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William W.
Horton

Position
Partner
Office
Birmingham

Bill Horton is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group and co-chairs the firm’s Healthcare Industry Team. He represents healthcare clients around the country on major transactions, compliance, and governance issues.


Bill maintains a national practice representing healthcare providers and other business enterprises in mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures, securities and corporate finance law, regulatory compliance, and corporate governance matters. Prior to joining Jones Walker, Bill was a practice group leader at two other Birmingham-based law firms and served as general counsel of one of the nation’s largest publicly traded healthcare providers. He currently serves as head of the firm's Birmingham office.

Drawing on his substantial experience in private practice and as senior legal officer for a large public company, Bill has been involved in complex corporate finance and acquisition transactions in almost all sectors of the healthcare services industry. His background includes representation of issuers in securities offerings and periodic reporting, representation of borrowers in complex financing transactions, counseling healthcare providers on regulatory compliance, and representation of healthcare enterprises, financial services businesses, and other business clients in corporate governance matters, acquisition and divestiture transactions, joint ventures, venture investments, and other business transactions.

Bill has extensive experience in government and internal investigations. In addition, Bill is a certified mediator for the American Health Lawyers Association Dispute Resolution Service and regularly serves as a hearing officer for medical staff peer review hearings.

A nationally recognized speaker and author on healthcare, corporate and securities law, and professional responsibility topics, Bill also has held leadership positions for several years with the American Bar Association and the American Health Law Association, serving from 2015 to 2016 as Chair of the ABA Health Law Section. In 2016, he was honored by the AHLA Fraud and Abuse Practice Group with the Patricia Meador Leadership Award, and in 2021 he was named as a Fellow of the AHLA.

In addition to his private practice, Bill serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Alabama School of Law and as a clinical associate professor at the School of Optometry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He also serves as a faculty panelist for George Washington University's Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Corporate Compliance Program, a position he has held since the program’s inception in 2005, and as Editor-in-Chief of two major healthcare law publications. He served as the founding president of the National Board of Health Lawyers, a specialty certification organization.

Noteworthy

  • BTI Client Service All-Star (2020)
  • Best Lawyers®, "Lawyer of the Year," Securities Regulation Law, Birmingham, Alabama (2019); "Lawyer of the Year," Corporate Governance Law, Birmingham, Alabama (2018)
  • Chambers USA, Healthcare (listed annually since 2017)
  • Mid-South Super Lawyers, Health Care (listed annually since 2008)
  • The Best Lawyers in America®, Corporate Compliance Law, Corporate Governance Law, Health Care Law, Securities/Capital Markets Law, and Securities Regulation (listed annually since 2007)
  • AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating in Martindale-Hubbell

