Minnesota Icons 2024: Bill Pentelovitch

Maslon

Spend 30 seconds talking to Bill Pentelovitch and you know he would walk through fire for his clients. That passion for the law and his clients has kept him energized and working for the greater good throughout his 50-year career with Maslon.

The St. Paul native graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 1974 as a self-described “hippie with long hair” who really wanted to practice civil rights law. He ended up in commercial litigation to support his very active pro bono work, which has included representing plaintiffs in litigation to desegregate the Minneapolis public schools in the 1970s, ensuring minors don’t need two parents’ consent for an abortion, and representing former U.S. Senator Al Franken during the re-canvassing of his 2008 election. 

Pentelovitch is particularly proud of one case he didn’t initially win. He was part of a suit brought to challenge a proposed constitutional amendment that would have required voters to show a photo identification at the polls. The suit failed, but dissents from then Minnesota Supreme Court Justices Alan Page and Paul Anderson went a long way to ultimately defeating the measure.

“When we filed our suit, the public was in favor of the amendment,” Pentelovitch said. “But thanks to the two dissents, public opinion shifted and the amendment lost.”

On the business side, he represented a Russian immigrant with a background in textile engineering who invented a device that could close holes in infants’ hearts. When his business partners tried to buy him out for less money than he deserved, Pentelovitch was able to get him the fair value of his interest in the company.

Pentelovitch offers this advice to young professionals coming behind him: “Do what you want to do, not just what is most lucrative. Look for ways to do good, whether in or outside of your job.”

Today, while semi-retired, serving of counsel at Maslon, Pentelovitch is still advocating for those who need it most.

“I think one of the most important issues facing us is the attack on transgendered young people,” he said. “I’m really disturbed by the national attitude on transgender issues.”