Bruce Burton received his Bachelor’s degree in 1961; after a stint as a schoolteacher, he entered the University of Minnesota Law School. After graduation in 1968, he joined Dorsey & Whitney, the region’s largest law firm. Four years later, Burton began teaching part-time at William Mitchell College of Law; in 1973 he left his position as general counsel for a local real estate management-and-development firm and joined the college’s faculty full-time faculty.
When Douglas Heidenreich left the deanship, Burton was named acting dean and, a short time later, dean. Under his leadership the college acquired and moved into the former Our Lady of Peace High School building at 875 Summit Avenue. Burton left William Mitchell in 1980, eventually moving to Houston, where he joined the faculty of the South Texas College of Law. He retired from teaching in 1989.