Jack F. Williams
Professor of Law- Specializations
Admiralty
Bankruptcy
Business Organizations
Education Law
Intellectual Property
Law Practice
Legal Analytics
Military Justice
Taxation
- Biography
Jack F. Williams is a professor at Georgia State University College of Law and the Middle East Studies Center. His current teaching interests include accounting & finance for lawyers; admiralty & maritime commerce; American Indian law; archaeology; bankruptcy & business reorganization; board governance & business ethics; business valuations; corporate finance; counterterrorism, intelligence & national security; forensic investigations; Islamic law & finance; mergers & acquisitions; remedies; and statistics & the law.
His research focuses on many cross-disciplinary areas, including governance and ethics; bankruptcy and business reorganization; business valuations in dispute; treatment of debt in varied cultures throughout history; tribal law and custom; tribal finance and commerce; ancient exchanges and markets; antiquities laundering; protection of cultural heritage and property; energy & natural resources; sharia-compliant business transactions; forensic accounting; and gaming and sports law & management.
Dr. Williams also serves as an adjunct professor at St. John’s University School of Law in New York City and at Emory University School of Law. Dr. Williams has also been a visiting professor at Cardozo Law School, the University of Georgia, New York Law School, and St. John’s University. Additionally, he served as the tax advisor for the National Bankruptcy Review Commission (NBRC) and chair of the Tax Advisory Committee of the NBRC.
He has served as an instructor to attorneys in the Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), as part of the New York University School of Law’s IRS Continuing Professional Education program.
Dr. Williams has been an instructor for attorneys in the United States Department of Justice, and other professionals in the Office of the United States Trustee. He has instructed attorneys and enforcement personnel at the Securities and Exchange Commission and Environmental Protection Agency; and to law enforcement at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.
He has also testified before the United States Congress, including House and Senate committees and subcommittees. He is a certified insolvency & restructuring advisor (“CIRA”) and a certified turnaround professional (“CTP”) and holds a certification in distressed Business Valuation (“CDBV”). He was awarded the Kroll Zolfo Cooper Randy Waits Award – gold medal for the highest score on the national CIRA examination.
In 2022, Dr. Williams was recognized with two prestigious honors for his commitment to pro bono services. He was honored with the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) Inaugural Faculty Award – Pro Bono for his work with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and ESG/DEI initiatives. Additionally, Dr. Williams was honored by the president of the United States with the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for pro bono work for the Coast Guard Auxiliary in life-saving and boating safety in the U.S. He was also recognized for his work in supporting HBCUs and his work with the Georgia Department of Human Services focusing on foster children care, aging care, and the protection and support of the homeless and hungry to build a better community and country.
This award is recognized as the highest award in the country for volunteer services given by the United States president. The purpose of the award is to honor those who have continually contributed over 4,000 hours of volunteer service to this country.
Dr. Williams is a member of the board of advisors for St. John’s University School of Law LL.M. program in bankruptcy. He is a member of the board of advisors for the American Bankruptcy Institute (“ABI”) Law Review. Williams also serves as a co-chair of the ABI’s Veteran’s Affairs Task Force and the Native American Tribal Affairs Committee and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee of the American College of Bankruptcy.
Dr. Williams is the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors Scholar in Residence. He also served as the inaugural Robert M. Zinman ABI Scholar in Residence in 2001 and returned to that post in 2008. In 2009, Dr. Williams was recognized by the ABI with its Annual Service Award (2009), honoring the ABI member whose contributions over the past year have been extraordinary. He is a fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy and a fellow in the Bankruptcy Policy Institute at St. John’s University School of Law. Dr. Williams has also been appointed an academic member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States.
Dr. Williams has written over 18 books and 200 articles and essays. He is a frequent lecturer and is regularly quoted on television, radio, and in the print media. He has appeared as a guest on Lou Dobbs on CNN and Fox News, Neil Cavuto on Fox News, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, NPR, BBC, Bloomberg, Dateline, Weekend Today, and CNN, and has been quoted in newspapers, including the Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News, and many regional and local papers.
