James H. Wills Retires from Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.
April 22, 2025 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.
After more than 50 years representing trucking companies and businesses, James (Jim) H. Wills has decided to retire from the practice of law. While his expertise and great humor will be missed, we here at BGS are grateful for his many contributions to the industry and this firm, and we wish him all the best as he embarks on this next chapter. Visitors to his northern Minnesota home will remark that he has not slowed down, simply shifted focus!
Jim graduated from law school in 1975 and began his legal career as General Counsel for Dart Transit. After six years there, he moved to Anderson Trucking in a similar role, and in 1985 decided to form his own law firm focusing on transportation law. His deep involvement and contributions to the trucking industry continued from there as he combined his expertise in taxation, corporate law, and transportation in guiding his clients at Kalina, Wills, Gisvold and Clark PLLP and from 2016 on here at Barna, Guzy and Steffen Ltd.
Jim’s impact on the trucking industry, especially here in Minnesota, cannot be understated. He served on the company board of more than one trucking company, offering his legal advice and common sense for the benefit of all. He played a very active role in the Minnesota Trucking Association and, in fact, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the MTA in 2014. He guided more than one client successfully through the ESOP process (Employee Stock Ownership Plan), and he played a key role in creating business structures that protected clients and minimized tax impacts. Some of those deals were finalized on horseback while elk hunting, in duck boats, and in deer blinds, a sign of Jim’s ongoing love of the outdoors (and people in general).
Jim and Carole Clark Isakson founded the BGS Transportation Department when they arrived at BGS in 2016 from their former firm, Kalina Wills Gisvold & Clark. That department has grown and continues to grow, carrying on Jim’s vision of the lawyer as a knowledgeable and practical partner to trucking companies throughout the Midwest.
We look forward to visits from Jim and his wife, Peggy, who do leave the beauty of the Brainerd area from time to time to see friends and family in the Twin Cities. Congratulations to both of them, and we hope to see them soon!
