Natalie S. Williams

I attribute my success to choosing greatness every single day. My motto is 'greatness is a choice,' and I wake up every day choosing to be great because someone's life is in my hands. When I'm working on a criminal case, their constitutional rights are in my hands. When I'm working on a family law case, their children and divorce proceedings are in my hands. They're looking to me for guidance and support, so I have to be great every day. At that point during this time at work, it's not about me - it's about them. I live off very little sleep because my brain wakes up at 4 AM, sometimes even 3 AM, mentally preparing and drafting motions. I've been known to file things at 5 in the morning because I can't sleep when I have important work to do. I studied 10 to 12 hours a day, 6 days a week for 3 months to pass the bar on my first try because as a single mom with a 3-year-old son, I didn't have the opportunity to take it again. He needed his mom, and I didn't want to raise a latchkey kid. That same dedication and hard work that got me through law school is what drives me every single day in my practice.

The best career advice I ever received was from my own divorce lawyer during my divorce proceedings. I was very upset one day because my ex-husband was lying in court and trying to destroy my reputation as an attorney. I was in the hallway going off about it, and she grabbed me by my hand, pulled me into a conference room, and said, 'Suck it up, buttercup. I need you to get it together. You are an attorney. You are always an attorney.' That snapped me back into reality. I've taken that advice and made it my own approach with my clients. Suck it up, buttercup - we don't have time to cry, we don't have time to be petty, we don't have time for tit for tat. The best defense when you're dealing with a narcissistic spouse and you're trying to get out is an effective, planned offense. We cannot be reactive, we have to be proactive. That moment taught me to stay professional no matter what, and it's advice I now pass on to my own clients who are going through difficult situations.

My advice to young women entering law is to first know why you want to be a lawyer. I went to law school with people who honestly said they were just there because they didn't know what else to do - that is the wrong mindset to have. Know why you want to be a lawyer. Find your passion within the law that ignites you. Be authentically you. There are a whole bunch of attorneys walking around, and you see those put-together pretty boxes in commercials, but be authentically you. No one can defend or represent clients better than you can when you're being yourself. Just because there are a plethora of attorneys in this world doesn't mean you cannot do an effective job and make a difference. Think about it like doctors - there might be 105,000 doctors that do the same thing in your county, but they all have a full patient list. Why? Because every doctor isn't for everybody, even though they do the same thing. So trust your gut, know what you're getting into, and never let anybody tell you different. If they tell you you can't make it through, you don't need them - move on. Don't let them tell you you can't do it. You can, you will, and you do.

Justice has always been my passion, and one of the greatest challenges in my field is ensuring that every individual has access to fair and equitable representation, particularly in criminal defense and family law. Many clients do not fully understand their rights or how to navigate the legal system, and I see this as an opportunity to educate, empower, and advocate with both strategy and compassion. Balancing the demands of legal practice with personal responsibilities, especially as a single parent, has taught me the value of discipline, resilience, and careful planning qualities I bring to every case. For me, each matter is more than just a legal issue; it is a chance to protect freedoms, restore balance, and positively impact the lives of those I serve, guided by my principle that “greatness is a choice.”

My top three values are honesty, integrity, and zealous advocacy. I cannot lie to my client - I'm not that person. I tell them straight up: if you want an attorney that's going to feed you wolf tickets and tell you stories with rose-colored glasses, then I am not the one. You need to find somebody else. I am a straight, no chaser shooter, because I feel like that's the best way to be so there are no misunderstandings as to what's going on and what is being expected of them. Life is happening, and they cannot afford to be living in a fantasy. My friends will tell you, if you don't want to know the truth, do not ask Natalie, because she will share her feelings. But she'll do it in a loving way. I've had lawyers tell me that I hurt their feelings, but they knew it was in a loving way because things had to be done. I can't defend what I don't know, and that goes for criminal cases and family law cases. I can't possibly assist you if I don't know the truth. So not only am I always honest with my clients, I demand that they be honest with me, because I can't do my job if they're not. It affects them just as much as me. I'm also a die-hard, zealous advocate. I'm going to fight for you. If justice needs to be done, I'm going to fight for you. Even if you were rightfully accused, do you deserve to spend the rest of your life in jail? Let's find a happy medium that the state can be happy with, that the victim can be happy with, that you can be happy with. There are very few horrible people, very few Jeffrey Dahmers walking around. Most people just make dumb decisions, and you shouldn't have to spend the rest of your life making up for one dumb decision if you don't have to.