Past ABA president to receive prestigious Burton Award for Leadership in Law

The American Bar Association announced Wednesday that immediate past president, William C. Hubbard, will receive the prestigious 2016 Burton Award for Leadership in Law.

The award will be presented amongst other awards recognizing lawyers in legal writing, public service and other areas of the law during the 17th Burton Awards Program and Gala at the Library of Congress, May 23 in Washington, D.C.

The Burton Awards, which recognize major achievements in the law, will salute Hubbard for his unprecedented leadership to the legal profession and for advancing the rule of law during his service as president of the ABA. During that time, Hubbard led the association through the commemoration of the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta.

Hubbard was selected by the Burton Awards, a nonprofit run in partnership with the Library of Congress.

"This award honors William Hubbard for a career that has been exemplary with an abundance of ingenuity, vision and extraordinary foresight," said William C. Burton, founder and chairman of the Burton Awards program. "Mr. Hubbard exemplifies the finest qualities and characteristics of a proven leader in law. Through his accomplishments at the American Bar Association, his successes in private practice, and his body of new ideas and concepts, he has earned the greatest recognition and the highest praise."

Hubbard is a partner with the Columbia, S.C., office of Nelson Mullis Riley & Scarborough. During his service as president of the ABA, Hubbard created the ABA Commission on the Future of Legal Services, which works to improve the delivery and access to legal services to the poor and middle class.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is slated to speak at the event and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will memorialize late Justice Antonin Scalia during the program.

Hubbard, a partner with the Columbia, S.C., office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, established the ABA Commission on the Future of Legal Services, which will make recommendations on how technology and innovation can help expand the availability of affordable legal services to the poor and middle class. As president, he also emphasized the ABA's advocacy on criminal justice and sentencing reform, strengthened the association's legal efforts on behalf of domestic violence victims, and led the ABA's commemoration of the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta in June 2015.

Hubbard served two years as chair of the ABA House of Delegates (2008-10) and is a past president of the American Bar Foundation and the American Bar Endowment. He also served on the ABA Board of Governors, the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, and the ABA Young Lawyers Division as its chair. He is a member of the council of the American Law Institute, and is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Hubbard is chair of the board of directors of the World Justice Project, a multinational, multidisciplinary initiative to strengthen the rule of law worldwide. He is a permanent member of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference. In addition to South Carolina, he is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Hubbard practices business litigation related to breach of contract, business torts, breach of fiduciary duty claims, unfair trade practices, energy and utilities disputes, and class actions.

Before joining Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, Hubbard served as a law clerk for Judge Robert F. Chapman of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in history. He received his J.D. degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1977.

Published: Thu, May 19, 2016