Dr. Williams has a B.A. in Economics from the University of Oklahoma, a J.D. (High Honors; Order of the Coif) from the George Washington University National Law Center, and a Ph.D from the University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
After clerking for Chief Judge William J. Holloway Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit from 1985 to 1987, he became an associate with the Texas firm Hughes & Luce from 1987 to 1991. Dr. Williams joined the College of Law faculty in 1991.
He has been appointed by successive governors and confirmed by the Georgia Senate to the state board of the department of Human Services. As a member of the board since 2009, he provides stewardship and oversight to the department of Human Services with more than 10,000 employees and an annual budget in excess of $2 billion.
Dr. Williams serves on the university’s faculty senate, as a faculty advisor to numerous university and college student organizations, and committees. He is a member of the Archaeological Institute of America, the Society of American Archaeology, the American Bankruptcy Institute, the American Accounting Association, the American Statistical Association, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the National Native American Bar Association, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Bar, Texas Bar (American Indian Law Section), Pennsylvania Bar, Federal Bar Association, Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, Maritime Law Association, and Society for American Baseball Research.
- Publications
Books
Jack F. Williams, Bloomberg on Bankruptcy Law (Hon. D. Michael Lynn ed., Bloomberg 2014)(with Susan H. Seabury
Hurst, Gregory, Williams, and Taylor. Cases and Materials on Corporations, (Lexis/Nexis 3rd 2014)
Jack F. Williams, Financial Handbook for Bankruptcy Professionals (West Group, 2014)
Jack F. Williams, McQueen and Williams on Tax Aspects of Bankruptcy Law and Practice (3rd. Ed. West Group 2014) (with C. Richard McQueen)
Kathy Bazoian Phelps & Jack F. Williams, The Depths of Deepening Insolvency: Damage Exposure for Officers, Directors and Others (American Bankruptcy Institute 2013).
Jack F. Williams (contributing author), Norton Bankruptcy Law and Practice (William L. Norton, III and Hon. William L. Norton, Jr. ed., 2010)
Susan H. Seabury & Jack F. Williams, Bankruptcy and Debt under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (American Bankruptcy Institute 2009).
Hon. Stan Bernstein, Susan H. Seabury, & Jack F. Williams, Business Bankruptcy Essentials (American Bar Association 2009).
William A. Gregory, Thomas R. Hurst, & Jack F. Williams, Unincorporated Business Associations Including Agency, Partnership and Limited Liability Companies: Cases and Materials (4th Edition ed., West 2009).
Jack F. Williams & William K. Lenhart, Cumulative Supplement to Financial Handbook for Bankruptcy Professionals (West 2008).
Jack F. Williams & Susan H. Seabury, Thorny Issues in Consumer Bankruptcy Cases (American Bankruptcy Institute 2008).
Jack F. Williams (contributing author), 2005 Bankruptcy Revisions: Implications for Business and Financial Advisors (Grant Newton ed., 2005)
Frank R. Kennedy et al., Kennedy, Countryman, & Williams, Partnerships, Limited Liability Entities, and S Corporations in Bankruptcy (Aspen Publishers 2000 & Supp. 2001-2004).
C. Richard McQueen & Jack F. Williams, Tax Aspects of Bankruptcy Law and Practice (3rd ed., Clark Boardman Callaghan 1997 & Supp. 1997-).
C. Richard McQueen & Jack F. Williams, Tax Aspects of Bankruptcy Law and Practice (2d ed., Shepard's/McGraw-Hill 1994 & Supp. 1995-1997).
Jack F. Williams & Pamela Williams, Creditors’ Rights and Bankruptcy (Matthew Bender 1992-).
Book Chapters
Jack F. Williams, Liability of Officers, Directors, and Professionals of Insolvent and Near-Insolvent Corporations, in Strategic Alternatives For and Against Distressed Businesses (Jonathan P. Friedland, ed., 2014).
