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William Webster retired as partner in Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP at the end of 2005, but he remains active in the practice of law. A former chairman of the firm's Litigation Department, he was also involved in the Firm's international corporate, banking, and administrative law practices. He now serves as arbitrator and mediator in a wide variety of disputes between corporate parties and continues to be involved in prominent public sector activities.
Prior to joining Milbank in 1991, Judge Webster was, since 1987, Director of Central Intelligence, where he headed all the foreign intelligence agencies of the United States and directed the Central Intelligence Agency. Earlier, he served as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1978 - 1987), Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (1973 - 1978), and Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (1970 - 1973). A practicing attorney with a St. Louis law firm from 1949 to 1959, Judge Webster served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri from 1960 to 1961. He returned to private practice in 1961. From 1964 to 1969, he was also a member of the Missouri Board of Law Examiners.
Judge Webster graduated from Amherst College and received his Juris Doctor from Washington University Law School. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Council of the American Law Institute, Order of the Coif and is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He has received numerous honorary degrees and awards, including the Freedoms Foundation National Service Medal (1985), the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1991) and the National Security Medal (1991). He is a past Chairman of the American Bar Association Business Law Section and past President of the Institute of Judicial Administration. He is a director of the American Arbitration Association and the CPR Center for Dispute Resolution. He is a Trustee of Washington University in St. Louis.
He is the recipient of the 2001 Justice Award of the American Judicature Society and the 2002 ABA Medal, its highest honor. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and has also received NASA's Distinguished Public Service Medal. As noted thereon "For your exceptional, dedicated and untiring public service in support of the families of the crew of Space Shuttle Columbia STS-107."
Judge Webster was named in 2006 as the Chair of the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC). He previously served as the HSAC Vice Chair. | 