Prime Minister Mackenzie King recorded in his diary that E.K. Williams was ideally suited to act as legal adviser to the government because of his position as president of the Canadian Bar Association. In a top-secret memo, Williams recommended to the government that it create a royal commission to investigate an alleged spy ring in Ottawa (thus circumventing the judicial process). He later acted as lead legal advisor to the commission. He served as bar association president for 1946-47 and was later appointed to the Supreme Court of Manitoba.