Reed Armstrong - Attorney Bios

William B. Starnes II

Mr. William Starnes II received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Economics from the University of Kansas in 1984, and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1988. He was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1989 and the Missouri Bar in 1995. He has been admitted and qualified to practice before the United States District Courts for the Southern and Central Districts of Illinois since 1989, and before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit since the year 2000.

Mr. Starnes is a partner of Reed, Armstrong, Gorman, Mudge & Morrissey, Professional Corporation, a trial law firm based in Edwardsville, Illinois, specializing in civil litigation. He has tried cases and provided litigation services in a variety of contexts including motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, trucking accidents, industrial accidents, products liability, class actions, toxic torts, employer liability, insurance coverage litigation and appellate practice for insurance companies and their insureds, manufacturers, business firms, employers, transportation companies, land owners, and governmental entities. For example, he successfully defended a Federal jury trial for a security company charged with negligence for damages of $1,292,483.25 in the complete fire loss of a hotel under construction by contending that its actions were not a proximate cause of the loss. Mr. Starnes presented evidence and argument that the cause of fire was more likely than not arson, that the fire burned very rapidly, that security services at the site were appropriate in light of what was known to defendant, and that plaintiff failed to retain and pay for an adequate level of security.

Mr. Starnes has more than 18 years of experience working for civil litigants providing complete prosecution and defense of civil actions in tort and contract from intake to appeal. His assignments have ranged from the defense of negligence and product liability defendants to the prosecution of complaints for declaratory judgment for insurance companies. His appellate successes include relief obtained from the Illinois Appellate Court and the Illinois Supreme Court. He is a member of DRI (Defense Research Institute) as well as the Illinois State Bar Association, the Madison County Bar Association, and the Missouri Bar.