J Colby Williams

Practice Areas

Mr. Williams is a co-founder and senior partner of Campbell & Williams. Over his thirty-plus year career, he has handled numerous precedent setting cases representing plaintiffs and defendants in the fields of complex commercial litigation, high stakes administrative proceedings, catastrophic personal injury, and First Amendment Law. In 2015 and 2018, Mr. Williams was named “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers for “Bet-The-Company Litigation,” and earned the same distinction for “First Amendment” law in 2019. Mr. Williams has also held an AV “Preeminent” ranking for two decades, which is the highest rating for legal skill and ethical practices designated by Martindale-Hubbell. He has likewise been included in Chambers USA (Band 1), Commercial Litigation, Mountain States Super Lawyers, and is a long-standing member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. In March 2025, Mr. Williams was inducted into the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers, an honor reserved for the top 1% of trial attorneys in the country.

Representative matters from Mr. Williams’ appellate practice include:

Hunt v. Zuffa, LLC, 2025 WL 1164219 (9th Cir. Apr. 22, 2025) (affirming summary judgment in favor of mixed martial arts promotion and its president on former fighter’s remaining claims for fraud, aiding and abetting, and conspiracy), cert. denied 2025 WL 3507007 (U.S. Dec. 8, 2025)

Cipriani v. Resorts World Las Vegas, LLC, 2025 WL 3066303 (9th Cir. Dec. Nov. 3 2025) (affirming dismissal of all claims against former casino executive)

Lombardo v. Nev. Comm’n on Ethics, 2025 WL 1711537 (Nev. June 18, 2025) (en banc) (unanimously reversing district court’s improper dismissal of public official’s petition for judicial review of disciplinary opinion)

Nevada Gaming Comm’n v. Wynn, 138 Nev. 164, 507 P.3d 183 (2022) (en banc) (resolving as issue of first impression whether district courts have jurisdiction to entertain gaming commission disciplinary decisions through writs of prohibition)

Canarelli v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Ct., 136 Nev. 247, 464 P.3d 114 (2020) (en banc) (holding as a matter of first impression that Nevada does not recognize the fiduciary exception to the attorney-client privilege)

Gardner on Behalf of L.G. v. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct., 133 Nev. 730, 405 P.3d 651 (2017) (finding that limited liability company members can be sued individually for personally participating in tortious acts and that alter ego doctrine applies to limited liability companies)

Mr. Williams’ recent work at the trial court and administrative agency level includes:

Represented former casino executive in high profile federal court action and obtained dismissal of all claims brought by disgruntled patron claiming various intentional torts

Obtained second summary judgment order and attorney fee award on behalf of mixed martial arts promotion and its president on former fighter’s remaining claims after first appeal

After day-long live-streamed hearing, obtained dismissal on one set of alleged ethics violations against public official and modest fine on other set of charges where agency originally sought more than $1.6 million; the case was then successfully resolved through a stipulated agreement

After multi-week arbitration in the Bay Area, obtained favorable monetary judgment and attorney fee award for affiliate of publicly traded Las Vegas casino operator and complete defense of Native American Tribe’s multi-million dollar counterclaim

Defeated election contest challenging results of 2022 Republican Primary Election for Nevada Governor

Obtained preliminary injunction against Massachusetts Gaming Commission and its agents precluding use of materials protected by common interest privilege in gaming investigation

Part of trial team that secured eight-figure settlement against water park on behalf of catastrophically injured minor

Mr. Williams is a member of the State Bar of Nevada, the Clark County Bar Association, the Media Law Resource Center, and formerly served as a member of the Nevada Rules of Appellate Procedure Commission. He is a current member of the Nevada Supreme Court’s Committee to Study the Adjudication of Business Law Cases in Nevada. Mr. Williams grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and now enjoys skiing and hiking in the mountains surrounding Ketchum, Idaho with his wife and their families.