William C. Hubbard is a partner of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in Columbia, S.C. where he practices in business litigation related to breach of contract, business torts, breach of fiduciary duty claims, unfair trade practices, and class actions.  He serves as chair of the Firm’s Business Litigation and Employment Law Group.

Mr. Hubbard has long held positions of leadership in the American Bar Association (ABA) and other law-related organizations.  In August 2010, he completed a two-year term as Chair of the ABA House of Delegates, the second highest elected position in the 400,000-member organization.  Mr. Hubbard now serves as President of the American Bar Foundation, the nation's leading research institute for the empirical study of law.  He is a past president and current board member of the American Bar Endowment.  Mr. Hubbard’s previous ABA positions include numerous committee memberships, including six years on the Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, and service as chair of the Young Lawyers Division, 1987-1988.

Mr. Hubbard  chairs the Board of Directors of The World Justice Project, a multinational, multidisciplinary initiative to strengthen the rule of law worldwide.  Mr. Hubbard is a member of Council and Executive Committee of the American Law Institute. 

In 2007, Mr. Hubbard received the American Inns of Court’s 2007 Professionalism Award for the United States Fourth Circuit.  It is presented biennially to honor “a practicing judge or lawyer whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession.”  The Richland County Bar bestowed its highest honor to Mr. Hubbard in 2008 – The John F. Williams Award.  He is an inaugural recipient of the Leadership in Law Award by SC Lawyers Weekly, presented in 2009. In 2010, the USC School of Law honored Mr. Hubbard with the Compleat Lawyer Platinum Award.

Mr. Hubbard is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates, the American Judicature Society, the John Belton O’Neall Inn of Court, and the Richland County Bar Association.  He is a permanent member of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference.  He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and in S.C. Super Lawyers.

Mr. Hubbard is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, 4^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, the State of South Carolina, and the District of Columbia.  He is co-editor of Civil Procedure, South Carolina Jurisprudence, Volumes 24 and 25.  Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Hubbard served as a law clerk for Judge Robert F. Chapman of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.

Mr. Hubbard has served on the Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina since 1986 and served as Chairman of the Board from 1996-2000.  Mr. Hubbard previously served as co-chair of the Governor’s South Carolina Technology Transition Team.  In 2000, Mr. Hubbard was named one of the five Men of the Decade by Columbia Metropolitan magazine.  In 2002, Mr. Hubbard received the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian award given by a South Carolina Governor.

Mr. Hubbard earned a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1977, and a Bachelor of Arts in History, magna cum laude, from the University of South Carolina in 1974.  As an undergraduate, Mr. Hubbard received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, the university’s highest student award.  In 2009, he received the University’s Distinguished Alumni Award.  In 2010, the University awarded Mr. Hubbard its highest recognition, the Honorary Doctor of Laws.