Mr. Yates represents and counsels private and publicly held businesses in a wide variety of industries, as he has done for the past 40 years. While his representation has primarily been in the areas of assisting management in labor and employment matters, his counsel and representation is often sought on a wide variety of matters. He has been engaged in the private practice of law since leaving the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) where he began his career.

Mr. Yates has argued cases on behalf of clients before the United States Supreme Court and several United States Courts of Appeal and regularly practices in the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Missouri and the Southern District of Illinois, in addition to various other federal and state courts. He also regularly handles matters for clients before agencies such as the NLRB, Department of Labor (DOL), and Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA). As an FAA licensed instrument-rated multiengine pilot, he also handles matters for clients before the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Mr. Yates joined OMLB in August of 2010 after 40 years of practice with large national and regional law firms where he served as chairman of those firms’ employment and labor law practices. The move has enabled Mr. Yates to be selective in accepting cases, pursue other interests, and spend more time with his grandchildren, while still providing the high level of quality service to his long term clients, some of which he has been serving since the early 1970s.

His expertise and successes have been recognized by being elected a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and being listed in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers, The Best Lawyers in America for over 10 years, Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers, and Who’s Who in America. He has long been rated AV by Martindale Hubbell, the highest rating available. Mr. Yates is licensed in Missouri and Illinois. He is a mediator (currently inactive) with United States Arbitration & Mediation (USAM) service. He is an ordained Ruling Elder of the Presbyterian Church in America.

Mr. Yates received his law school education from the University of Missouri at Columbia and his undergraduate degree from Ohio Wesleyan University. He also earned a Graduate Certificate in General Theological Study from The Covenant Theological Seminary.

References and representative published cases are available upon request.