Publications

  • "Whose Lawyer Is It Anyway? Professional Responsibility When Conflicts Get Complicated," Health Law Handbook, 2021
  • "ASCs and the Anti-Kickback Statute: New Advisory Opinion Answers Some Questions (and Raises Some Others)," Jones Walker LLP Healthcare Client Alert, May 11, 2021
  • "Beyond the Blog — COVID-19 Recap — January 17, 2021," Jones Walker LLP Disaster Prep & Recovery Client Alert, January 17, 2021
  • "Your Medical Group’s First New Year’s Resolution: Make Sure Your Compensation System Is Stark-Ready for 2022," Jones Walker LLP Healthcare Client Alert, January 5, 2021
  • "Beyond the Blog — COVID-19 Recap — September 27, 2020," Jones Walker LLP Disaster Prep & Recovery Client Alert, September 27, 2020
  • "FFCRA "Health Care Provider" Definition Narrowed by DOL," Jones Walker LLP Healthcare Client Alert, September 24, 2020
  • "What's the Worst That Could Happen? Advising Healthcare Clients When the Law Isn't Clear (or When It's Too Clear)," Health Law Handbook (Thomson Reuters), 2020
  • "Beyond the Blog — COVID-19 Weekly Recap — June 28, 2020," Jones Walker LLP Disaster Prep & Recovery Client Alert, June 28, 2020
  • "CARES Act Funds for Hospitals and Other Providers: Where We Are Now?" Jones Walker LLP Healthcare Client Alert, June 22, 2020
  • "Beyond the Blog — COVID-19 Weekly Recap — May 3, 2020," Jones Walker LLP Disaster Prep & Recovery Client Alert, May 3, 2020
  • "Beyond the Blog — COVID-19 Weekly Recap — April 26, 2020," Jones Walker LLP Disaster Prep & Recovery Client Alert, April 26, 2020
  • "HHS Announces Next Distribution and Priorities for CARES Act Provider Relief Fund Payments," Jones Walker LLP Healthcare Client Alert, April 24, 2020
  • "Senate Passes Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act," Jones Walker LLP Government Relations Client Alert, April 22, 2020
  • "Beyond the Blog — COVID-19 Weekly Recap — April 19, 2020," Jones Walker LLP Disaster Prep & Recovery Client Alert, April 19, 2020
  • "CMS Gives Emergency Dollars to Medicare Providers . . . but With Strings Attached," Jones Walker LLP Healthcare Client Alert, April 13, 2020
  • "CMS Expands Ambulatory Surgery Centers’ Role in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic," Jones Walker LLP Healthcare Client Alert, April 6, 2020
  • "Beyond the Blog — COVID-19 Weekly Recap — April 5, 2020," Jones Walker LLP Disaster Prep & Recovery Client Alert, April 5, 2020
  • "CARES Act Healthcare Provisions: New and Expanded Tools for the Pandemic Crisis," Jones Walker LLP Healthcare Client Alert, March 31, 2020
  • "Who Is a 'Health Care Provider' Exempt From Paid Leave Requirements Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act?" Jones Walker LLP Labor & Employment Client Alert, March 30, 2020
  • "COVID-19: A Weekly Recap — March 29, 2020" Jones Walker LLP Disaster Preparedness & Recovery Client Alert, March 29, 2020
  • "CARES ACT – Healthcare Provisions Summaries," Jones Walker LLP Government Relations Client Alert, March 2020
  • "New OIG and FBI Announcements Highlight Coronavirus Fraud Schemes Targeting Americans," Jones Walker LLP Healthcare Client Alert, March 24, 2020
  • "The Past, Present and Future of the Anti-Kickback Statute: A Practical History," Health Care Fraud and Abuse: Practical Perspectives (American Bar Association Health Law Section/Bloomberg BNA Books, 4th ed.), 2019
  • "Risk Management and Governance Implications Associated with CMS’ Final Rule on Program Integrity Enhancements to the Provider Enrollment Process," AHLA Regulation, Accreditation, and Payment Practice Group, October 29, 2019
  • "Relationships Between Physicians and Hospitals" (2018 update), Bloomberg BNA Health Care Program Compliance Guide, 2018
  • "Here Be Dragons: Navigating Dangerous Territory with a ‘Challenging’ Client" Health Law Handbook (Thomson Reuters), 2018
  • "The Commercial Reasonableness Conundrum: Hospital-Physician Employment Arrangements, Expert Testimony, and the Little Standard That (Sometimes) Wasn't There" BVR/AHLA Guide to Valuing Physician Compensation and Healthcare Service Arrangements (Business Valuation Resources), 2017
  • "Disruptive Compliance: Practical and Ethical Considerations in Advising the Cutting-Edge Healthcare Company," Health Law Handbook (Thomson Reuters), 2017
  • "When Two Worlds Collide: Legal Ethics, OIG Policy and the General Counsel-Compliance Officer Relationship," Health Law Handbook (Thomson Reuters), 2016
  • "High Court Addresses Key False Claims Acts Issues: Implied Certification Theory Upheld, but High Bar Set for Materiality Requirement," Jones Walker LLP Healthcare Client Alert, June 21, 2016
  • "Key Developments in Provider Reimbursement, Regulation and Enforcement in the New World of the Affordable Care Act," Health Care Law Enforcement and Compliance, 2016 ed.: Leading Lawyers on Understanding Recent Trends in Health Care Enforcement, Updating Compliance Programs, and Developing Client Strategies, 2016
  • "'Counsel to the Deal': Lawyers, Clients, and Conflicts in Complex Healthcare Transactions," Health Law Handbook (Thomson Reuters), 2015
  • "The Role of Directors in Corporate Compliance," Health Law and Compliance Update (Wolters Kluwer), 2015
  • "Trust, but Verify? Inside Counsel, Outside Counsel, and United States v. Lauren Stevens," Health Law Handbook (West, 25th ed.), 2013
  • "A House Divided Against Itself: Practical Ethics for the General Counsel When Corporate Conflicts Arise," Health Law Handbook (West, 24th ed.), 2012
  • "In the Eye of the Beholder: Physician Transactions, Professional Responsibility and the Winding Road from Anderson to Tuomey," Health Law Handbook (West, 23rd ed.), 2011

