LAWYER
Nathan Williams
Counsel | New York
Nathan Williams

Nathan Williams is a seasoned litigator who focuses on complex product liability, class actions, mass torts and environmental exposure liability. He has defended leading companies in the pharmaceutical and performance materials industries in high-stakes litigations involving claims for personal injury, property damage and medical monitoring. He leverages his experience to represent clients throughout the lifecycle of litigation, from risk assessment and case development to case resolution. He brings deep knowledge to advise clients and develop strategies for identifying and mitigating legal risk and managing complex litigation issues, including fact and expert discovery, dispositive briefing, appeals, and claim resolution.

Mr. Williams is a regular contributor to the product liability and mass torts group’s newsletter, Dechert Re:Torts. He was also recognized as Best Lawyers “Ones to Watch” in 2024 and 2025 in the areas of Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants; Product Liability Litigation – Defendants; and Appellate Practice.

Prior to joining Dechert, Mr. Williams was an associate at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.

  • Saint-Gobain as national and trial counsel in a high-profile environmental toxic tort litigation. Currently defending individual and class action complaints involving medical monitoring and property damages claims in New York, New Hampshire and Vermont.
  • Pfizer as national coordinating counsel in the Lipitor MDL, where 3,000+ plaintiffs alleged that a cholesterol-lowering medication caused them to develop Type 2 diabetes. Dechert’s Daubert strategy led to exclusion of plaintiffs’ experts on general causation grounds and the granting of summary judgment in all cases in the MDL. The Fourth Circuit unanimously affirmed. Dechert subsequently obtained a similar victory in California Superior Court after the product was spun off from Pfizer to Viatris.
  • Fluoropolymer processor as national counsel in defense of personal injury actions alleging exposure to PFAS from personal protective equipment.
  • PFAS: An Evolving Case Study in Environmental Litigation & Regulation - Lawline Webcast (October 26, 2023)
Services Industries
    • La Sierra University, B.A., 2005, summa cum laude
    • American University, M.A., International Affairs, 2008
    • Duke University School of Law, J.D., LL.M. International & Comparative Law, 2014, cum laude, Executive Editor of Duke Law Journal
    • New York
    • United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
    • United States District Court for the Northern District of New York