William Lee Barton IV

Bill was born in St. Louis Missouri, and raised in Southern Illinois, where he and his wife currently reside with their five children. He attended Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science. He later earned two Masters’ degrees in Special Education, and in Counseling Psychology, from McKendree University.

Bill worked as a special education teacher, and later as a counselor-intern for St. Elizabeth's Hospital, and a clinician for Chestnut Health Systems, in Belleville, Illinois. He provided mental health and addiction recovery services, clinical analysis, and employee assistance support. His clients included federal and state probation, and inmates in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Through the Wounded Warrior Project, he served combat veterans affected by PTSD. He is a trial consultant, specializing in juror analysis and selection.

Bill obtained his law degree from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale School of Law, where he served as Magister of the Lesar Inn for Phi Delta Phi, the International Legal Honors Society. He was an intern with the Illinois Innocence Project, assisting senior defense attorneys by interviewing convicted offenders to determine their suitability for the program. He has worked as a law clerk in DUI defense, worker’s compensation, insurance defense, and family law firms in Southern Illinois. He served as a State's' Attorney in St. Clair County, Illinois, as a 711 Licensee. Bill was also the Editor for the 2017 St. Clair County Juvenile Justice Council Teen Court Manual.

After joining OnderLaw, LLC, Bill focused his practice on the areas of personal injury and products liability, including mass tort litigation on a national scale. These included working closely with the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee and Executive Committee for the Truvada litigation against Gilead Sciences, and serving as a proxy to the Tort Claimants' Committee in the Johnson and Johnson Talc Litigation. He has been very proud to partner with great attorneys, and he is honored to advocate for his clients, challenging corporate practices that place profits before people.

Bill left OnderLaw, LLC to pursue private practice in the region where he grew up. His Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri practice centers on Probate Law and Estate Planning, as well as Nursing Home Negligence and Abuse cases. He also practices in the areas of transactional and ag law, working with a skilled network of attorneys to help Southern Illinois families build and grow for the future.

Bill is licensed to practice in the States of Missouri and Illinois and is a member of ISBA and MOBAR.