Presentations

  • "AHA, FAH urge CMS to deny physician-owned hospital expansion," Modern Healthcare, March 16, 2022
  • "Speaking of Health Law," American Health Law Association Podcast, January 4, 2022
  • "Lawyers, Docs, and Money: The Health Care Lawyer's Guide to Legal Ethics in Physician Transactions," American Health Law Association's Fundamentals of Health Law Conference, November 7–9, 2021
  • "Ethics Issues in Advising the Healthcare Start-Up," CLE Alabama Healthcare Law Seminar, November 5, 2021
  • "Post-COVID Environment in Healthcare Law," CLE Alabama Healthcare Law Seminar, November 5, 2021
  • "What's the Worst That Could Happen? Legal Ethics When the Law Isn't Clear (or When It's Too Clear)," Washington State Society of Healthcare Attorneys' Virtual Fall Health Law Mini-Conference – the 2021 Pandemic Edition, November 5, 2021
  • Healthcare Executive Panel, 3rd Annual Alabama Healthcare Fraud Summit, October 13, 2021
  • "Legal Ethics: What's the Worst That Could Happen?" American Bar Association Health Law Section's Physicians Legal Issues: Healthcare Delivery & Innovation Virtual Conference, September 22, 2021
  • George Washington University Healthcare Corporate Compliance Graduate Certificate Program, Fall 2021
  • "Aligning Legal Advice with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Values: Ethical and Practical Perspectives for Health Lawyers," American Bar Association Health Law Section Webinar, August 17, 2021
  • "Health Law Update," University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Health Services Administration and the Alumni Association of UAB’s Graduate Programs in Health Administration, July 8, 2021
  • "The New Era in the War on Opioids," 2021 Annual Conference of the Florida Medical Group Management Association, June 24, 2021
  • "When the Federal Agents Come Knocking at Your Door," 2021 Annual Conference of the Florida Medical Group Management Association, June 24, 2021
  • "How COVID-19 Is Accelerating Physician Succession," ABA Health Law Section Physician Issues Interest Group, May 2021
  • "Legal Ethics: The Post-Pandemic Boardroom—Legal, Practical, and Ethical Issues in Post-COVID Corporate Governance," American Health Law Association’s Virtual Health Care Transactions Conference, April 15, 2021
  • "Legal Issues & Medical Ethics When Doctors Speak Out on Social Media," doc.social, March 2021
  • "Key Health Law Developments in 2020 and What to Expect in 2021," American Health Law Association Podcast, January 4, 2021
  • "New Final Stark Regulations – Head Start on What You Need to Know," American Bar Association Health Law Section’s Webinar, December 7, 2020
  • "What's the Worst That Could Happen? Legal Ethics When the Law Isn't Clear (or When It's Too Clear)," CLE Alabama Healthcare Law Seminar, November 6, 2020
  • "Hospital Pricing Transparency Requirements," Alabama Healthcare Executives Forum Webinar, August 31, 2020
  • "Fiduciary Responsibilities for Nonprofit Boards: Top 10 Strategies for Board Members Today," Not-for-Profit Summit, Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants, July 30, 2020
  • "Telehealth Post-COVID19: Considerations for Implementation and Sustainability," Missouri Bar Health and Hospital Law Administration Committee CLE Webinar, July 14, 2020
  • "#ItsMyLane: Legal & Medical Ethics When Doctors Speak Out on Public Policy," American Health Law Association's Virtual Physicians and Hospitals Law Institute, February 12, 2020
  • "#ItsMyLane: Legal & Medical Ethics When Doctors Speak Out on Public Policy," ABA Health Law Section’s 17th Annual Washington Health Law Summit, Washington, DC, December 10, 2019
  • "Lawyers, Docs and Money: The Healthcare Lawyer’s Guide to Legal Ethics in Physician Transactions," CLE Alabama Healthcare Law Seminar, Birmingham, Alabama, November 15, 2019
  • "Legal Ethics: Protecting the Attorney Client Privilege in a Compliance Program," American Health Lawyers Association’s Fraud and Compliance Forum, Baltimore, Maryland, September 25–27
  • "'I Probably Should Have Called You First': Legal Ethics When Facts Are Bad or the Law is Uncertain," American Health Lawyers Association Annual Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts, June 25, 2019, Boston, MA
  • "Maintaining Professionalism in the Era of Chaos," ABA Health Law Section's 19th Annual Conference on Emerging Issues in Healthcare Law, March 2018
  • "Known Unknowns: Ethics Challenges in Advising Healthcare Clients When Uncertainties are Certain," ABA Health Law Section's 15th Annual Washington Health Law Summit, December 5, 2017
  • "Lawyers, Docs, and Money: The Health Care Lawyer's Guide to Legal Ethics in Physician Transactions," American Health Lawyers Association's Fundamentals of Health Law, November 7, 2017
  • "'Counsel to the Deal': Lawyers, Clients and Conflicts in Complex Healthcare Transactions," CLE Alabama 2017 Health Law Seminar, November 3, 2017
  • "Making Legal Ethics Great Again: Professional Responsibility and the 'Challenging' Client," State Bar of Texas Health Law Section 2017 Texas Health Law Conference, Austin, Texas, October 24, 2017
  • "Fraud and Abuse: Trends, Developments and Strategy," State Bar of New Mexico Health Law Section's 2017 Health Law Symposium, October 12, 2017
  • "Potholes Along the Golden Gate Bridge: Legal Ethics in Inside Counsel/Outside Counsel Interactions" American Health Lawyers Association's 2017 Annual Meeting , June 12, 2017
  • "At Your Service: Key Legal and Valuation Issues in Service Line Joint Ventures," American Health Lawyers Association's Health Care Transactions Conference, April 2017
  • "Legal Ethics Challenges in the World of Healthcare Cyberthreats: Law, Technology and Professional Responsibility for Healthcare Lawyers," 29th Annual University of Texas Health Law Conference, April 7, 2017
  • "When Two Worlds Collide: Legal Ethics Challenges in the Compliance Officer-General Counsel Relationship," American Health Lawyers Association’s Institute on Medicare and Medicaid Payment Issues, March 4, 2017
  • "Legal Ethics: What Penn State and Lehman Brothers Can Teach Healthcare and Antitrust Lawyers about Conflicts of Interest," Antitrust in Healthcare Conference, American Bar Association Sections of Antitrust Law and Health Law and American Health Lawyers Association, May 17, 2016
  • "Ethical Triangulation: Navigating the Intersection of Legal, Clinical and Organizational Ethics" American Health Lawyers Association's Legal Issues Affecting Academic Medical Center and Other Institutions, March 1, 2016
  • "Will You Be My Friend (and Can I Be Your Lawyer)? Legal Ethics and Social Media for the Health Care Lawyer," American Health Lawyers Association's Physicians and Hospitals Law Institute, February 17, 2016