Jack F. Williams, Liability of Officers, Directors, and Professionals of Insolvent and Near-Insolvent Corporations, in Strategic Alternatives for Distressed Businesses (Jonathan P. Friedland ed., West, 2012).
Jack F. Williams, Terrorist Threat Analysis: Shaping the Traditional Threat Formula, in Wiley Handbook of Science and Technology (John G. Voeller ed., 2009)
Jack F. Williams, The Coming Revenue Revolution in Sports, in Dynamics of Sports Marketing (Amitabha Ghose ed., Icfai Books, 2008).
Jack F. Williams (co-author), Goods Sold in the Days Before the Petition Date, in 2005 Bankruptcy Revisions: Implications for Business and Financial Advisors (Grant W. Newton ed., American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Inc. and Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, 2005).
Jack F. Williams (co-author), Tax Determination and Discharge, in 2005 Bankruptcy Revisions: Implications for Business and Financial Advisors (Grant W. Newton ed., American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Inc. and Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, 2005).
Jack F. Williams (co-author), Tax Return Issues, in 2005 Bankruptcy Revisions: Implications for Business and Financial Advisors (Grant W. Newton ed., American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Inc. and Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, 2005).
Jack F. Williams, The Tax Man Cometh: New York Yankees and Taxes, in Courting the Yankees: Legal Essays on the Bronx Bombers (Ettie Ward ed., 2003).
Articles
Jack F. Williams, Professional Wellness in an Unwell World, AIRA J., 37 no. 3, 2024, at 5.
Gregory B. Lewis & Jack F. WIlliams, Indian Preference and the Status of American Indians and Alaska Natives in the Federal Service: Employment, Earnings, Authority, and Perceptions of Fairness, 84 Pub. Admin. Rev. 1184 (2024).
Jack F. Williams, Vets and Debts, 25 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 43 (2017).
Jack F. Williams & Elizabeth Simmons, Financial Distress and the Culture of Sports, 8 Australian and New Zealand Sports L.J. 21 (2013) ( with Elizabeth Simmons)
Jack F. Williams, CIRA's, Cost Accounting, and Charlie, 28 AIRA J. 17-18 (2014)
Jack F. Williams, The Archaeology of Professional Ethics in Bankruptcy (Part II), 28 AIRA J. 1-8 (2014)
Jack F. Williams, Bankruptcy Retakes: What Constitutes a Tax Return for Bankruptcy Discharge Purposes?, AIRA J., Oct.-Nov. 2013, at 3.
Robert J. Stark, Jack F. Williams, & Anders J. Maxwell, Market Evidence, Expert Opinion, and the Adjudicated Value of Distressed Businesses, 68 Bus. Law. 1039 (2013).
Jack F. Williams, The Archaeology of Professional Ethics in Bankruptcy (Part I), 28 AIRA J. 1-8 (2013)
Jack F. Williams, Reading the Bankruptcy Code (Part II), 26 AIRA J. 3-8 (2012)
Jack F. Williams, Jessica O'Quin, & Joshua Stein, Public Financing of Green Cathedrals, 5 Alb. Gov't L. Rev. 123 (2012).
Jack F. Williams, Reading the Bankruptcy Code: United States v. Hall (Part I), 26 AIRA J. 4-9 (2012)
Jack F. Williams, Learning and Teaching, 25 AIRA J. 5 (2011)
Jack F. Williams, TOUSA: The Importance of Reasonably Equivalent Value in Fraudulent Transfer Law, 25 AIRA 5-11 (2011)
Jack F. Williams, Ponzi Schemes Part IV, 24 AIRA J. 3-4 (2011)
Jessica Gabel, Tom Hall, Alan Kornberg, Gary Marsh, & Jack Williams, Corporate Bankruptcy Panel: Fraudulent Conveyances - More Than Just a Theoretical Risk in Structuring Loans and Guarantees, 27 Emory Bankr. Dev. J. 285 (2011).
