Jack F. Williams

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.