Memberships

  • Alabama State Bar
  • American Bar Association
    • Health Law Section: Section Delegate to ABA House of Delegates (2017–2023), Chair (2015–2016), Vice Chair (2013–2014), Secretary (2012–2013), Member, Governing Council (2009–2012), Co-Chair, Health Law and Policy Coordinating Committee (2009–2013), Co-Chair, Ethics and Professionalism Committee (2011–2012), Chair, Programs Executive Committee (2006–2009)
    • Section of Business Law: Member, Committees on Federal Regulation of Securities, Audit Responses, Corporate Counsel, Corporate Documents and Process, Corporate Governance, Legal Opinions, White-Collar Crime, Health Law and Life Sciences, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Public Companies
    • Center for Professional Responsibility: Member, Continuing Legal Education Committee (2012–2015)
    • Section Officers Conference: CPR/SOC Professional Responsibility Committee (2009–2017), SOC Decennial Review Committee (2014–2015), SOC Executive Committee (2016–2021), SOC Liaison to Committee on Scope and Correlation of Work (2017–2019)
    • Standing Committee on Continuing Legal Education (2018–2021)
    • Standing Committee on Publishing Oversight (2016–2018)
    • Presidential Appointments Committee (2018–2019)
    • Working Group on House of Delegates Operations (since 2020)
  • American Bar Foundation, Life Fellow
  • American Health Law Association, Chair, Business Law and Governance Practice Group (2011–2014), Dispute Resolution Service Council (2014–2020), Editor-in-Chief, AHLA's Federal Healthcare Laws & Regulations (since 2009), AHLA Fellow (since 2021)
  • National Board of Health Lawyers, Founding President (2017–2020)
  • Ambulatory Surgery Center Association 
  • Birmingham Bar Association
  • Health Care Fraud & Abuse: Practical Perspectives, Editor-in-Chief (since 2020)
  • Health Care Compliance Association
  • Kiwanis Club of Birmingham
  • National Board of Trial Advocacy, Board of Directors (since 2017)
  • National Board of Trial Advocacy Foundation, Founding Board of Directors (since 2020)
  • American Counsel Association
  • Newcomen Society of Alabama
  • Presbyterian Retirement Homes of Birmingham, Chair, Board of Directors (2014–2018)
black and white headshot of William W. Horton
Birmingham
Suite 1100
420 20th St N
Birmingham, AL 35203
D: 205.244.5221
F: 205.244.5507
Emailwhorton@joneswalker.com

Education

  • Duke University School of Law
    JD, 1985
  • Vanderbilt University
    BA, magna cum laude, 1982

Bar Admissions

  • Alabama

Related Practices

  • Commercial Transactions
  • Corporate
  • Corporate Compliance & White Collar Defense
  • Disaster Preparedness & Recovery
  • Healthcare Practice
  • Mergers & Acquisitions

Related Industries

  • Healthcare
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