The Southern Illinois office was established to support clients with litigation matters in Madison and St. Clair Counties, Illinois, which are known as "plaintiffs' paradise." Bryan Cave has more than 100 lawyers licensed to practice in the state of Illinois. Our attorneys have substantial experience navigating the dangerous jurisdictions in Southern Illinois, and have handled many significant class actions, product liability cases and commercial cases in these courts.

Additionally, several of the firm's senior trial attorneys have significant experience arguing cases at the trial court and appellate levels in Southern Illinois. The courthouse in Madison County is located across the street from Bryan Cave's Southern Illinois office.

Meetings with lawyers at the Southern Illinois office are available by appointment only.

For decades, Southern Illinois has been a litigation hotbed. Certain courts in Southern Illinois have become dangerous venues for corporations in a wide variety of product liability, asbestos, personal injury and commercial cases. In recent years, far more class actions have been filed per capita in state and federal courts in Southern Illinois than in any other area of the United States.

Bryan Cave is a leader in class action issues, including multi-district treatment of class actions at the federal court level, reform of class action laws and recent cases strictly enforcing certification rules and limiting use of large multi-state classes. Our attorneys utilize the following strategies to dispose of or restrict class actions:

• Bifurcating discovery on class certification and the merits
• Opposing class certifications, at trial and appellate levels
• Challenging class notices
• Addressing sub-classes
• Fashioning favorable settlements
• Handling cases through trial

Class actions often present special discovery and case management problems. Bryan Cave lawyers have an outstanding track record in managing large-scale discovery and building a solid foundation for trial or settlement. The firm’s strong commitment to litigation support technology enables its staff to manage literally millions of documents in the most effective way possible.

Our attorneys and paralegals use data management systems to gain instant access to large document collections and discovery, and routinely communicate and exchange documents with clients electronically via secure encrypted e-mail systems. This technology gives us – and our clients – an edge in defending these complex cases and the security of having control of the issues.

Nothing speaks more clearly of the breadth and depth of our experience in Southern Illinois than the success of our clients and the cases with which we have had the privilege to be involved. Examples of the areas in which we have tried cases in Madison County include:

• Consumer Goods and Services
• Financial and Securities 
• Manufacturing 
• Employment