Willie E. Gary, partner at Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson & Gary P.L.L.C is a leading national trial attorney and is affectionately nicknamed ‘The Giant Killer’ thanks to his history in taking down some of the biggest corporation in America during his tenure as an attorney. He is responsible for some of the biggest awards and settlements seen in U.S history, with his largest settlements and awards landing at above $30 billion.
Gary started life in humble surroundings, as one of 11 children in the household, and has worked his way through the justice system to open the first African-American law firm in his home town of Stuart, Florida before expanding that firm into today’s 3-office partnership of Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson & Gary P.L.L.C.
His determination got him into Shaw university in Raleigh, where he became Shaw footballs team’s co-captain in 1969. He then moved on to North Carolina Central university and earned his Juris Doctorate in 1974. He then moved back to Florida with Gloria to set about opening his own law firm
Willie holds a substantial number of accreditations, memberships and qualifications.
He has memberships within the National Bar Association, American Association for Justice, the Million Dollar Verdict Club, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and the local St. Lucie County Bar Associations. His prestige has not gone unnoticed and he is in high demand across the U.S as a motivational speaker and presenter at awards shows, universities, law schools and groups throughout the country.
Throughout his journey toward internationally-renowned trail attorney, Gary has been featured in many publications, including Ebony Magazine’s “Top 100 Most Influential Black Americans” and Forbes’ “Top 50 Attorneys in the US” as well as appearing in The New York Times, Jet, Black Enterprise, Fortune and The National Law Journal.
On television, Gary has been discussed and praised on 60 Minutes, CBS Evening News and he has had a guest appearance on The Oprah Winfrey ShowGary’s motivation has clearly been infectious, with his wife Gloria assisting him in the initial set-up of his law firm, whilst two of his four sons are now working with their father at the Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson & Gary P.L.L.C. office, whilst the eldest son runs the family’s real estate business as CEO and works with the fourth child to run the Gary Foundation, a charity organization set up by Gloria to tackle the issues surrounding education and drug prevention among teenagers. This foundation is not alone in the Gary family’s charitable activities, with Willie donating millions of dollars to causes and his main passion – Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
In return for his charitable nature and community-focused activities, Garry has been awarded numerous honorary degrees and sits on the committees for a variety of community causes and organizations.
As a prevalent figure in the justice landscape, Willie is required to work across numerous states. He has stood in trials in at least 45 states thus far in his career and can get from state to state much more efficiently, thanks to his fully-staffed, customdesigned, 32-passenger Boeing 737 – because being the greatest attorney in the US does not come without it’s perks. The personal plane is also used to see family more often and schedule his time between charities, individuals, work and personal life more effectively.
