Chad Williams

Chad Williams is co-managing partner of Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. He practices complex civil and criminal litigation, with an emphasis on white collar defense, complex business disputes, securities and corporate governance litigation, SEC enforcement, and all cases earmarked for trial.  

In the last decade, Chad has been involved in many of the largest lawsuits and investigations, and many of the most politically sensitive matters, in the U.S. He regularly represents sizable public and private corporations in their most important cases across the country. Chad represents high-profile individuals, including company directors, corporate officers and executives, and government figureheads and officials. He is frequently enlisted by audit and special committees to investigate company malfeasance and alleged ethical violations, to report to boards about those investigations, and to work with government enforcers to resolve potential company liability. 

Chad has a white collar defense practice that is preeminent in the Western U.S. He has handled hundreds of complex criminal cases, including criminal securities violations, financial fraud and other economic crimes, criminal copyright infringement, computer hacking and privacy offenses, and cases involving allegations under the False Claims and Foreign Corrupt Practices Acts. He has recently successfully represented key individuals and corporations in some of the highest-stakes matters in the country.  

A former public defender, his courtroom experience is vast. Chad has successfully tried numerous civil and criminal cases ranging from criminal securities fraud to high stakes civil disputes on behalf of Fortune 500 companies. He has a track record of prevailing at trial in even the most difficult and media-charged cases.   

However, many of his client wins are achieved quietly, away from the view of the public. Chad is accomplished in orchestrating declinations and “no file” decisions from government enforcers, and in managing crisis situations involving considerable criminal, political, reputational, and civil liability. 

Chad has earned acclaim over the years for his successes in the legal practice. For many years running, he has been selected for inclusion in Chambers USA, Best Lawyers in America, Colorado Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, Lexology Index, and Benchmark Litigation as a Local Litigation Star. He has earned an AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating™ from Martindale-AVVO®.

A Colorado Bar Foundation Fellow and former member of the Standing Committee of the Criminal Justice Act Panel, Chad has been honored for his pro bono work by the Denver Bar Association’s Access to Justice Committee. He was awarded a 2024 “Lawyer of the Year” designation by Best Lawyers in America for his work as a securities litigator. He has been involved in countless working groups and ad hoc panels for the improvement of criminal justice, attorney ethics, and the practice of law in the U.S. His connections in Denver’s business and legal communities are deep. Chad sits on the Board of Directors of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Dean’s Advisory Board at the Denver Sturm College of Law, and the Board of Trustees at St. Mary’s Academy.

Chad graduated from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Order of St. Ives. Before starting at Davis Graham, more than 25 years ago, he clerked for Michael E. Tigar in the defense of United States v. Terry Lynn Nichols.