Our Practice Areas Serve the Heartland

Litigation

Get determined trial representation throughout the St. Louis area and Southern Illinois. 

Litigation may involve many types of disputes: 

• Suitable for Bench or Jury trial
• Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
• Other types of Personal Injury, like auto accidents, dog-bites, and “slip-n-falls” 
• Probate cases including Will Contests, or challenges of Trustee conduct 
• DUI and select criminal defense cases
• Traffic cases up to and including trial, where warranted 
• Business Litigation services include:
  • breach of contract 
  • construction disputes 
  • real estate issues 
  • landlord tenant matters
  • business ownership disputes 

In business litigation, the primary focus is on defending the business entity against unwarranted lawsuits. 

Businesses are people, fundamentally. And even the most caring and organized business owner can face actions brought by: 

• an angry employee 
• a client or partner unhappy with a business decision 
• a vendor that breaks an agreement 
• a business connection that feels an agreement was broken
• a business partner that wants to part ways – and ignores or breaks the terms of the operating agreement, organization by-laws and/or partnership agreement. 

Whatever challenge or dispute you are faced with, wlb4law provides dedicated and determined service, intelligent and creative strategy, pragmatic solutions, specifically tailored to address and resolve the unique needs of the client – whether an individual or an organization. 

Client-Centered to Meet Your Needs

Small Businesses

Get the competent legal counsel you need to help your business limit risks and develop strategies for meeting local, state, and federal requirements. Affordable and reliable service designed to address your business’ unique challenges and build on its specific strengths. We build lasting relationships and work together with our clients to foster growth.Find out more

Safety and Compliance

Sometimes meeting compliance goals and having a compliance plan in place isn’t enough. If you are facing regulatory fines or penalties, competent counsel can help you find solutions that don’t break the bank or fatally disrupt operations.

Health and Safety

We team with accomplished health and safety trainers to develop effective strategies for small businesses, but these services can be scaled for larger operations. Small to Mid-sized industry owners can often overlooked by nationwide firms looking for established, large scale clients. The right risk management can be a make-or-break factor in taking on your bigger competition. Safer, better-trained employees can also be a make-or-break factor. Our chief health and safety consultant wrote and delivered OSHA-compliant training for National Steel, Granite City Division and has the expertise and insights that can help us work with you to hone your competitive edge.

Restarting Southern Illinois’ Business

COVID 19 has put a damper on things – to say the least. But we are committed to working within and beyond our professional network to help small businesses – especially in the “Little Egypt” region – to find strategies that work for them to change and grow. 

Employment Law

Smart business planning often means working with attorneys who understand both sides of the employment law table. Learn how to protect your employees in the workplace from discrimination, and how to protect your business from the liabilities and risks inherent in having people working to help you grow.

Defense Services

From civil to criminal matters, individual people, hardworking families, and local business owners sometimes need a good lawyer – or two (… and sometimes more) – in their corner. Whatever you are facing, we are here to help. Get a consult today if you are dealing with a civil suit or  even criminal charges. William Barton has experience working in DUI law across Southern Illinois, and has also served as an Assistant State’s Attorney. He often partners and consults with other highly skilled counsel to find the right strategies for his clients. 

We are here to help you find the right way forward.Find out more

Agricultural Law

Serving the American Farmer

YOUR FARM & RURAL LAW OFFICE

Agricultural law – farm law – boils down to knowing and complying with the Federal and State laws that have a huge impact on the health of American agriculture – and on the strength of the families that make so many farms work.

Not every lawyer understands the farming life and the realities of the restrictions many farmers face. It’s no secret that many farmers are wary of lawyers – but those of us who have worked successfully on behalf of farmers in helping local farmers handle legal issues, as well as on nationwide agricultural litigation, can bring serious advantages to your side of the table.

William Barton grew up in Madison County and in the Shawnee in Southern Illinois. He comes from a rural, working class family that raised chickens for many years to help make ends meet. He has benefited from the lifelong friendships and working relationships he has built with area farmers. And he has also watched the transformation of the literal and figurative farming landscape over the past several decades, as global big business interests have leaned ever-harder on the American Farmer.

This connection to farming and the people who make it work led Mr. Barton  to work with and for several nationwide law firms, representing over 1,300 Corn Farmers in the Syngenta Corn Seed Litigation. Firms across the country worked to hold Swiss Agribusiness and GMO giant, Syngenta, accountable for destabilizing the global corn market. 

The resulting settlement of $1.5 Billion helped thousands of farms recover losses.

Mr. Barton has also coordinated with immigration lawyers to help in resolving disputes between H2A workers and farmers, and has consulted for Williamson County, Illinois-based counsel on ag-compliance matters.

The Southern Illinois Region is home to some of the best orchards in the Mid-West.

Mr. Barton’s network of partnerships and  trusted legal contacts includes attorneys with extensive experience representing various-sized farms and local orchards. He is committed to helping strengthen the connections between farms and local distributors, and encouraging deeper understanding of what it takes to feed the world – in many ways, something the American Farmer has proudly done now for over a Century.

Agriculture is an ever-changing industry with many dynamics.  GMO and International Corporations currently threaten to transform the agricultural markets beyond all recognition.

Close relationships with farmers and direct, first-hand experience with the problems that arise in agriculture makes the difference on so many issues in agricultural law, farm law, and the legal needs of rural and small town residents. 

Licensed in the states of Missouri and Illinois, and, depending on the legal matter, William Barton may be able to assist you no matter what state you are in.

Helping farmers ensure their business, their legacy, and their family are secured, because the farm won’t wait while the lawyers talk and draft legal documents.