Ria Williams, Commercial Real Estate/Finance Associate, Arent Fox, 32
Pictured: On the couch in Central Perk on the re-created set of the TV show Friends during a tour of the Warner Brothers studio lot in LA.
Job: My clients are primarily in the hospitality and multifamily residential industries. I handle the legal aspects of commercial real estate and finance transactions, which include drafting and negotiating purchase and sale agreements and loan documents, performing due diligence and advising clients on the risks of transactions from a legal perspective, and bringing transactions to closing by preparing the documents and organizing the people, places and things necessary to close the transactions.
Community involvement: I’ve worked on projects involving assisting individuals in obtaining Social Security benefits, assisting victims of domestic violence obtain protective orders, campaign finance reform, and I volunteer at Legal Aid intake a few times per year.
Career highlights: Taking a pro bono domestic violence case to trial during my first year of practice; taking a lead role in a $230M sale of a multi-hotel portfolio.
Why this career: I ask myself this question repeatedly to make sure I’m in the right place (or when I’m having a particularly challenging day at the office). Currently, being an attorney feeds my analytical tendencies and my compulsion for organization, and luckily, I really like real estate and being able to see the tangible results of my work, i.e., the buildings I have helped my clients buy, sell or finance.
Where you grew up: I was born and spent my childhood for the most part in Trinidad in the West Indies. I migrated to the States when I was a teenager and finished off high school in West Palm Beach, FL.
Why DC: I came to DC for the first time for a pre-college program for kids interested in politics, and ended up coming here for college and have never left. I love the convergence of like-minded individuals, especially women of color; and as an added bonus, the city is beautiful!
First job: The mail room/promotions department of the broadcast media company my mom worked for at the time, now called ION Media Networks.
Family: A 9-year-old Bichon Frise named Jazz who I started taking care of five years ago after my mom passed away.
Free time: I like varying experiences, anything entertaining and relaxing. Lately I’ve been taking acting classes and learning the basics of filmmaking.
10 years from now: Happy with who I am at the time, what I am spending my time doing, and how much I’m giving to the people I love and to the world.
Favorite vacation spots: I enjoy exploring places with long, rich histories.
Bucket list: Produce at least one feature film, act in at least one professional theater production and a feature film, and travel to every destination that I’ve ever thought I’d like to visit.
Daily habit: Every day I write a to-do list of some sort (personal or professional), and I engage in daily devotional prayer, usually first thing in the morning.
Startling fact: Many people have been surprised to learn that I drive a Chevy Camaro. I guess it doesn’t fit with their perception of me, but I do, in fact, like fast, powerful cars.
