Overview

Bill brings a storied background to his business litigation practice, having served as a civil trial lawyer, a circuit judge in St. Louis County, and as the Deputy Attorney General for the state of Missouri. He is one of the most recognized lawyers in Missouri and has received numerous awards and honors, including listings in Chambers USA, Best Lawyers in America, and other publications. Bill was elected by his peers as one of the youngest presidents in the history of The Missouri Bar.

Bill has successfully tried many jury and bench trials as first chair. These cases have included business disputes, such as breach of contract, non-compete agreements, fraud, trade secrets, Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) matters, civil conspiracy, and shareholder disputes, as well as automobile crashes, premises liability, and product liability claims. Bill has represented both plaintiffs and defendants.

Before joining Carmody MacDonald, Bill was the managing partner of the St. Louis office of an Am Law 100 firm. He was also appointed Deputy Attorney General for the state of Missouri. As Deputy Attorney General, he served either as lead trial counsel or an advisor on high-profile cases and investigations that garnered statewide and national media attention. Preceding his AG service, Bill was a circuit judge for the 21st Judicial Circuit (St. Louis County), where he tried many civil and criminal jury trials, handling a docket of approximately 220 criminal cases and 460 civil cases.

Before joining the bench as a trial judge, Bill was a civil trial lawyer at an Am Law 200 firm, where he served for many years on the firm’s executive committee and tried business and personal injury lawsuits in Missouri and other states. In addition, he served as outside general counsel to many St. Louis-area businesses for their corporate, employment, and intellectual property needs.

Finally, due to his statewide reputation and extensive experience as both a trial lawyer and circuit judge, Bill is sought out by law firms across Missouri to mediate their most complex cases. His mediation work has led to the successful resolution of high-stakes business litigation, employment disputes, and personal injury suits.

Bar Admissions
Missouri
U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit

Education
  • J.D., University of Missouri School of Law
  • B.B.A., Accounting, University of Notre Dame
Community Involvement

Professional Organizations

  • The Missouri Bar
    • Former President of the Bar
    • Former Missouri Delegate, American Bar Association House of Delegates
    • Former President of Board of Trustees, Bar Foundation
  • The Illinois Bar
  • St. Louis County Bar Association

Community Organizations

  • St. Louis Regional Business Council – Member, Executive Committee
  • White House Jesuit Retreat – Member, Advisory Board of Directors
  • Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation – Member, Board of Directors
  • SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital Foundation – Former Member, Board of Governors
Awards
  • Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers in Business, Commercial Litigation
  • The Best Lawyers in America: Business Organizations, Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law, Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation—Defendants and Trade Secrets Law
  • American Lawyers Media (ALM) Top-Rated Lawyers, Commercial Litigation
  • Super Lawyers
    • Super Lawyers, St. Louis Top 50
    • Super Lawyers Corporate Counsel Edition, Business Litigation
    • Super Lawyers, Business Edition
    • Top 100 Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyers
  • University of Missouri
    • Alumni Award
    • Citation of Merit Award
    • Distinguished Recent Graduate Award
  • AV Peer Review Rated, Martindale Hubbell
  • Mentor Award, Missouri Lawyers Weekly
  • President’s Award, The Missouri Bar
  • W. Oliver Rasch Award Recipient for Outstanding Bar Journal Article, Journal of The Missouri Bar (Two-Time Recipient)
  • 40 Under 40, St. Louis Business Journal
  • Outstanding Young Lawyer Award, St. Louis County Bar Association
Publications & Presentations
  • “Non-Compete Agreements—What Physicians Need to Know.” St. Louis Metropolitan Medicine, Vol, 41, No.
    4, 2019 (with Michael Kass).
  • “Risking It All? The Business Case for Outside General Counsel.” St. Louis Small Business Monthly, July 2019.
  • “Trade Secret Litigation—An Updated Overview.” Journal of The Missouri Bar, 2015 (with Jeffrey Schultz).
  • “Civil Actions for the Misappropriation of Electronic Data: The Missouri and Federal Computer Tampering Acts.” Journal of The Missouri Bar, 2009 (with Jeffrey Schultz).
  • “Trade Secret Litigation—An Overview.” Journal of The Missouri Bar, 2007 (with Jeffrey Schultz).
  • “Non-Compete Agreements and Unfair Competition—An Updated Overview.” Journal of The Missouri Bar, 2006 (with Michael Kass).
Representative Matters

Trial-Level Experience

  • Panera v. Nettles, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri. Defended the former chief technology officer of Panera on a breach of contract and trade secret case involving a non-compete agreement after he accepted employment at another restaurant.
  • Kuebel v. Associates in OB/GYNInc., St. Louis County Circuit Court. Won a high seven-figure judgment, including sanctions, at trial regarding a shareholders’ dispute on behalf of three physicians against a former partner and the corporate medical practice.
  • Helfrich, Poole, Rankin, Uthoffv. Ferguson Medical Group, Scott County Circuit Court. Won a jury trial and a six-figure verdict on a breach of contract claim for a medical group against two of its former physicians/partners, and a defense verdict as to the two other physicians/ partners.
  • BSR Services v. Christman, St. Louis County Circuit Court. Won a six-figure verdict in a civil conspiracy/fraud/breach of contract case, including punitive damages, for a construction company after a one-week jury trial.
  • Mississippi Lime Company v. Mollers North America, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri. Won a breach of contract/negligent misrepresentation case after a three-week jury trial concerning high-speed packaging equipment, and obtained a verdict for nearly $1 million.
  • Smith v. Kia Motors America Inc., St. Louis County Circuit Court. Obtained a directed verdict at the close of the plaintiffs case on a claim of breach of warranty against client, Kia Motors America.
  • Gamedev of Sioux City, Inc. v. Argosy Gaming Company, Woodbury County District Court. Won a high seven-figure settlement on behalf of a small, closely held business against a publicly traded casino company for breach of contract, fiduciary duties and fraud after two weeks of trial.
  • Next Generation Inc. v. Cybertel Corporation d/b/a Ameritech, St. Louis County Circuit Court. Represented a small business owned by two shareholders against Ameritech for breach of contract. Obtained a six-figure verdict in favor of client.
  • Higgins v. National Supermarkets, St. Louis City Circuit Court. Represented National Supermarkets in a personal injury case in which the plaintiff alleged she was assaulted in a parking lot of a National store and suffered a brain injury as a result of being struck on the head and pistol-whipped by a criminal assailant. National offered seven figures to the plaintiff during trial, and the jury returned a verdict of $100,000.

Appellate Experience

  • Victoria’s Secret Stores, Inc. v. The May Department Stores Company, Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District. Won a non-compete and unfair competition case on behalf of Victoria’s Secret and a former May Company executive against a national department store chain in St. Louis County Circuit Court. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s judgment in favor of client. This case received national press coverage.
  • Cassady v. Dillard’s Department Stores, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sth Circuit. Tried case against three lawyers from three separate law firms. The jury returned a verdict for actual and punitive damages against client, Dillard’s. On appeal, the Sth Circuit reversed and entered judgment in favor of client.
  • C.L. Smith Industrial Company v. Matecki, Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District. Defendant (client) was held in contempt of court by the trial court and as punishment, the trial judge extended a permanent injunction. Reversed by Court of Appeals.
  • Spellman Brady & Company v. Silver Cross Hospital, Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District. Obtained partial summary judgment for breach of contract, and after a bench trial, awarded seven figures in damages and attorney’s fees from court on behalf of client, Spellman Brady. Affirmed by Court of Appeals.