Williams & Connolly Picks New D.C. Site After More Than 50 Years

Williams & Connolly is relocating to Washington’s wharf area from downtown, where the law firm has done business for more than a half-century.

“The wharf is the perfect location for Willliams & Connolly to launch its next 50 years,” Joe Petrosinelli, the firm’s executive chair said, in a statement.

The new space will handle the firm’s growth, Petrosinelli said. It also will incorporate technology that enables lawyers to work from home and the office, said Ken Smurzynski, chair of the firm’s real estate committee.

Williams & Connolly is among firms relocating during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected how workplaces operate and reduced reliance on individual offices. Its new address will be on Maine Avenue in Southwest Washington.

The firm, which has more than 300 attorneys based out of a single office in Washington, has been located in the Metro Center area since its founding in 1967.

Trial lawyer Edward Bennett Williams left Hogan & Hartson to found the litigation firm. It has worked in both civil and criminal matters, including high-profile actions such as President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, the Iran-Contra affair and the attempted assassination of former President Ronald Reagan.