 He later went onto the stage and was called to the bar in 1862.In 1879 he was appointed junior Treasury counsel, retiring from the post in 1886 due to a growth on the larynx which seriously affected his voice, being succeeded by Sir Charles Willie Mathews, 1st Baronet.Williams took up a post as metropolitan stipendiary magistrate in 1886 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1888.