U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst Appoints New Civil Division Chief in United States Attorney’s Office for Southern District of Mississippi

Jackson, Miss. – United States Attorney Mike Hurst announced today that Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Givens Williams will serve as the new Chief of the Civil Division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi.  The change comes in the wake of the departure of former Civil Division Chief Marc Perez, who accepted a position as the Investigative Counsel for the Office of Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency in Seattle, Washington.

“Angela has long been a respected leader in our office, and I am excited that she has accepted this new challenge of leading this important division in our office.  Angela is well-respected by her peers locally and nationally, and her experience, intellect, and work ethic will be invaluable in leading our Civil Division to new heights.  I also want to thank former Civil Chief Marc Perez for his service to this office, his fortitude in always striving for justice, and his hard work in making our Civil Division and our office better than he found it,” said U.S. Attorney Hurst.

Ms. Williams received her undergraduate degree from Tougaloo College and graduated with honors from the George Washington University School of Law in 2000.  After graduating from law school, Ms. Williams served as a law clerk for Judge Eric Clay of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and later for U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate of the Southern District of Mississippi.  In 2002, she began work for the law firm Arnold and Porter in Washington D.C., where she remained for 4 years before returning to Mississippi and joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Civil Division in 2006 as an Assistant U.S. Attorney.

As an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Civil Division, Ms. Williams has handled many large and complex affirmative and defensive cases on behalf of the United States. Since February 2016, she has served as the Civil Division’s Senior Litigation Counsel, and has also served as the Ethics Advisor for the office.   In 2018, Ms. Williams received the Robert E. Hauberg Award for Distinguished Public Service, named in honor of the achievements of former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi Robert E. Hauberg, the longest serving United States Attorney in the history of our nation. The Award is given annually to an employee who has displayed superior achievement in their assigned duties and who has gone above and beyond the call of duty in some additional public service that makes a significant impact on the community.

The United States Attorney is the Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer for the United States within his or her particular jurisdiction. There are 93 United States Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. United States Attorneys are appointed by, and serve at the discretion of, the President of the United States, with advice and consent of the United States Senate. United States Attorneys have three statutory responsibilities: (1) the prosecution of criminal cases brought by the Federal government; (2) the prosecution and defense of civil cases in which the United States is a party; and (3) the collection of debts owed the Federal government which are administratively uncollectible. The Southern District of Mississippi encompasses the lower 45 counties of the State of Mississippi and covers approximately 2 million Mississippians.