William A. Von Hoene, Jr. '80 Honored with Arthur Goldberg Social Justice Award

William A. Von Hoene, Jr., '80, executive vice president, finance and legal, at Exelon Corporation, is the 2010 recipient of the Arthur Goldberg Social Justice Award, presented in Chicago Sept. 20 by the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs.

Von Hoene leads finance, legal, communications and public affairs, federal governmental and regulatory affairs and public policy, audit and controls, investments and strategy for Exelon, one of the nation’s largest electric utilities and operator of the largest fleet of nuclear plants in the nation.

Von Hoene has received national recognition and numerous awards for his contributions to making the legal profession more accessible to, and reflective of, the community at large.

"Bill has worked tirelessly to create a diverse legal workforce at Exelon, and before that, at Jenner & Block," said Jane Ramsey, JCUA's executive director.

A program instituted at Exelon by Von Hoene measures and ranks preferred provider law firms annually based on how much of their work for Exelon is performed by minority and female lawyers. In addition, during his tenure as general counsel of Exelon, 42 percent of Exelon’s preferred law firms had a “relationship partner” with Exelon who was female, of color, or both.

“I am deeply honored to accept the Arthur Goldberg Social Justice Award,” Von Hoene said. “I have long admired JCUA’s work to address poverty, educational inequity and discrimination on behalf of disadvantaged communities. Diversity and inclusion are an integral part of Exelon’s core values, and the result is a productive work environment where forward-thinking programs like the one our legal department has adopted can succeed.”

Von Hoene has served on numerous civic and public interest boards. He is past president of the Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Inc., and past general counsel to the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities. Von Hoene currently serves as a director of the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago, the Northwestern Memorial Hospital Foundation and the Diversity Scholarship Foundation, and previously served on the boards of directors of the Chicago Legal Clinic, the Chicago Bar Foundation and the Joffrey Ballet. He is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago.