Bill Tilton papers

William (Bill) Tilton (1947-) is an active and well-known civil litigation lawyer and founding partner under Tilton Dunn and Gross PLLP of St. Paul, Minnesota. A St. Paul native, Tilton graduated from Cretin High School in 1965 and went on to attend the University of Minnesota for his undergraduate degree. During that time, Tilton participated in social movements on campus, including civil rights, the student power movement, anti-Vietnam War committees and the Minnesota Student Association, where he led as Vice President. In 1970, Tilton became one of the Minnesota 8, a group of men intending to remove draft records from official offices. Tilton was caught, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison, of which he only served 20 months. After completing his time, Tilton began his legal work by supporting a community team for the Wounded Knee Legal Defense and Offense Committee. This led him to attend law school at the University of Minnesota and in 1977, he received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree and became the first convicted felon to be admitted to practice law in the State of Minnesota. For the past four decades, Tilton has been dedicated to his practice, focusing on personal injury and wrongful death matters. He has also been lead counsel in many jury trials, including medical malpractice, auto accidents, products liability, murder, kidnapping, wrongful discharge, defamation, prison riots and more. He has received the “Minnesota Lawyer Attorneys of the Year” from Minnesota Lawyer in 2001 and has been named Minnesota Super Lawyer throughout his career. Outside of the courtroom, Tilton was also a former adjunct professor of law at William Mitchell College of Law. Tilton continues to educate professionals in the field, as well as, practice law regionally, to this day.