Zach Williams

Zach Williams is a Counsel in the White & Case's Commercial Litigation Practice Group. Based in the Firm's Washington, DC office, Zach represents companies in complex commercial litigation and governmental enforcement matters.

Zach is a commercial litigator with specialty experience in False Claims Act (FCA) investigations and litigations. From 2015 through 2023, Zach was a Trial Attorney in the Fraud section of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Division. In that role, Zach had significant responsibility for advancing FCA investigations and litigation across a range of federal programs and enforcement regimes. His FCA investigation and litigation experience involved traditional areas of enforcement such as Medicare Part C, Medicaid, and Stark/Anti-Kickback Act, as well as less frequent areas of enforcement such as FEMA Public Assistance, Social Security, and the Department of Education incentive compensation ban. He took the lead in other aspects of FCA enforcement, including the dismissal of a relator's complaint under 31 U.S.C. § 3730(c)(2)(A), obtaining reconsideration of a federal court's order to provide discovery of a DOJ investigation to an FCA relator, and the enforcement of several Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs) and an Office of Inspector General (OIG) subpoena.

Zach's wide-ranging work required him to quickly gain proficiency in the legal framework and management of diverse federal programs, while also planning, managing, and executing investigation and litigation strategies tailored specifically to each case. He litigated several FCA cases deep into proceedings, up to and through the merits phase of summary judgment and trial. Zach earned praise for his ability to manage cases by developing a team environment while simultaneously delivering persuasive advocacy through careful preparation. He separately devoted time to making presentations to case agents, investigators, and DOJ attorneys regarding topics such as the use of statistical sampling in FCA cases and proving FCA damages in litigation.

Zach has also developed considerable experience in other subject areas. At the DOJ, Zach was responsible for conducting investigations into alleged violations of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA). During a prior stint in private practice before joining the DOJ, Zach was part of a team that represented a federal agency in a multi-billion dollar suit alleging Securities Act violations regarding the purchase of private-label residential mortgage-backed securities.

Zach clerked for the Honorable Eric L. Clay, U.S. Court of Appeals forthe Sixth Circuit, 2011-12, and the Honorable James R. Spencer, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, 2010-11.