Bill Mitchell was commissioned Ensign in the United States Navyin December 1970. He was subsequently stationed at the Navy Supply School in Athens Georgia and then assigned to the USS Simon Lake (AS-33), which was oneof the first vessels to be outfitted for Poseidon missiles. After being discharged from the Navy he went to graduate school of the University of California Berkeley subsequently getting a masters degree in economics and a JD. He subsequently obtained a masters in tax law from Georgetown University. Bill has worked for the Federal Trade Commission and was involved in a major investigation of the oil industry.

Since 1980 he has been a practicing attorney in Tampa, Florida. He is board certified in labor and employment law served as chairman for the certification committee for labor and employment law.He is AV rated and was named the Florida Super Lawyer in labor and employment law. He is the co-author of Employee Fringe Welfare Benefit Plans and the author of the Estate and Retirement Planning Answer Book and Employer Health Care Plans After the Affordable Care Act.He is the president of Mitchell Law Group in Tampa.