Bill Hines, managing partner at Jones Walker, has been a legal, business and civic leader for more than 35 years. In addition to being the founding chairman of the board of Greater New Orleans, Inc., he also has served as chairman of the boards of the MetroVision Economic Development Partnership, The Idea Village, the Downtown Development District of the City of New Orleans and the Louisiana Committee of 100 for Economic Development.
Additionally, Hines supports a number of charitable, cultural and educational institutions. For example, he has served as chairman of the boards of UNITY of Greater New Orleans, the Council for a Better Louisiana, the New Orleans Arts Council, the United Way for Greater New Orleans and the New Orleans Region Community Advisory Board of Teach for America. He also has held leadership positions for Son of a Saint, the Emeril Lagasse Foundation, the Bayou District Foundation, the Louisiana State Museum Foundation, the Ochsner Health System Board, the Tulane University President’s Council, the National WWII Museum, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and Second Harvest Food Bank.
“Jones Walker [also] provides a good deal of pro-bono work,” he said. “A lot of time, we partner with organizations such as The Pro Bono Project or the Innocence Project of New Orleans and assist with cases and projects. In 2023, our attorneys provided more than 1,500 hours of pro-bono work, which equates to nearly $750,000.”
As a firm, Jones Walker also supports hundreds of organizations. “On average, Jones Walker donates more than $1 million annually to charitable organizations,” Hines said. One example includes the firm’s work with Son of a Saint. Hines and Jones Walker have been stalwart supporters of the organization since its inception, believing that with the right resources, partnerships and support, the program could serve as a model for how to spark generational change for the young people of New Orleans.
And, over the past several years, Hines has worked with retired Criminal Court Judge Calvin Johnson to recruit a Community Task Force to Reduce Street Homelessness, a diverse, bipartisan group—including people living on the street, business leaders, healthcare and social-service providers, and philanthropic leaders. Under their leadership, the Task Force created a plan to reduce street homelessness (with the goal of racial equity at the forefront), and secured commitments of more than $30 million from government and the business healthcare and philanthropic sectors for proven solutions of permanent supportive housing and other strategies.
“At Jones Walker, giving back to our communities is a way of life,” Hines said. “Our commitment dovetails with our belief that going beyond to help our neighbors and those in need is essential if we are to make the places where we work, live and play the places we love and are proud to call home.”
