Steve Williams
Education
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- California Western School of Law, J.D., 1990
- SUNY Cortland, B.A., 1986
Admitted to Practice
- Admitted to practice in all courts in New York State and California, various Federal District Courts, the Court of Military Appeals, and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals
Memberships
- Onondaga County Bar Association
- New York State Bar Association
- California Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- Labor and Employment Practice Group
- Tort and Insurance Practice Section
Steve was born near Buffalo in Western New York. He moved to Saratoga and later attended college in Central New York. In law school, Steve was named Best Advocate of his graduating class. He was also the 1990 recipient of the Richard D. Westbrook award for scholarship and advocacy.
After graduating from law school in 1990, Steve served as an officer in the U.S. Navy's Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps. While in the JAG Corps, Steve gained valuable trial experience. He was promoted to the position of Senior Trial Counsel (i.e., senior prosecutor), where he supervised a staff of prosecutors. He handled some of the Navy's most complex and high profile cases. In 1994, Steve was assigned as counsel to Rear Admiral F. M. Dirren, Jr. Steve advised the Admiral on a wide range of issues, including, labor and employment, tort law and criminal law. Steve served on active duty for five years and was ultimately promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
Upon completing his commitment to the U.S. Navy, Steve returned to Upstate New York and joined Smith Sovik Kendrick & Sugnet, PC a Syracuse-based litigation boutique where he was made a partner two years later in 1997. Since joining the firm, Steve has tried cases all over New York State. He has represented high profile clients such as the National Basketball Players' Association (NBPA) and has appeared as a legal analyst on television programs such as The O'Reilly Factor and Hour CNY. Steve regularly appears before state agencies responsible for investigating claims of discrimination and EEOC offices in every state from Delaware to Maine. Steve has also been recognized as a top attorney by: New York Magazine's Best Lawyers in NY: Best Lawyers in America; Spree Magazine's Top Lawyers in Western NY; LawDragon.com; SuperLawyers NY; and has achieved an AV (very high to preeminent) peer-rating through Martindale-Hubbell. Steve is known as one of Central and Western New York's most tenacious litigators. He has obtained settlements or verdicts in excess of a million dollars for personal injury clients all over Upstate New York. He vigorously represents motor vehicle accident victims in both the state and federal courts with an outstanding record of success.
