William Dunn

Background

Dunn was born on August 2, 1861, in Douglas, Michigan, or in Saagetuck, Maine, the son of George E. Dunn and Ellen V. Dickinson.

Education

He attended Allegan High School in Allegan, Michigan, followed by a year of preparatory school and then a year in the law department of the University of Michigan.

Career

In 1885 he moved to Los Angeles, where he continued his law studies, and he was admitted to the bar in 1887. Streetcars of the Los Angeles Railway, of which he was a vice president, were to stop service for one minute to mark the beginning of the funeral rite. Dunn was appointed assistant city attorney in Los Angeles in 1890, and in 1890 he was elected as city attorney, reelected in 1892.

During those years he represented the city in its legal disputes with the Los Angeles Water Company over the amount the company should pay to the city for its water.

After the end of his second elected term, the city appointed him as a special counsel to carry on the litigation. He was legal adviser to the Pacific Electric Railway, the Los Angeles Railway, the Los Angeles-Redondo Railway and various enterprises of capitalist Henry East.

Achievements

• He was a founder of the Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher law firm.

Membership

A Republican, Dunn was a member of the California Club, the Jonathan Club, the Los Angeles Country Club and the Bolsa Chica Club.