Meet Our Attorneys

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William Gavin, Attorney At Law

Bill Gavin was born in East St. Louis, Illinois in 1955, and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts from St. Louis University in 1977. He went on to complete his Doctor of Jurisprudence and graduated cum laude from the St. Louis University School of Law in 1980, where he was a member of the honorary scholastic society, Order of the Woolsack, and a staff member of the St. Louis University Law Review.

He was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1980, the Missouri in 1982, the Tennessee bar in 2009, and the Arkansas bar in 2012. He is also admitted to practice law before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Seventh and Eighth Circuits, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Central Districts of Illinois, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas, and the Southern District of Indiana.

Bill Gavin has extensive experience in the litigation of occupational disease claims of railroad employees, and has successfully litigated personal injury claims resulting from exposure to asbestos, diesel fumes, environmental tobacco smoke, creosote, benzene, welding fumes, and solvents.

As a result of his experience in railroad occupational disease claims, Bill Gavin has represented railroad workers in litigation in the courts of Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Colorado, Arkansas, Kentucky, California, Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, and Mississippi. This litigation has included traumatic injury claims and occupational disease claims.

Personal injury attorney Bill Gavin is currently a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, Missouri Bar Association, American Association for Justice (AAJ), Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, and The Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the St. Clair County Bar Association from 1984 to 1985.

Accomplishments of William Gavin

William Gavin is active in community charitable organizations. He has been a volunteer in the YMCA of Southwest Illinois and the Gateway Region YMCA since the 1970s, holding the following positions:

  • Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Gateway Region YMCA, March 31, 2017-March 31, 2019.
  • Chairman of Board of Directors of the YMCA of Southwest Illinois,1990-1995   2012-15.
  • Vice Chairman of Board of Directors, 1995-1999.
  • Member Board of Directors of both YMCAs, 1985-Present
  • Chairman of numerous committees including Financial Development, Endowment Committee, Sustaining Fund Drive and Partner With Youth (Most Recently 2008), and Membership Drive Committees; and Member, 2003 Capital Campaign Cabinet for the Downtown Belleville Center of the YMCA of Southwest Illinois
  • Mr. Gavin also served as Mid America Field Representative from the St. Louis Cluster of YMCAs to the Mid America Field Committee of the Board of Directors of the YMCA of the USA; Member of Illinois Alliance of YMCAs and Delegate, YMCA of the USA National Assembly 2003-04.
  • Mr. Gavin received the Service to Youth Awards in 1976, 1986, 1995 and 2015. The Service to Youth Award was re-titled as the Bill Gavin Service to Youth Award in 2015, Mr. Gavin was also named 2015 Illinois State Alliance of YMCAs volunteer of the year. He received the YMCA Award of Excellence in 2008, and was the Recipient of the YMCA Lowell Linnes Award in 2000, a national award recognizing volunteerism.

As part of his YMCA volunteer work, Bill Gavin has made the following YMCA presentations:

  • Dialogue on Mission and Purpose to the Illini and Town and Country YMCA clusters on April 30, 1999 and May 3, 1999 in Bloomington and Chicago, Illinois respectively.
  • Chief Executive Officer/Chief Volunteer Officer Conferences throughout the St. Louis Cluster YMCA region 1998-2005.
  • Key Leaders Conference for the St. Louis Cluster of YMCAs on October 14, 1999.
  • St. Louis Cluster Report to the Mid-America Field Committee of the YMCA of the USA on October 30, 1999.
  • Key Leaders Conference for the St. Louis Cluster of YMCAs on October 6, 2000.
  • Key Leaders Conference for the Illinois Alliance-Controversial Issues in the YMCA-November 1, 2002.
  • Key Leaders Conference for the Missouri Alliance-Controversial Issues in the YMCA-November 14, 2003.
  • Key Leaders Conference for the Illinois Alliance-Best Volunteer Practices, April 22, 2005.
  • 2011-2012 National Health Law Moot Court Competition Judge, SIU-Carbondale Law School.