Bill Tomblin

Prior to joining the Board, Bill had been affiliated with the Whitefish Songwriter Festival, since its inception (including its original and “Downtown in the Round” iterations) as a patron, donor and/or volunteer.  He has had extensive experience as a board member, officer, committee chairperson, patron/donor and volunteer, for numerous local and national non-profit organizations.

Since his family moved to Montana in 2018, in addition to the Whitefish Songwriter Festival, Bill has also been active as a volunteer and/or board member/officer in the Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation, Whitefish Band Boosters and other local organizations.  When living in the Midwest, Bill was a member/committee-chairperson of the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce (where among other positions he was Chairperson and Member of the Ambassador Committee; Chairperson of the Quarterly Business Connection/Member Mixer Subcommittee and a member of the State Ambassador Conference Committee and Legislative Analysis Committee).  Bill also ardently supported the Ingham County Chapter of the American Cancer Society (where he chaired the Great American Lockup and worked on the Ingham County and State Golf Tournaments).  He was also on the formational board of a charitable foundation in Michigan/Illinois.  Bill was a Junior Achievement advisor and has given educational lectures and presentations to legal and real estate professionals and students.

Bill’s primary profession is as a commercial litigation, business law and real estate attorney, practicing nationally and internationally, but, with a focus on the U.S. Midwest.  Bill is the Principal of William D Tomblin & Associates, with offices in East Lansing and Okemos, Michigan (as well as a satellite office in Whitefish, MT). He practices in a broad range of legal disciplines, while his primary focus is on commercial litigation in multiple state and federal trial and appellate courts, complex real estate law/real estate leasing and business transactions.  Bill has represented numerous international, national, regional and local companies, including developers, real estate managers, conglomerates, insurance/title insurance companies and minor league professional sports franchises.  He has also worked as counsel in collaboration with or adverse to numerous large international and national business and banking concerns.  Despite his national practice, some of Bill’s proudest and most fulfilling professional moments have come from helping to vindicate and/or protect small local businesses and individuals who need, but cannot necessarily afford, aggressive and experienced counsel.

From 1987 to 1994, Bill was an associate/senior associate at the international law firm of Dickinson Wright law firm, in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing (Michigan) and Chicago, where he practiced complex commercial litigation and was also appointed a Michigan Special Assistant Attorney General in the Insurance Division of the Attorney General’s office.   He started his current firm in 1994 and has expanded steadily.  He has closed transactions totaling over a quarter of a billion dollars and has litigated major commercial cases, including multiple cases with over $100 Million at issue.  He recently prevailed as “first chair” trial counsel in a major US Bankruptcy Court dispute in the District of Arizona involving the John Wick movie franchise.  Mr. Tomblin is currently a member on the State Bar of Michigan District Character and Fitness Committee and has served on the Uniform Commercial Code Advisory Committee.  Since 2017, he has been the Real Estate Section Co-chairperson of the County Bar Association; prior to that time, he was active in other roles, including serving on the Bench-Bar Conference Committee and the Nominating Committee.   He is a 1987 Dean’s List graduate of the William Howard Taft College of Law at the University of Cincinnati and a 1984 Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude graduate, in Political Science with a Certificate in Economics, of the University of Cincinnati.

Bill enjoys spending time with his family (including his amazing wife, two tremendous daughters and long-martyred mom) and friends.  Bill’s hobbies include golf, skiing, boating, basketball, volleyball, softball/baseball and other sports with his kids, nieces and nephews, reading, following politics, “FoodBooking” and traveling.  His favorite foreign city is Prague, because of its rich and eclectic historical, cultural and musical significance.  As most parents of teenagers, he spends the bulk of his free time verbally and intellectually sparring with his children - in a sometimes-successful effort to teach through the Socratic method.