William Higley is a highly experienced attorney with over thirty years of practice in corporate and family estate planning law. He has also had extensive litigation and trial experience, including complex personal injury and chemical exposure lawsuits at both the Federal and state level. Bill’s practice also includes substantial experience in the areas of trusts, estate planning and taxation, and the licensing of intellectual property.
Bill previously worked in the law department of Monsanto, where he managed complex and multi district environmental insurance coverage litigation, and was responsible for Superfund environmental remediation projects at over one hundred thirty state and federal project sites. This level of exposure was reportable in the Company’s annual report to shareholders. Bill also handled regulatory matters, permits, and enforcement actions in all environmental media, OSHA, Industrial Hygiene, and internal compliance audit functions of the Company.
In addition to his legal career, Bill is also the current President of the Board of Directors for Jazz St. Louis, an organization that promotes jazz music in St. Louis and brings live performances to the community. Bill’s passion for jazz music and his dedication to the community make his leadership of this organization particularly meaningful.
After leaving Monsanto in 1995, Bill concentrated his practice in estate planning, business, commercial and corporate organizations and matters, and obtained a Masters Degree in International Business from the Boeing Institute of International Business of the John Cook School of Business at St. Louis University. He obtained his law degree from St. Louis University School of Law in 1977 and is admitted to practice in the states of Missouri and Illinois, the United States District Courts in the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri, the Eighth Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court and Tax Court. Bill resides in Chesterfield with his wife, Edith, and their two sons.
