Distinguished Lawyer William Wellman
Background
Bill’s boyhood home was Huntington, West Virginia. Athletics shaped his youth. Bill played basketball and golf and was part of two State Championship teams in 1968 and 1969. He was selected to the All-State Basketball team his senior year. Both Duke and Miami University recruited Bill to play college golf, but he chose Miami since they offered him a scholarship. His older brothers and mother instilled competitiveness in Bill. The golf team at Miami was extremely competitive and it took him two years to break into the regular six player lineup. Bill’s senior year was by far his best season of golf, and he was selected to the Golf Coaches of America All American team.
For a brief time after graduation from Miami University, Bill was a professional golfer. He attempted to qualify for the PGA Tour but success as a pro golfer eluded him, and he pivoted to pursue law. Bill had always admired some of the lawyers that he was around as a teenager in Huntington and the transition to law school was easy.
Bill met his wife Debbie in San Diego when they were in their respective college roommates’ wedding. They were married in 1977, a year after meeting. Debbie attended West Virginia University and earned a master’s in counseling while Bill was in law school at WVU.
Bill’s mother was one of 12 children and her family farmed near the Kanawa River, near Charleston, West Virginia. A great flood in 1937 was too much to overcome and the family moved to homestead land in Morrow County, Ohio. On Father’s Day weekend each year the Jordan Family Reunion was held on the farm west of Mansfield, Ohio. The reunion was remarkable for the sheer size of the gathering with sometimes over 300 relatives attending.
As a teenager at the Jordan reunions, Bill listened to stories of the Idaho mountains and rivers from his uncle, Bud Jordan. Bud was a pilot with United Airlines and Boise was his favorite layover. Uncle Bud owned a mountain ranch in Boise County that was divided by Five Mile Creek loaded with little rainbow trout. Near Grandjean, the mountains rose quickly and a few miles further northeast the Sawtooth’s cut into the most incredible blue sky that Bill had ever seen.
Debbie and Bill struggled with where they wanted to live after graduate school and law school and were considering Cincinnati, Ohio. But, while traveling West to visit family in Santa Rosa, California in 1978, Bill interviewed with a few Boise law firms. He had no success in that endeavor, but the more they thought about the growth potential in Boise, they decided to take a chance and move here without any job commitments after being sworn in as an attorney in West Virginia. The Wellmans thought they were marketable, but at 27 who knows very much about anything. They were here to stay in May 1979.
Bill and Debbie have three children and five grandchildren that are loving and precious to them. So, naturally they follow them around and cheer them along. Their daughters, Amy and Beth Ann, are amazing mothers and wives, and Bill counts himself lucky to have the sons-in-law that they chose.
As an adult, golf has been a constant activity for Bill and holds a special place next to family. Bill has been fortunate to make friends through golf all around the country. Golf friends are a unique body of work and bring the eccentricities of life to a higher level. Bill was a USGA Committeeman for Idaho for over 25 years and has qualified for the United States Amateur Championship three times.
Career Moments
Bill was fortunate to be hired by Dennis Goff as a deputy prosecutor for Canyon County in Caldwell in August 1979. The office was lean, so Bill was prosecuting felony jury trials in his third month. They had a talented team of lawyers in Greg Culet, Bill Dillon, Jeff Jones, Steve Gledhill, and Tom Lynch to go along with Dennis. Dennis, and this team of lawyers, mentored Bill by watching in the courtroom and taking notes that were reviewed after each trial day. He gained a wealth of courtroom confidence in his first year.
Nampa needed a city prosecutor in early 1980 and Bill moved into solo private practice and shared space with Gary Morgan and handled misdemeanor prosecutions for five years. While Bill was prosecuting misdemeanor cases, he also took court appointed criminal cases outside of Canyon County and became more familiar with the court in Murphy, Owyhee County.
In 1986, Bill approached Judge Ed Lodge and Owyhee County Commission and proposed the county contract for public defense service. Bill underbid Renae Hoff and Alan Coffel and signed a contract that started a 38-year public defense career began. Near the end of his first term as the public defender, Bill was appointed to represent Maxwell Hoffman in a first-degree murder case that went to the Idaho Supreme Court. Bill was ill-prepared and Max was convicted and sentenced to death. His sentence was eventually overturned by the Ninth Circuit and Max lived out his days in maximum security at ISCI. State v. Hoffman, 123 Idaho 638 (1992). Murder and Meth in the High Desert by Rick Wiley will accurately fill you in on the details. Another case that touched Bill deeply was the Homedale Involuntary Manslaughter burned baby case. Trials are and were Bill’s most interesting work. Bill has a competitive nature that comes out when he is pushed by the need for fairness and justice.
Some of the best times as a solo attorney were when Bill was in the next office to his wife, Debbie, who was a highly respected child custody mediator and later a Parent Coordinator.
Bill genuinely enjoyed the work as public defender. Clients that he served have sent him thank you cards that he cherishes.
As Bill looks back, he should have kept a fireman’s helmet nearby for most of his career. He did a little of everything: criminal defense, Plaintiff PI, divorce and custody, real estate, and for now, he primarily manages all manner of paternity and child support cases for IDHW.
Reflections
Bill is humbled to be considered by the Bar Commissioners as a Distinguished Lawyer. He never thought it possible for a sole practitioner lawyer to be considered.
Bill has observed that success comes with time. Humility is a characteristic that is not normally attached to lawyers, but in his experience the best lawyers are not arrogant or proud, but rather focused on solving problems with honest work and clear predictability for the client.
Courtesy to the court and your adversary will always pay off in the long run. Court staff appreciates a thank you. Be patient and check your emotions. Your reputation will be built over years, but it can flame out in minutes.
