About Maureen
Maureen Williams combines an accounting background and decades in the courtroom to shape her legal work. She earned a B.S. in accounting from Creighton University and later completed a J.D. at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Years after law school she returned to study trial craft at the Trial Lawyers College, where she is listed as a graduate of the 2019 program and studied under Gerry Spence.
Her path to private practice began in the early 1990s. In 1993 she founded Heart of Illinois Criminal Defense and began handling criminal matters across a range of charges. The firm grew from a small local practice into a stable presence in the region’s criminal defense bar. Over time she added appellate work to trial practice and became active in regional bar organizations that handle criminal appeals and trial advocacy.
Williams maintains professional ties to both Illinois and Minnesota. She is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Peoria County Bar Association, where she has contributed to continuing legal education programs. She also belongs to the Illinois Appellate Lawyers Association and the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Nationally, she has been a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers since 2018. In addition to her law credentials, she holds an inactive CPA license through the Minnesota Board of Accountancy, a credential that informs her handling of financial and white-collar aspects of criminal cases.
Her courtroom approach reflects that mixed background. She has spent years handling trials at the county level and arguing appeals in state courts. She prepares cases that touch on forensic evidence, financial records and procedural questions that can determine whether convictions stand. Colleagues describe her as methodical and direct in court. Her appellate work draws on research and briefing skills that developed after her decades in trial practice.
Professional service has been part of her career rhythm. She has regularly participated in CLE programs through local bar associations and contributed to educational efforts aimed at newer criminal defense attorneys. Her association memberships stretch back to the mid-2000s for several Illinois organizations, showing a sustained presence in the state’s legal community.
She now practices from the Law Offices of Maureen Williams. She represents clients in criminal trial and appellate matters in Illinois and Minnesota and handles cases that raise complex evidentiary and financial issues.
