Naila Townes Ahmed

Naila Townes Ahmed serves as Williams Mullen's director of talent management, responsible for advancing the firm's training, diversity and legal recruiting. Her practice concentrates on general corporate law and transactions, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, related antitrust law, and securities offerings. She also represents several small- to medium-sized clients concerning their general business matters.

Naila Townes Ahmed serves as Williams Mullen's director of talent management, responsible for advancing the firm's training, diversity and legal recruiting. Her practice concentrates on general corporate law and transactions, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, related antitrust law, and securities offerings. She also represents several small- to medium-sized clients concerning their general business matters.

Prior to her career in law, Ms. Ahmed worked for 11 years in an actuarial capacity for Buck Consultants, Inc., a consulting firm located in New York City. There she worked with various private, governmental and quasi-governmental clients regarding management of their pension plans.

Ms. Ahmed received her master of business administration and juris doctor degrees from the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business and School of Law, respectively, in 1991. As a law student, Ms. Ahmed was a notes editor and a member of the managing board of the Virginia Law Review, and was selected as a member of the Virginia Tax Review. While at Virginia, she also was selected as a member of two honor societies, the Raven Society and Omicron Delta Kappa.  In addition, Martindale Hubbell has rated Ms. Ahmed an AV attorney, its highest rating available.

She received her undergraduate degree, a bachelor of arts in mathematics, from Hampton University in 1974. She graduated magna cum laude and was selected as a member of Beta Kappa Chi, a national mathematics honor society.

Ms. Ahmed is a member of the St. Andrew's School Board of Directors.  She served as chairperson of the board of directors of the Metropolitan Business League from 1996 to 1998, as board member and secretary of Richmond First Tee from 1998 to 2000, as a board member of the YWCA (Richmond) from 1999 to 2000, and is a former member of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Foundation Business Council. She also is a 1998 graduate of Leadership Metro Richmond. From 1994 to 1998, she served as board member (including positions as secretary and vice chair) of INROADS/Richmond, Inc.; from 1996 to 1998, served as counsel to Make Women Count PAC; and from 1991 to 1996, served as a class (of 1991) manager of the Virginia Law School Foundation Annual Giving Campaign. In 1997, Ms. Ahmed received the Metropolitan Business League’s “League Leadership Award” and, in 1998, served on Governor Gilmore’s Advisory Committee for The Virginia Strategy. Most recently, Ms. Ahmed was named to “The Legal Elite,” a list of Virginia’s top 300 lawyers compiled by Virginia Business magazine.

Ms. Ahmed is a member of the Richmond Bar Association, where she served as chair of the Publications Committee from 1995 to 1996. She also is a member of the Metropolitan Richmond Women’s Bar Association, Virginia Bar Association, Old Dominion Bar Association, American Bar Association and the Virginia State Bar.