Department: Municipal and Governmental Law

Joshua J. Dubbelde

About Joshua
Joshua J. Dubbelde joined Samuels Miller in 2011 and became a partner with the firm in January 2017.  He graduated with honors from the University of Illinois College of Law in 2011, having previously received a B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2004.  He is licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois and also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois. 

Joshua’s practice includes representing individuals and families with regard to wills, trusts, and estate planning; trust and estate administration and litigation; and residential and farm real estate transactions and litigation. His real estate practice includes zoning, easement, and nuisance dispute representation. Joshua also represents public sector municipal and local government bodies with ongoing routine business and with complex transactional matters; and he counsels private sector business clients on entity formation, ongoing operations, sales/mergers, and business litigation. He was selected in 2019, 2020, and 2021 as an Emerging Lawyer by Leading Lawyers Magazine.

Prior to law school, Joshua worked for approximately four years as a chemist and researcher for several large chemical and agricultural companies. Although his shift from scientist to attorney may be an uncommon one, he finds that the analytical and deductive skills necessary for both professions have allowed for a rewarding career change. Joshua previously served on the board of directors of Webster-Cantrell Hall and he is a Past President of the Central Illinois Estate Planning Council. He is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Decatur Bar Association.

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.