Contact: Jana Kooren, jkooren@aclu-mn.org 651.645.4097 x123 or 651.485.5925c
St. Paul, Minn, - The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota announced today the election of Bill Pentelovitch as the new President of the ACLU-MN Board of Directors. Pentelovitch has over 40 years of legal experience in Minnesota and has served on the ACLU-MN's Board of Directors since 2010.
"It has been a pleasure to serve as the President of the ACLU-MN's Board of Directors for the past two years, and I am thrilled to welcome Bill as the new President," said Cris Stainbrook, outgoing President of the ACLU-MN's Board of Directors. "His deep understanding of the ACLU's mission and work will help us build on our momentum and continue to advance the constitutional rights of Minnesotans."
Pentelovitch, a graduate of the University of Minnesota and University of Chicago Law School, is a business trial lawyer at Maslon LLP in Minneapolis where he has practiced for nearly 41 years. In addition to his active trial practice in a broad range of business disputes, Pentelovitch has previously served as a board member and general counsel of Planned Parenthood of Minnesota and South Dakota, which he represented in litigation challenging abortion restrictions which was ultimately resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court. He also represented U.S. Senator Al Franken in three appearances before the Minnesota Supreme Court during the canvass of the contested 2008 senatorial election. Among the many cases Pentelovitch has handled as a volunteer ACLU-MN attorney, Pentelovitch represented protesters at the 2008 Republican convention in negotiating to protect their right to peaceful protest and challenged the ballot question for the proposed 2012 amendment to the Minnesota Constitution requiring voter identification at polling places.
A MSBA Board Certified Specialist in Civil Trial Law, Pentelovitch is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, which holds itself out as being comprised of the 600 best trial lawyers in the world. Pentelovitch was the 2014 recipient of the Sidney Barrows Lifetime Commitment Award from the Cardozo Society of the Jewish Federations of Minneapolis and St. Paul for his work in the legal, secular, and Jewish communities.
"I have been passionate about civil liberties my entire life," said Pentelovitch "particularly as they relate to First Amendment freedoms." He continued that "we live in an age of unparalleled access to multiple channels of expression of speech and religion, but all of those channels are subject to constant and insidious threats of erosion or interference from our government, foreign governments, and third parties. I am very excited that in my new role as president I am in a position to ensure that ACLU-MN will continue to remain solidly at the forefront of protecting our First Amendment freedoms, as well as all of our other freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights."
Pentelovitch officially began his two-year term on April 25, 2015.
The ACLU-MN is a non-profit organization that protects the civil liberties of all Minnesotans through litigation, public education, and lobbying.