There is something to be said for a person who chooses to make their living with the law. An attorney has to be on top of their game constantly, up on the latest legal precedents being set, familiar with all the big cases, and daily sharpening their skills in debate, logic and legality. Now imagine this attorney moves across the ocean and learns an entire new country's set of laws, employed by a high profile, top ranked firm. Hardly the ideal background one would imagine for a professional poker player, but then, the world of poker continues to support all sorts of characters who break stereotypes. Enter Tiffany Williamson, a South Carolina native by birth, a corporate attorney by profession, an expatriate Brit by circumstance, and a pro poker player by choice.
After attending the prestigious and historic William and Mary university in Williamsburg, Virginia and graduating in 1992, Williamson went on to earn her Masters at the University of South Carolina and her J.D. from New York's Columbia Law School. In 1999 she moved to London to join the top-ranked international law firm of Davis, Polk and Wardwell. While she thinks of herself as a Londoner, she maintains connections in the United States, keeping her New York license to practice law.
2005 is the year Tiffany Williamson made her name internationally for something other than practicing law; after winning a seat in the World Series of Poker via a ten-pound buy in at London's Gutshot club, Williamson nailed the highest cash prize ever paid to a female in a main event; $400,000. Her 15th place win at the 36 th Annual World Series of Poker's No Limit Hold 'Em Championship caused amateurs and pros alike to sit up and take notice, beating out 202 other female players.
Williamson, already a globe trotting individual, is well placed with a future in law set in front of her, and a potential second future in professional poker beckoning. With options like these, Tiffany Williamson seems to be holding all the cards.
