Jack Biography
Jack Williams advises and represents companies and financial institutions, both large and small, in all aspects of civil litigation before state and federal courts.
His practice has included matters regarding non-competition provisions, non-solicitation provisions, trade secrets, trademark and copyright, corporate governance disputes, securities class actions, consumer class actions, landlord-tenant class actions, unfair business practice claims, corporate investigations, disputes involving sophisticated financial products, independent contractor classification issues arising under California Assembly Bill 5, assignments for the benefit of creditors under California law, and business-to-business and consumer arbitration.
Jack has successfully defended numerous class actions, including obtaining a dismissal at the pleadings stage with prejudice in a consumer class action against a major credit reporting agency for failure to state a claim, defeating a class certification motion in favor of a major apartment leasing company, and–most recently–obtaining referral of a matter to contractual arbitration in favor of a global manufacturer of personal computers.
Jack has repeatedly asserted and defended the rights of parties to independent contractor arrangements to defend their businesses from unfair practices and trade secret theft arising in the context of those relationships.
He has successfully represented companies, officers, and board members in direct and derivative shareholder disputes in numerous industries–including insurance, real estate, gaming, apparel, high performance watercraft, biotech, and finance.
Jack has also successfully represented clients in disputes with their suppliers and/or distributors relating to product, licensing, and trademark issues, and recently obtained a favorable settlement for a manufacturer of life-saving biomedical testing products for a fraction of damages claimed.
Jack served in the Marine Corps infantry from 2006 to 2010 and deployed to Iraq in 2009 with Second Battalion, First Marines as a mounted infantry vehicle commander. He now serves as a board member of Veterans Legal Institute, an Orange County non-profit that provides pro bono legal services to veterans.
Jack lives in San Juan Capistrano with his partner, Yvonne, and child, Ava. He is a member of the Dana Point Yacht Club and enjoys sailboat racing.
Education
University of California, Irvine School of Law, Irvine, California
• Juris Doctor – 2015
• Honors: cum laude
University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California
• B.A.
• Honors: summa cum laude
• Honors: Chancellor’s Award of Distinction (2012) for “exceptional academic achievement, and a commitment to cutting-edge research, leadership and service to UCI”
• Honors: Phi Beta Kappa
• Major: Mid-East History
Bar Admission
• California
• U.S. District Court Central District of California
• U.S. District Court Southern District of California
• U.S. District Court Northern District of California
Representative Cases
• Vistage Worldwide, Inc. v. Knudsen (S.D. Cal.)
• Direct List v. Vistage International, Inc. (S.D. Cal.)
• Stewart v. Acer, Inc. (N.D. Cal.)
Pro-Bono Activities
• Board Member, Veterans Legal Institute, Orange County California
Public Service
• Corporal, United States Marine Corps, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment (2006–2010)
jwilliams@raffertywilliamslaw.com