Bill Ponath's Biography

Bill Ponath was born to loving parents in Tucson, Arizona. He soon exhibited a great gift and his parents were told that he already had the abilities of a third-grader while in kindergarten. He skipped first-grade and went on to become the youngest student in history to win the school and district spelling bees. In high school his mathematical skills were demonstrated when he completed advanced Calculus in the Fall semester of his sophomore year and gained the highest score in the nation on the uniform ACT mathematics examination; 34, and a perfect score of 800 on the advanced mathematics test administered by Educational Testing Services.

Bill went on to attend Arizona State University but was not satisfied with the educational environment. He applied to Reed College in 1977 and was the only transfer student accepted there in more than ten years. Tragically, the day before he was leaving to attend Reed he sustained a massive head injury when a cement truck ran a red light. It destroyed 14% of his brain and specifically caused him to lose the ability to remember anything. His neurosurgeon estimated his recovery period to be five to ten years before he could think of attending school. Undaunted, he pushed on and began classes at Phoenix College only five months after the auto accident. He kept on working his brain and teaching it how to learn again. Medical journals published numerous articles about his miraculous recovery. To his doctors’ disbelief he was admitted to and attended Pepperdine University School of Law only three years after the accident. He fought tooth and nail every day to bring back his mental capacity and was forced to endure the grueling education to become an attorney without the assistance of a study group. His tenacity and sheer determination led to his graduation in 1983 and admission to the Arizona State Bar in 1984.

Bill met his wife Joan in September, 1986 and knew very soon that he would be blessed to have her as a bride. He arranged the first scoreboard proposal in history by asking her to marry him at the National Championship Fiesta Bowl on January 2, 1987. It is still considered to be the most watched public marriage proposal in history and many thousands have copied that example. She said yes and has been a wonderful partner in marriage ever since.

Bill’s law practice began primarily in Family court litigation. He later converted almost exclusively to Federal Bankruptcy work until he closed the law firm in 2001 and was appointed as a judge pro tem for the Maricopa County Justice Courts. He loves that work and was just appointed to his eighth term for 2011.  In the spring of 2011 he decided to re-open his bankruptcy practice and offer premium representation at affordable fees.

Bill's greatest passion is to teach and inform others for the betterment of themselves and for this nation. That is why he wrote “Verdict for America” and is working on a book concerning our nation’s election history and viable plans to work for a better voting system. That book is expected to be available in early 2012.