Bill learned construction and what it’s like to run a small business
by working in the building industry and owning rental equipment
companies for 25 years before earning an MBA and becoming a Minnesota
attorney who focuses on construction and business law.
Today, Bill views laws and regulations as tools that contractors and
other small business owners can use to build profitable, secure
companies. He also appreciates that legal and business counsel must be
accessible and affordable for owner-operated companies to take full
advantage of the rules and avoid costly pitfalls. Through his
leadership, Minnesota Construction Law embraces technology and
innovative fee structures to deliver both.
Bill grew up in Wisconsin in an entrepreneurial family. After
graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1981 he joined
Charlie Wing and This Old House’s Bob Vila in Maine to teach people
how to super-insulate and tighten their homes.
For several years, he performed energy audits and sold energy-related
home improvement products in Minnesota. Then he worked in medical
equipment sales and sales management for Twin Cities manufacturing and
distribution companies while earning an MBA from the University of St. Thomas.
Bill opened a general equipment rental store in 1994 and bought a
construction equipment rental franchise in 2003, which he operated
until 2006. Winding down the rental business as the construction
industry began its meltdown gave him first-hand experience with
lawyers. Convinced he could do better, he enrolled in William Mitchell
College of Law, was admitted to the Minnesota Bar in 2010 and opened
Minnesota Construction Law Services in 2012.
Bill is a member of the National Association of the Remodeling
Industry (NARI), the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC),
the Twin Cities North Chamber of Commerce, the US Chamber of Commerce,
the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) and the American Bar
Association (ABA). He received the silver award for NARI-MN Associate
Contractor of the Year in 2014. He serves on the MSBA Practice
Management & Marketing Council and the ABA Education Board and
eLawyering Task Force. He has taught contractors and fellow attorneys
construction and contract law for NARI, BATC and the National Business Institute.
Bill and his wife, Jeanne, were married in 1987. They live in Lino
Lakes and have four grown children. Bill is a pilot and scuba diver
and enjoys hunting, fishing and golf.