Jack F. Williams, Ponzi Schemes Part III, 24 AIRA J. 4-5 (2011)
Jack F. Williams, Ponzi Schemes Part II, 24 AIRA J. 3-4 (2010)
Jack F. Williams, Ponzi Schemes Part I, 24 AIRA J. 3-4 (2010)
Jack F. Williams, Ethics Part II, 24 AIRA 3-4 (2010)
Jack F. Williams, Ethics Part I, 24 AIRA 3-4(2010)
M.G. Diehl, et al., The Consumer Bankruptcy Panel: Views from the Bench - Five Years of BAPCPA, 26 Emory Bankr. Dev. J. 225 (2010).
Jack F. Williams, Alternatives to Business Bankruptcy Relief, 23 AIRA J. 4-10 (2009)
Jack F. Williams, Legislative Musings and the Sage of Bankruptcy Reform, 23 AIRA J. 4-6 (2009)
Jack F. Williams, Section 503(b)(9) Claims, 23 AIRA J. 4-8 (2009)
Jack F. Williams, Proposed Retail Bankruptcy Legislation, 23 AIRA J. 4-7 (2009)
Jack F. Williams, Deborah L. Thorne, Ronald J. Silverman, & Ben Pickering, American Bankruptcy Institute Media Teleconference to Examine the Future of Automotive Sector Distress, 17 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 105 (2009).
Jack F. Williams, Manipulating and Hiding Terrorist Content on the Internet: Legal and Tradecraft Issues, 2009 S.M.U. J. Sci. & Tech. 1 (with Marisa Urgo and Tony Burns)
Jack F. Williams, Rebecca Roof, & Greg Apter, American Bankruptcy Institute Media Teleconference to Examine the Future of Real Estate Industry Distress, 17 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 121 (2009).
Jack F. Williams, Laura Davis Jones, Scott Avila, Howard Brod Brownstein, American Bankruptcy Institute Media Teleconference to Examine the Future of Retail Sector Distress, 17 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 85 (2009).
Jack F. Williams, Of Disallowance, Disgorgement, and Malpractice: the Saga of SonicBlue, 23 AIRA J. 4-6 (2009)
Jack F. Williams, Restructuring Trends, Financial Distress, and Opportunities, AIRA J., Oct./Nov. 2008, at 5.
Jack F. Williams, Bankruptcy Rule 6003: A Humble Attempt to Slow Down the Chapter 11 Train, AIRA J., Aug.-Sept. 2008, at 4.
Jack F. Williams, Morality of Debt Forgiveness, AIRA J., Jun./Jul. 2008, at 5.
Jack F. Williams, Lessons Gleaned from Consumer Bankruptcy Cases, AIRA J., Apr./May 2008, at 5.
David M. Weinberg, Glenn H. Coplon, & Jack F. Williams, Oil Industry Has a New Risk Factor: Terrorism, Oil & Gas J., Mar. 3, 2008, at 18.
Jack F. Williams, Homage to Professor Frank R. Kennedy, Am. Bankr. Inst. J., Mar. 2008, at 86.
Jack F. Williams & Bill Lenhart, Independent Examiners and Internal Investigations, Director's Monthly, Feb. 2008, at 11.
Jack F. Williams, The Home Mortgage Meltdown: Some Relief for Borrowers, AIRA J., Feb./Mar. 2008, at 6.
Susan H. Seabury & Jack F. Williams, Bankruptcy and Debt Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 2008 Ann. Surv. Bankr. L. 18 (2008).
Jack F. Williams & Susan H. Seabury, Debt, Bankruptcy, Taxes and the Servicemember Civil Relief Act, 2008 Norton Ann. Surv. Of Bankr. L. 441 (2008).
Jack F. Williams, The Myths of Going Concern Valuations, AIRA J., Jan./Feb. 2008, at 6.
