Scott E. Garwood

About Scott
Mr. Garwood joined Samuels Miller in 2002 upon graduation from law school. He became a partner in 2008.

Mr. Garwood was raised in Stonington, Illinois. While growing up, he worked for his family’s corn and soybean seed production company beginning at age 11. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture (high honors, 1999) and Juris Doctor (cum laude, 2002).

Mr. Garwood concentrates his practice primarily in the areas of business and commercial law, probate, wills, trusts and estate planning, real estate and municipal law. He represents buyers and sellers in asset purchase, stock purchase and merger transactions in the banking, retail, trucking, manufacturing, processing, and service industries. He assists clients with organizing and maintaining corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies. Mr. Garwood counsels executors, administrators and trustees in the administration of estates and trusts throughout Illinois and regularly prepares and files United States and Illinois Estate, Gift and Generation Skipping Transfer Tax Returns. He also works with citizen and non-citizen clients to develop and implement estate plans including drafting simple and complex wills, trust agreements, charitable foundations, and other arrangements. He has represented buyers and sellers of residential, commercial and agricultural real estate, including transactions involving Section 1031 exchanges. Mr. Garwood also serves as general counsel for the City of Macon and the Villages of Moweaqua and Stonington.

Mr. Garwood is a member of the Illinois and Decatur and Macon County Bar Associations and the Central Illinois Estate Planning Council (Past President). He has served on the Boards of Directors of numerous charitable entities and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of St. Teresa High School. He has also served on the Boards of Directors of a community bank and its holding company.

Mr. Garwood has been a speaker for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the Decatur SCORE Chapter 296 and Millikin University’s First Step FastTrac course.

Mr. Garwood lives in Mt. Zion with wife Amber, a Family Nurse Practitioner, and sons Owen, Alex and Gavin.

John E. Sanner

About John
John E. Sanner is a partner in Samuels Miller and has been with the firm since 1984. John advises business entities and business owners regarding the organization and maintenance of corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies; the merger of business entities; the sale or purchase of businesses; commercial financing transactions; commercial contracts; and commercial real estate matters. John also assists banks and charitable organizations with regulatory matters unique to their organization and operation.

John is a native of Decatur. He graduated from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts in Cinema and Photography (University Honors) and an Associate of Applied Science in Law Enforcement. John received his Juris Doctor from Southern Illinois University in 1984 (summa cum laude). John is licensed to practice in Illinois.

John is member of the board of directors of the Illinois Traction Society, a not for profit railroad historical society. His interests include photography and railroad history. John and his wife, Diane Toben Sanner, have two sons, James and Thomas.

Darrell A. Woolums

About Darrell
Darrell A. Woolums was born in Decatur, Illinois and is a member of Leading Lawyer Network. Representative clients include: Richland Community College, The Gerber State Bank, and First National Bank and Trust of Clinton. Significant decisions include: Foulke v. Illinois Central Railroad (largest judgment in history of Macon County); and Estate of Whittle v. Commissioner, 994 F.2d 379.

Keith W. Casteel

About Keith
Keith W. Casteel graduated from Purdue University with honors in Industrial Engineering where he was a member of Iron Key and recipient of the G.A. Ross Award as the Outstanding Graduating Senior Man. He also received the Illinois State Bar Association Lincoln Award; was a member of the Illinois Secretary of State’s Corporation Acts Advisory Committee from 2003-2005; is a member of the Institute for Illinois Business Law; is a member of the Fourth District Committee on Character and Fitness of the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar; is a member of Leading Lawyer’s Network (2014 Leading Lawyers profile of Keith W. Casteel); was selected as one of the top 10 leading agricultural lawyers in Illinois by Leading Lawyers Magazine for 2014 and 2015; is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association Agricultural Law Committee, serving as Committee Vice-Chair for 2020-21 and Committee Chair for 2021-22; is a member of the American Agricultural Law Association serving on committees for awards and membership; is a board member of Land of Lincoln Legal Aid, Inc. (Treasurer 2018 – ___); was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce; and Past President of the Decatur Bar Association.

Keith represents business entities of all types, including profit and not-for-profit corporations and limited liability companies, in all aspects of operations including formations, contractual issues, governance, purchases and sales, and employment matters. He also represents owners, sellers, and buyers of farmland throughout Illinois and provides advice concerning managing, using, and leasing farmland for various purposes.

He also provides advice on wills, trusts and estate planning, and prepares necessary documents to implement such plans.

Keith and his wife Kathy, a registered nurse, live in Decatur, Illinois. They have three sons: Ryan, with an electrical engineering degree from Purdue University and a Masters Degree in Security Policy from George Washington University; Seth, with a fine arts degree in film and television from Chapman University; and Clayton, with a finance degree from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration Degree from Georgetown University.

John S. Cobb

About John
John S. Cobb was recognized as one of the “Top Ten Business Lawyers in Downstate Illinois” in the Leading Lawyer Network Magazine. John was past chair of the James Millikin Estate. John was past chair of the Illinois Secretary of State’s Corporate Acts Advisory Committee and co-authored amendments for the Illinois Franchise Tax and License Fees Act for Illinois business corporations. John serves as a bank director, involved in loan analysis.

John continues to advise on organizational, governance, contracting, acquisition and finance matters; and works closely with other Samuels Miller attorneys to provide succession, estate and charitable planning. John has worked with numerous families to successfully complete succession plans.

John has represented buyers and sellers for acquisitions in the accounting, banking, bottling, broadcasting, construction, insurance, manufacturing, petroleum, pharmaceutical, retail, transportation and vending industries. He represents business clients with short-term and long-term capital and financing needs requiring sophisticated credit arrangements, including tax exempt municipal bond financing.