Family Law

• Divorce
• Guardianship

Criminal Law

• Criminal Defense
• Theft
• Misdemeanors
  Mr. Atkins has a diverse background of experience. In his years practicing law, he has served as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Livingston, Tazewell and Peoria counties. Most recently he served as the Chief Civil Assistant State’s Attorney in Peoria County. In his time working for these counties, Mr. Atkins has handled a wide variety of cases including zoning, real estate purchases, contract preparation, ordinance violations, juvenile, misdemeanor, felony, and traffic cases.

Business and Corporate Law

• Business Formation
• Business Disputes
  Business law encompases a wide range of topics. Our buinsess services have been highlighted in Leading Lawyers magazine as "Peoria's Choice for Business Law."
• Limited Liability Companies
  Mr. Kane is experienced in representing clients in estate planning, the administration of estates and trusts, the purchase, sale and operation of businesses, the formation of corporations, limited liability companies, general partnerships and limited partnerships, the purchase, sale, leasing and development of commercial, agricultural and residential real estate, litigation, school law, and the negotiation and administration of collective bargaining agreements. Past and present clients include judges, other lawyers and law firms, physicians, accountants, corporations and sole proprietorships, businesses in various fields, including retail, wholesale, services, construction, agriculture, and warehousing/storage, school districts, park districts and other governmental/municipal bodies, banks, trade associations, churches, employee organizations, and nonprofit organizations.
• Construction Contracts
• Trade Secrets

Employment Law

• Employment Discrimination
  " As the Director of Human Resources for Peoria County, I worked closely with Bill on personnel matters ranging from disciplines and grievances to fact finding conferences with the Department of Human Rights and the Department of Labor. Whether dealing with FMLA, employment discrimination, collective bargaining or any other aspect of managing the County’s workforce of approximately 1,000 employees, Bill was always ready with advice and assistance."
• Employment Contract
  The nature of today’s transient workforce has caused many employers to include restrictive covenants in their employment contracts, such as non-compete agreements. A non-compete agreement seeks to protect the employer from an employee taking advantage of company resources, training, goodwill, trade secrets, and other assets, and using it to compete with that company. Historically, Illinois courts would enforce a non-compete agreement only if the employer was able to establish that the agreement was no broader than necessary to protect a legitimate business interest – which was defined as either confidential information or near-permanent relationships. This criteria made it difficult for employers to enforce their non-compete agreements, especially those in highly competitive and diluted sales markets.
• Employment Litigation
  JBN is frequently asked to represent companies and individual shareholders, directors, officers, and members in various legal matters, including: employment issues; director and officer liability; company authorization to act issues; shareholder derivative lawsuits; and day-to-day questions regarding company risk, liabilities and duties.
• Non-compete Agreement
  A non-compete agreement, also known as a covenant not to compete, is a contract (usually between an employer and employee) where the employee agrees not to compete with the employer – typically in a certain industry, for a set amount of time and in a particular geographical area.

Property Law

• Real Estate Litigation
• Construction Litigation
• Real Estate Transactions
  We represent both buyers and sellers in all types of real estate transactions, including but not limited to residential and commercial sales, agreements for deeds, foreclosures and landlord/tenant. We also offer title insruance and closing services through our wholly owned title company, JBN Title Services, Inc.
• Eminent Domain
• Land Use and Zoning

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  Johnson, Bunce & Noble, P.C. is pleased to welcome Kaleigh J. Stevens to the firm. Kaleigh will focus in estate planning, probate, real estate and business matters.
• Wills
  The Illinois Living Will Act reflects the General Assembly’s belief that Illinois citizens have a right to control decisions concerning their medical care. Those decisions include the right to have life sustaining procedures withheld or withdrawn in instances of a terminal condition. Living Wills are not valid in all states.
• Trusts
  This same example can relate beyond the common ex-spouse example to other situations as well: jointly owned real estate, living trusts, testamentary trusts, estate tax planning, payable on death, transfer on death, etc.
• Power of Attorney
  Almost every individual needs to have a properly drafted and executed estate plan. A basic estate plan consists of a Will, Powers of Attorney, and possibly Advanced Directives. A more complex estate plan may include one or several trusts and other documents.
• Probate

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy
• Foreclosure
  Financial institutions have relied on JBN for nearly 70 years to protect their real estate assets through the mortgage foreclosure process. Asset protection has become critical since the recent economic downturn, making effective legal counsel a priority for many institutions.
• Tax Law
  We have developed a significant amount of experience in representing owners of low-income housing complexes in reviewing and prosecuting tax appeals. Some of these complexes have special real estate taxation rules that allow for a different type of valuation than a regular commercial complex.