Stan Bernstein, Susan H. Seabury, & Jack F. Williams, Squaring Bankruptcy Valuations with Daubert Demands, 16 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 161 (2008).
Jack F. Williams, The Challenges of Limited Liability Companies in Bankruptcy: Part II, AIRA J., June/July 2007, at 4.
Jack F. Williams, The Challenges of Limited Liability Companies in Bankruptcy: Part I, AIRA J., Apr./May 2007, at 1.
Jack F. Williams, Preference Defenses, AIRA J., Feb./Mar. 2007, at 5.
Jack F. Williams, The Case of the Missing Punctuation Mark, 20 AIRA J. 4-5 (2006)
Jack F. Williams, State and Local Tax Issues in Bankruptcy Under BAPCPA, AIRA J., Aug./Sep. 2006, at 4.
William Lenhart & Jack Williams, Director and Officer Liability in the Zone of Insolvency, Corp. Governance Advisor, May/June 2006, at 28.
Stan Bernstein, Susan H. Seabury, & Jack F. Williams, The Empowerment of Bankruptcy Courts in Addressing Financial Expert Testimony, 80 Am. Bankr. L.J. 377 (2006).
Jack F. Williams, The Coming Revenue Revolution in Sports, 42 Willamette L. Rev. 101 (2006)
Jack F. Williams, The Coming Revenue Revolution in Sports, 42 Willamette L. Rev. 669 (2006).
Jack F. Williams & William K. Lenhart, Assessing the Liability of Officers, Directors of Corporate Debtors, Dow Jones Daily Bankr. Rev. (Oct. 26, 2005).
Jack F. Williams & William K. Lenhart, Aggressive Tactics Required to Combat Fraud: Top-Down Commitment is Essential, J. Corp. Renewal (Aug. 2005).
Jack F. Williams & Jacob L. Todres, Tax Consequences of Post-Petition Income as Property of the Estate in an Individual Debtor Chapter 11 Case and Tax Disclosure in Chapter 11, 13 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 701 (2005).
Jack F. Williams and William K. Lenhart, You are Now Entering the Zone of Insolvency, Turnaround Mgmt., Spring 2004, at 77.
Jack F. Williams, Managing Preference Claims, Nat'l Ass'n Bankr. Tr. J. (2004)
Jack F. Williams, Health Care Provisions & Asset-Backed Securitizations Under the Proposed Bankruptcy Bill, Am. Bankr. Inst. J., Dec./Jan. 2002, at 6.
Jack F. Williams, Symposium, Who Owns the Back of a Baseball Card? A Baseball Player's Rights in His Performance Statistics, 23 Cardozo L. Rev. 1705 (2002).
Jack F. Williams, Professor Frank R. Kennedy, 18 Bankr. Dev. J. 238 (2002).
Jack F. Williams, Valuation Tenets in Bankruptcy, Am. Bankr. Inst. J., Nov. 2001, at 32.
Jack F. Williams, Means-Testing Primer, Am. Bankr. Inst. J., Oct. 2001, at 6.
Jack F. Williams, Significant Business Bankruptcy Provisions in Pending Legislation, Am. Bankr. Inst. J., Sept. 2001, at 6.
Jack F. Williams, Ruminating on the Proposed Bankruptcy Bill, Am. Bankr. Inst. J., Jul./Aug. 2001, at 6.
Jack F. Williams, Symposium, Integrating American Indian Law Into the Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Curriculum, 37 Tulsa L. Rev. 557 (2001).
Jack F. Williams, Debunking the Myth Engulfing Article 9 Collateral Dispositions, 9 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 703 (2001).
Jack F. Williams, Bifurcation for Claim Filing Purposes of a Corporate Tax Year that Straddles the Petition Date, 9 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 463 (2001).
David Gray Carlson & Jack F. Williams, The Truth About the New Value Exception to Bankruptcy's Absolute Priority Rule, 21 Cardozo L. Rev. 1303 (2000).
