William L. Ford graduated from the University of Michigan law school in 1900 and began practicing law in White Sulphur Springs, Montana, in the same year. In 1904 he ran for Meagher County attorney and was defeated by N.B. Smith. In 1905 he became the city attorney and clerk, and in 1906 was elected county attorney, a position he held through 1912. He decided not to run for re-election in November of that year due to his father's illness. He devoted his time to running his father's ranch near White Sulphur Springs, and by 1913 had formed a partnership with Richard Manger. In 1918 or 1919 Ford renewed his law practice. He was elected district judge as a Republican in 1920. He had been active in the Masons and the Republican Party before his election, having been appointed county chairman of the Roosevelt Memorial Association in 1919 and chairman of the Republican Ways and Means Committee for Meagher County in 1920. William Ford married his wife Margaret on December 25, 1907.

Carl August Linn joined William Ford's law office in March 1912. While retaining the name of "Ford and Linn," Linn began operating as the firm's sole attorney when Ford turned his attention to ranching in 1912. Linn was elected county attorney in November 1912.

Ford and Linn acted as collection agents for out-of-state and in-state firms and individuals. They also handled cases involving property disputes, water rights, sales of horses, claims involving the Montana Railroad Company and the Northern Pacific Railroad, divorce, probate, assault, etc., and collected rents for out-of-town landlords.