Born in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, Willard received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Dartmouth College in 1877, and a Bachelor of Laws from Boston University School of Law in 1879.

He was a United States Territorial Judge of the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands from 1901 to 1909.

[1] On May 8, 1909, Willard was nominated by President William Howard Taft to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota vacated by Judge Milton D. Purdy.

Willard was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 18, 1909, and received his commission the same day.

This biography of a state judge in Minnesota is a stub.