Attorney Wade Hinton has impressive credentials. Since he came home to Chattanooga in 1999 to practice law, he’s been the president of the Young Lawyers Division of the Chattanooga Bar Association, served on the bar association’s board of governors, and completed the Tennessee Bar Association’s Leadership Law program.
Civically, Hinton has served on the University of Tennessee’s Chancellor’s Roundtable, is serving on the CreateHere, Stand, and Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga Boards, is a member of the NAACP and Chattanooga Downtown Rotary, and is the president of the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga Young Professionals Association.
As a strong advocate of his community and as an African American who has worked with the Hamilton County mayor’s office on civil rights policy, Hinton is known for having “a great understanding of the importance of civic engagement and adding marginalized voices to the public dialogue (www.createhere.org).”
Hinton also serves as corporate counsel for Volkswagen Group of America for its Chattanooga operations.
All of that is well and good. But none of it will help him the night of June 25, when he takes his place on the stage of the Tivoli Theatre along with seven other local celebrities to participate in the Fourth Annual Dancing With the Stars Chattanooga, a fundraiser for Partnership for Families, Children and Adults. Even his “pretty fancy two step” won’t give him an edge on the competition.
“I was not asked to perform any of my moves, so my two step didn’t make it into the routine,” he says. Instead, Ashley Cuticchia, a professional instructor at Fred Astaire Dance Studio and Hinton’s partner at the event, is doing the choreography.
As disappointed as Hinton is about not being given the chance to show off his signature move, he can feel good about one thing: Unlike Mark Ramsey, the other attorney competing in Dancing with the Stars Chattanooga, Cuticchia let him pick his own music.
“I’m a big fan of Michael Jackson. He was a phenomenal artist, and I still play his music like it just came out,” he says, stopping short of revealing the song to which he’ll be strutting his stuff.
Hinton loves Jackson’s music so much, he believes it’ll inspire a strong performance.
“People might think he’s in the house,” he says, referring to Jackson.
Hinton is, of course, just having fun. Just as when he throws a little good-natured smack talk in the direction of his legal opponent, Ramsey.
“There will be only one lawyer dancing that night. I’m not going to say which one it’ll be, but it won’t be Mark,” he says, smiling.
Hinton eases off the jokes to talk about the importance of the event, where he and the other participants will be raising money on behalf of a Partnership program of his or her choice.
“I’m going to practice hard, but more importantly, I’m going to do my best for the counseling center at Partnership. They do a lot for our community. They offer services to employers, and they help a lot of kids and families who need counseling services but can’t afford them.
“I want to spread the word about the wonderful job Partnership is doing. People don’t talk about psychological counseling because there’s a stigma attached to it. Maybe [that stigma] will come off if we start talking about how beneficial [psychological counseling]can be,” Hinton says.
Hinton is one of the sons of which Chattanooga can be proud. Born and reared in the city, he earned an undergraduate degree in philosophy at Emory University in Atlanta and then secured his law degree at the University of Memphis Law School.
His original goal was to become an entertainment lawyer, but as he saw how active the young professionals of Memphis were in their community, he decided to return home and become active in the city in which he grew up.
Following a brief stint with an established law firm, Hinton took a position with the county mayor’s office. As part of his job, he visited minority-owned local businesses and encouraged them to do business with Hamilton County. When friends of his decided to start their own firm, Hinton joined them and became a founding partner of Snipes, Roberson & Hinton. Five years later, he went to Miller Martin to do mergers and acquisitions. Volkswagen came next.
Even though Hinton didn’t become an entertainment lawyer, he says he chose the right career because being an attorney has enabled him to make a difference in Chattanooga.
“Very few professions allow you to make a difference, and this is one of them. I’m thankful for the opportunities people have given me to use my degree to help out,” he says.
As a bachelor, Hinton has more discretionary time than his betrothed brothers and sisters of the bar, but he still has a full schedule. When he’s able to kick back and relax, he enjoys golfing, reading and traveling.
Participating in Dancing with the Stars has given him an excuse to unwind 40 more minutes per week as he and Cuticchia practice.
“I love my job, but each day, a number of things come into play that cause stress, whether I’m dealing with construction matters, litigation matters, or corporate matters, so to dance is relaxing,” he says.
While Hinton is making good use of his sessions with Cuticchia, he says he’ll be thrilled no matter what happens the night of June 25.
“This isn’t about any individual dancer. We’d all like to win, but in the end, the winners should be Partnership and our community,” he says.
To follow Hinton on his quest for the trophy, search for “Wade Hinton Dancing with the Stars Chattanooga” on Facebook. People can also vote for him to receive the Fan Favorite Award by visiting www.parnershipfca.com, then clicking on the Dancing with the Stars image, then clicking on Hinton’s picture, and then donating money.
Dancing with the Stars Chattanooga will take place June 25 beginning at 8 p.m. at the Tivoli Theatre. The event will feature Maksim Chmerkovsky, 2011 season finalist on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” Tickets can be purchases on the Partnership
Web site.