Biography
Chris Williams is a lifelong child-advocate who started his career litigating child abuse matters for the Washington State Attorney General’s office in 2004. His first trial rocketed directly to the State Supreme Court, and he enjoyed a robust trial and appellate practice there for years. He then briefly represented the largest school district in the Pacific Northwest, and eventually went on to co-found a regional education-focused law firm serving students and families (Cedar Law). Chris was endorsed there by peers as a “Super Lawyer” multiple years in a row.
While serving as an education law specialist, Chris handled discipline, discrimination, special education, disability accommodation, athletic eligibility, private school discipline/tuition disputes, assaults, failure-to-supervise claims, and academic integrity appeals from inception to litigation. His cases resulted in millions of dollars in recovery for children, reversed unjust academic dismissals that allowed graduation for first-generation college clients, imposed systemic reforms at districts, and improved the academic programming for thousands of children (both clients and non-clients). He also served as a successful APR 6 mentor to a (now) practicing attorney who scored better on the bar exam than the majority of traditionally trained examinees. As of 2025, due to the sheer volume of cases few people take on, he had handled more school discipline and WIAA athletic eligibility hearings than anyone in state history.
