William Hagans

William grew up in Houston with a father who was a trial lawyer and a mother who was a Catholic middle school teacher. In between playing basketball in just about every gym in the city, he recalls hearing stories about his father’s clients and the help they needed and the help that was given. William traveled up north, to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to attend college and play a little basketball. While in college, he noticed that he was drawn to the law-related courses he took. As college came to an end, he began talking to his parents about law school and what a career as a lawyer would look like.

Following in his father’s footsteps, William graduated from The University of Texas School of Law, where he found the most enjoyment taking trial advocacy classes. He also served as managing editor of The Review of Litigation.

After graduation, William began his career at Bracewell LLP, where he tried, and won, his first case as lead counsel. Shortly after that trial, William joined Hagans. Since then, William has been recognized by Thompson Reuters on its Texas Rising Stars list—from 2012-2014—and its Texas Super Lawyers list every year since 2014. He serves as President of the firm.

William focuses his practice on his clients. Over the years, he has represented community banks, lawyers and law firms, small and large businesses, and families. He enjoys the challenge of both commercial/business dispute cases and serious/catastrophic personal injury cases. And he really enjoys just getting to know different clients from all sorts of different walks of life. William is board certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

William is also actively involved in the community, focusing his most time on JDRF and the Texas Bar Foundation. He has worked with JDRF (formerly the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) since he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of twelve. He served on the JDRF Houston board from 2013-2019 and 2020-present and was the Houston Community Board President from 2021-2023. He currently serves as President of the Houston Community Board of the Southern Texas Chapter as well as on the Executive Council of the Southern Texas Chapter. After many years of co-chairing the Houston nominating committee for the Texas Bar Foundation, the Fellows voted William to serve as Secretary of the Fellows (2023-2024) and Board of Directors (2023-present).