As the grandson of Mexican immigrants who came to America with nothing, William H. Hornberger feels a tremendous amount of responsibility to give back to the underserved Hispanic population in Dallas.
Driven by this desire to help others, Willie has proudly served on the Board of Directors of the North Texas chapter of AVANCE (AVANCE-NTX), an early childhood education nonprofit that works to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty through a dual-generational program. Beyond his role on the board, he has also taken a leading role in transforming its Latino Street Fest from a small event for parent participants to a large community-wide festival held in the Dallas Arts District.
Ultimately, Willie’s work with AVANCE is what helps him honor his heritage and the dream that his family had for him.
In recognition of his dedication to service, the Texas Society of CPAs (TXCPA) presented Willie with the Distinguished Public Service Award at the TXCPA Annual Meeting of Members on June 20, 2019. The award is presented every year to a CPA and member of TXCPA and a local chapter who is actively engaged in various community, charitable, and civic activities on a local and, preferably, statewide level or in such manner that such activities reflect favorably on the Texas Society and the profession as a whole.
In addition to receiving the TXCPA award, Willie was also honored by AVANCE-NTX with the North Texas Inspirational Leadership Award in April 2019 and by the Mexican Entrepreneur Association (AEM) Dallas-Fort Worth chapter with the Amigo de MĂ©xico Award in December 2018.
“My grandparents came here from Mexico dreaming of a better life for their family. I would not be where I am today without their sacrifices,” Willie said. “These awards say much more about my grandfather and grandmother than they do about me.”
“These awards say much more about my grandfather and grandmother than they do about me.”
To explore Jackson Walker’s deep-rooted commitment to serving the community, visit our Community and Diversity & Inclusion pages.
Meet Willie
For 30 years, William H. Hornberger has practiced in the areas of tax, transactional, international, and corporate law at Jackson Walker. His tax practice has touched nearly every area of the tax law, including corporate, partnerships and LLCs, international, real estate, corporate, oil and gas, bankruptcy, and tax credit, controversy, and procedural matters. His broad transactional practice includes mergers and acquisitions, complex partnership, joint venture, real estate and private equity arrangements, complicated cross-border business structuring matters involving investors from multiple countries, Tax Treaty, and IRS Competent Authority matters. In 2017, Willie received the Meritorious Service Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants for his contributions to the Society. He has also been recognized among D Magazine’s “Best Lawyers in Dallas” list since 2007, D CEO’s “Dallas 500” since 2015, and The Best Lawyers in America for Tax Law every year since 2003.
