PERSONNEL FILE: Steptoe & Johnson attorney chosen for Leadership West Virginia

MORGANTOWN -– Monte L. Williams, a member of Steptoe & Johnson, has been chosen to participate in the 2010 class of Leadership West Virginia.

A former West Virginia State Trooper, Williams is a graduate of West Virginia University (J.D., M.A., B.A.), and serves the firm as a litigator with experience defending civil rights, contract, medical malpractice, first and third party bad faith, personal injury, products liability, and premises liability cases. In addition, he is a member of the firm's diversity committee and chair's the Morgantown office's wellness committee.

As an active member of the legal community, Williams serves on the Board of Governors for the West Virginia State Bar, as the Monongalia/Marion Counties District Representative for the Young Lawyers Section of West Virginia State Bar, and the Young Lawyers Liaison to the Trial Tactics Committee of the Defense Research Institute. Williams is also Vice Chair of the Defense Research Institute's Young Lawyers Diversity Subcommittee and a member of the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia. Most notably, Williams is a charter member and the Chairperson of the West Virginia Black Lawyers Alumni Association. Before becoming a candidate for Leadership West Virginia, Williams completed Leadership Monongalia.

Williams is recognized as a Super Lawyers® Rising Star, and he is frequently asked to deliver presentations at legal seminars, trade association meetings and to community outreach groups.

Leadership West Virginia, an affiliate of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, is a statewide program to develop, strengthen and connect emerging leaders for the Mountain State. During eight months of training, participants in each Leadership West Virginia cohort are helped to enhance their personal leadership skills and enrich their knowledge of not only the problems facing the state, but also of its diverse and unique attributes.

Steptoe & Johnson is a business-focused firm with particular strengths in energy, labor, employment and litigation. It comprises over 180 lawyers resident in eight locations throughout West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky. For nearly a century, Steptoe & Johnson has demonstrated its commitment to quality, devoting personal attention, experience, skill, and resources to client-focused service.