by becoming a lawyer and
being accepted into the bar and having
the privilege to practice law, we owe some
debt to the rest of our community to
provide legal services to those who can’t
afford it,” says Williams.
Outside of work, Williams spends
his time with his wife, Amy, and two
children, Madeline, 5, and Noah, 7. With
his son in Cub Scouts and the family
planning a camping trip this summer to
a number of spots in the West, including
the Grand Canyon and Zion National
Park, he’s able to pass on his love of
nature to the next generation.
“The fast-paced nature of the world
today makes it increasingly difficult for
children to spend time outdoors and
experience some of those same awe-
inspiring places that I recall visiting with
my family as a young kid,” Williams says.
“Now that my kids are at the right age,
I want to share those experiences with
them as well.”
While the little kid Williams once was
may have never guessed he would become
an attorney, Williams knows he’d be proud
of what he’s doing now. “I love being a
lawyer. That’s really what it boils down to. I
still get to do that kind of stuff—be outside
and tackling issues that involve those things
that I’m interested in,” Williams says. “One
way to look at it is: Who better to work on
these issues than someone who does have a
respect for the environment?”
SUPER LAWYERS / ALABAMA 2011 5
