Marguerite S. Willis
Nexsen Pruet, LLC
Columbia, South Carolina

Marguerite S. Willis, a member of the Columbia, South Carolina, office of Nexsen Pruet, LLC, served as the 2018 President of the Litigation Counsel of America.

Ms. Willis graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan and cum laude from the Stetson University College of Law. Following two federal clerkships, she joined the firm of Howrey, LLP in Washington, DC, where she became the first woman partner in 1981. Ms. Willis joined Nexsen Pruet in 2000 following her marriage to the then-Mayor of Florence, South Carolina, Frank Willis.

Ms. Willis practices complex commercial litigation with a focus in the antitrust field. She has substantial experience in class action practice as well, practicing in both state and federal courts throughout the United States. Ms. Willis’ experience includes serving as national counsel for a Fortune 100 company in its asbestos property damage litigation and for a major pharmaceutical company in over 4,000 cases involving claims of price-fixing and price discrimination under federal and state law. Ms. Willis presently serves as National Discovery Counsel for a major tire manufacturer.

Ms. Willis is a member of the bars of the States of Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and the District of Columbia. She has served as Out-of-State Governor of The Florida Bar, President of the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia, and is the former President of the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association. She currently serves as a member of the House of Delegates of the South Carolina Bar and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. In addition to serving as the current President of the Litigation Counsel of America, Ms. Willis is also a Co-Founder of the LCA’s Academy of Antitrust Law (AAL) and is a member of the Trial Law Institute and the Diversity Law Institute.

Ms. Willis is passionate about matters affecting women and girls. She regularly speaks on issues relating to pay equity and economic opportunity. Her signature presentation, “What’s in Your Pocketbook?” is a favorite of women’s leadership groups. Ms. Willis is a former Trustee of Columbia College, an historically all-female institution, and a founder of Women in Philanthropy, a charitable all-female “giving circle.”