The Samuel L. Williams papers, valuable to scholars studying Los Angeles and urban life in general, includes material that represents the Southern California attorney's civic work, speeches, photographs, and correspondence from 1974-1995. The former California Deputy Attorney General was on the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners when Chief Darryl F. Gates was suspended in the aftermath of the Rodney G. King beating, and was a staff attorney for the McCone Commission which investigated the 1965 Watts Riots. His papers are a collection of work during his time as senior partner of law firm Hufstedler and Kaus, as president of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, and as president of the State Bar of California. Also included are materials from when Williams' was on the board of the Bank of California and the University of Southern California.

Samuel L. Williams was a prominent attorney who distinguished himself as a leader in the legal community. He was prominent in Los Angeles civic affairs, and was an individual who was committed to social justice and civil rights. He was the first African American to serve as president of the California State Bar. He was a member of the boards of several prominent corporations, was president of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners and had served as president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.

14.39 linear feet (26 document boxes, 1 half size document box, 2 oversize flat boxes)

Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Research Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Research Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

The collection is open for research. A portion of the collection is stored offsite. Advance notice is required for retrieval.