Jack F. Williams & Tamara Miles Ogier, Symposium, A Collision of Policy: Chapter 13 and Taxes, 50 S.C. L. Rev. 313 (1999).
Jack F. Williams & Alexander A. Bove, Jr., All the Glitter Really Protect the Gold?, 1 Asset Protection J. 59 (1999).
Jack F. Williams, Bankruptcy Implications of Member and Member-Manager Interests in Limited Liability Companies, 1 Asset Protection J. 33 (1999).
Jack F. Williams, Symposium, Distrust: The Rhetoric and Reality of Means-Testing, 7 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 105 (1999).
Jack F. Williams, Charitable Contributions as Fraudulent Transfers, 3 J. Asset Protection 49 (1998).
Jack F. Williams & Jack C. Chambless, Title VII and the Reserve Clause: A Statistical Analysis of Salary Discrimination in Major League Baseball, 52 U. Miami L. Rev. 461 (1998).
Tamara Ogier & Jack F. Williams, Symposium, Bankruptcy Crimes and Bankruptcy Practice, 6 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 317 (1998).
David S. Salsburg & Jack F. Williams, A Statistical Approach to Claims Estimation in Bankruptcy, 32 Wake Forest L. Rev. 1119 (1997).
Jack F. Williams, Symposium, A Comment on the Tax Provisions of the National Bankruptcy Review Commission Report: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, 5 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 445 (1997).
Jack F. Williams, Moving as a Fraudulent Transfer, 1 J. Asset Protection 62 (1996).
Jack F. Williams, Canning the Chapter 13 Super Discharge, 4 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 553 (1996).
Jack F. Williams, Rethinking Bankruptcy and Tax Policy, 3 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 153 (1995).
Jack F. Williams, Disclaiming an Inheritance as Fraudulent Transfer, 1 J. Asset Protection 63 (1995).
Steven J. Csontos & Jack F. Williams, Congress's Role in Bankruptcy Tax Policy: A Roundtable Discussion, 3 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 257 (1995).
James I. Shepard & Jack F. Williams, Symposium, The Duty of a Bankruptcy Trustee to File Federal Information Returns on Behalf of a Debtor-Partnership, 3 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 295 (1995).
Jack F. Williams, Introduction, 3 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 253 (1995).
Jack F. Williams, Symposium, The Federal Tax Consequences of Individual Debtor Chapter 11 Cases, 46 S.C. L. Rev. 1203 (1995).
Jack F. Williams, The Fallacies of Contemporary Fraudulent Transfer Models as Applied to Intercorporate Guaranties: Fraudulent Transfer Law as a Fuzzy System, 15 Cardozo L. Rev. 1403 (1994).
Jack F. Williams, Classifying Pretrial Detention Decisions under the Bail Reform Act of 1984: A Statistical Approach, 30 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 255 (1993).
Jack F. Williams, Counting Creditors under Code § 303(b): The Tale of the Ubiquitous “Such”, Norton Bankr. L. Advisor 7 (June 1992).
Jack F. Williams, A Regulatory Model for Genetic Testing in Employment, 40 Okla. L. Rev. 181 (1987).
Jack F. Williams, The Differential Treatment of Men and Women by Artificial Reproduction Statutes, 21 Tulsa L.J. 463 (1986).
Jack F. Williams, Blood Transfusions and AIDS: A Legal Perspective, Med. Trial Tech. Q., 1986, at 267.
Popular Press
Jack Williams, Who Owns the Back of a Baseball Card?, L.A. Times, Aug. 21, 2006, at 11.
Other
Circuit City Unplugged: Why Did Chapter 11 Fail To Save 34,000 Jobs?: Hearing Before Subcomm. on Commercial and Administrative Law of the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 109th Cong. (Mar. 11, 2009) reprinted in Circuit City Unplugged: Why Did Chapter 11 Fail to Save 34,000 Jobs?, Am. Bankr. Inst. J., Apr. 2009, at 10.