Bill completed his Bachelor of Arts and Law at the University of Saskatchewan in 1971. He articled with Marcel Cuelenaere, Q.C., completing his Articles in 1972. Bill then served as Secretary to the Carter Commission on Legal Aid where he studied a variety of legal aid plans culminating in a recommendation for the community legal aid plan for Saskatchewan. He then spent the next 13 years of his career assisting in establishing a community based legal aid plan for the Province of Saskatchewan. This included being the Director of the Saskatoon Legal Assistance Clinic, Director of the Aboriginal Justice Project and President of the Clinical Lawyers Association of Saskatchewan. Bill then directed the Clinical Law Program and taught at the College of Law until 1986.
In 1986, Bill established his own law firm. His areas of practice include Wills and Estates, Real Estate, Employment Law, Farm Law, Small Business Law, and Family Law. He has worked extensively with Aboriginal clients in all respects of these areas of law, with a special interest in Aboriginal Child and Family Services law.
In addition to Bill’s many farm and small business clients, Bill also acts as counsel for a major aboriginal communications organization, as well as a northern aboriginal economic development corporation.
Bill was named Queen’s Counsel in 1994. He has served a number of organizations, including the Riverbend Presbytery on behalf of the Clavet United Church, the Board of Directors for SaskTel (chairing the Environment and Human Resources Committee), as Chair of the Board of the Saskatoon Co-operative Association, and President of the Saskatchewan Branch of the Canadian Bar Association. He has also been a Director of the Saskatoon Credit Union and is a Trustee of the Board of Stewards of the Clavet United Church. Other Boards on which Bill has served include Saskatoon Mediation Services, a National Alternate Dispute Resolution Board, as well as serving on the Saskatoon Child Abuse Council. Bill was president and co-founder of the Public Legal Education Association (PLEA) of Saskatchewan, as well as the chairperson for a Provincial Government Inquiry regarding children’s advocacy, which culminated in the creation of the Children’s Advocate’s Office for Saskatchewan. He has conducted a Public Inquiry for the Law Society of Upper Canada regarding an Ontario Legal Aid Plan issue. He presently is an active member of the Board of the Saskatchewan Environmental Society.
Bill was born and raised at Lemsford, Saskatchewan where he still has farming interests. He is an active cattle producer and grain farmer at Floral, Saskatchewan. He has served as an organizer for the National Farmers Union.
Bill is married and has three children and seven grandchildren. His daughter, Ellen completed her Master of Architecture from the University of British Columbia. Ellen has previous degrees from the University of Saskatchewan, in Physical Geography and the RUDD Program. She is an architect with the City of Saskatoon. His wife, Florence, and daughter, Leslie, are family doctors practicing together with City Centre Family Physicians. Leslie and Andrew, have two young sons and a daughter. Stephan is a cardiologist doing Electrophysiology at the Royal University Hospital. He and his wife, Megan, have four young children.