Senior Judge Bruce D. Willis
(retired 2008)

Minnesota Judicial Center
Phone: (651) 297-7650

Personal:

• Born January 29, 1941, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Raised on a farm in Medina Township, Hennepin County, Minnesota
• Married July 17, 1971, to Elizabeth Ann Runsvold of Sioux City, Iowa
• Two children, Andrew John and Ellen Elizabeth

Education:

• Orono High School, Long Lake, Minnesota, diploma, 1958
• Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, B.A. in English, 1962
• Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, LL.B., 1965

Bar Admissions:

• Minnesota Supreme Court, 1965
• United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, 1965
• United States Court of Federal Claims, 1989
• United States Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, 1991
• United States Supreme Court, 1992

Military Service:

• United States Army Reserve, 1965-68 (graduate, United States Army Intelligence School, Ft. Holabird, Maryland, 1966; final rank E-4)
• United States Navy Reserve, 1968-74 (final rank Lieutenant)

Professional Experience:

• Appointed and assigned to serve on the Court of Appeals as a Senior Judge.
• Judge, Minnesota Court of Appeals, 1995-2008
• Private law practice with Popham, Haik, Schnobrich & Kaufman, Ltd., Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1965-95
• Special Assistant Minnesota Attorney General for anti-trust matters, 1968-72

Professional Activities:

• Hennepin County Bar Association Member, Ethics Committee, 1981-88 (Screening Committee Member, 1986-88)
• Member, Legal Fee Arbitration Board, 1981-86 (Chair, 1983-86)
• Minnesota State Bar Association Member, Public Law Section, 1996-present
• Trustee, Lawyers Public Affairs Commission (Minnesota State Bar Association political action committee), 1988-93 (Chair, 1990-93)
• Hennepin County Delegate to Minnesota State Bar Association Conventions (Member, Professionalism Committee, 1999-present) (Member, Judicial Elections Committee, 2005-present)
• American Bar Association Member, Appellate Judges Section, 1996-present
• Hearings Before the Election Law Task Force of the Committee on House Administration, 98th Congress, 1st Session, 1983 (written and oral expert testimony)
• Member, Federal Commission on Voter Participation and Ballot Integrity, 1987
• Member, Federal Election Commission Advisory Committee for Contested Elections and Recounts Project, 1989-90
• Hearings Before the Task Force on Campaign Finance Reform of the Committee on House Administration, 102nd Congress, 1st Session, 1991 (written and oral expert testimony)
• Member, Advisory Board, Minnesota Institute of Legal Education, 1986-2003
• Member, Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards, 1997-2005 (Executive Committee Member, 2004-05)
• Member, Minnesota Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Civil Appellate Rules, 1997-present
• Member, Warren E. Burger Inn of Court, 1998-99 (Chair)
• Lecturer at continuing legal education programs on a variety of topics, 1970-present
• Author, Election Law, Bench and Bar of Minnesota, November 1970
• Author, Private and Public Financing of Campaigns Under Minnesota's Ethics in Government Act, The Hennepin Lawyer, July-August 1980
• Author, The Open Meeting Law, Minnesota Administrative Procedure, Butterworth Legal Publishers 1987 (book chapter)
• Author, Campaign Finance in Minnesota: Tune-Up or Overhaul?, The Hennepin Lawyer, July-August 1992

Civic Activities:

• Board Member, Minnesota Ethical Practices Board (now known as the Minnesota Campaign Finance & Public Disclosure Board), 1990-95 (Secretary, 1990-91; Vice Chair, 1991-92; Chair, 1992-93)
• Expert witness on governmental ethics, Citizens Jury, 1990
• Chair, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner Search Committee, 1990-91
• Expert witness before Citizens League Task Force on Barriers to Candidacy, 1991
• Member, Common Cause Task Force on Election Law Reform, 1992-93
• Expert witness before Governor's Commission on Public Service Reform, 1993
• Member, Minnesota Commission on Judicial Section, 1991-94

Other:

• Selected by Minnesota Journal of Law and Politics as one of 1990's Lawyers of the Year, 1991
• Selected by Minnesota Lawyer as one of Minnesota's Best Trial Lawyers, 1991
• Included in various Who’s Who publications, including Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World
• Orono High School’s Alumnus of the Year, 1998