Congratulations to the recipient of the 2024 AHLA IDEA Champion Award: William “Bill” Hopkins 

William E. Hopkins (Bill), focuses his law practice at Spencer Fane LLP on defending and protecting health care providers and health care professionals in matters of administrative law, regulatory compliance, litigation and transactions. As a litigator, Bill has litigated on behalf of his clients in both State and Federal Administrative Courts, as well as the District and Federal Courts of Texas. Mr. Hopkins has also spoken at the local, regional and national level regarding licensure, compliance and enforcement matters. He obtained his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1995. 

Bill has always been at the forefront for change in the legal industry. He has served as a Hiring Partner in Charge of Recruiting for a past law firm and addressed diversity issues. At subsequent firms, he has served on both recruiting committees and diversity committees striving to ensure that the best and most diverse legal candidates were considered. He currently serves on the Spencer Fane Diversity Committee, as had done so since joining the firm in 2021. 

Hopkins' contributions to AHLA include speaking engagements at the Fundamentals of Health Law and Long Term Care conferences, as well as serving on planning committees for the Post-Acute and Long Term Care conference and Annual Meeting. His involvement extends to multiple AHLA Practice Groups, demonstrating his broad impact on the organization. 

On the State level, Bill has worked with the Texas Diversity Council since 2005 and has been featured as speaker at the Texas Diversity Council Annual Texas Leadership and Diversity Conference, Healthcare Summit and National Leadership and Diversity Conference for the last 13 years. Mr. Hopkins has been a member of the Central Texas Advisory Chapter of the Texas Diversity Council for the past 16 years and has been in every role, including President of the Central Texas Advisory Chapter. Based on his work and involvement in Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, he has been recognized by the Texas Diversity Council as a “Diversity First” Award winner in 2011 and 2018, and in 2014, he received the Texas Diversity Council “Diversity Champion” Award at the 10th Annual Texas Diversity and Leadership Conference. 

In his professional world, Bill was recognized by the American Bar Association for his diversity efforts in 2017 when he received the “Champion of Diversity and Inclusion Award” on behalf of his efforts for the ABA Health Law Section where he has served on the Leadership Council for the Section and is currently the Chair of the Diversity Committee for the Health Law Section.