Mattoon, IL

Brent D. Holmes

Brent D. Holmes is an experienced and successful trial attorney at Heller, Holmes & Associates, P.C. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1978 and was named to the Order of the Coif. He has obtained substantial jury verdicts in state and federal courts, including a $3 million wrongful death verdict in Effingham County and a $1 million wrongful death verdict in Piatt County. He handles a wide range of civil cases, including personal injury, wrongful death, product liability, medical malpractice, and family law. Brent is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, and a past president of the Coles-Cumberland Bar Association. He served on the Illinois Bar Journal Editorial Board and was appointed to the IPI Civil Committee on Jury Instructions by the Illinois Supreme Court. He has been recognized for his pro bono work, receiving the Joseph R. Bartylak Award in 2011 and an award from the Legal Services Corporation in 2022.

Frank James Roytek

Frank James Roytek founded The Law Office of Roytek, Ltd. in 1988 and has over three decades of experience serving clients in Mattoon, Illinois, across various legal areas including criminal defense, personal injury, family law, real estate, business law, and estate planning.

Jennifer Stuart

Jennifer Stuart is a managing partner at Heller, Holmes & Associates, P.C. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Eastern Illinois University and her Juris Doctor from Southern Illinois University School of Law in 2011. She is an experienced litigator, having tried numerous jury and bench trials, appeals, and cases in federal district courts. Her practice areas include personal injury, medical malpractice, civil litigation, contracts, real estate, estates, estate planning, and family law. Jennifer is a member of the Illinois Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Coles-Cumberland Bar Association. She also served in the Illinois Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq.

Heath Uppencamp

Heath Uppencamp is a shareholder at Heller, Holmes & Associates, P.C. He graduated from Purdue University in 2002 with degrees in Psychology and Law & Society, and from the University of Illinois College of Law in 2005. He joined the firm in July 2009. His practice areas include personal injury litigation, wrongful death, real estate transactions, estate planning, and probate law. He is admitted to practice in Indiana (2005) and Illinois (2009), as well as several U.S. District Courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

John P. Bays

John P. Bays is an attorney at Heller, Holmes & Associates, P.C. He earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Master's degree in History from Eastern Illinois University. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada Las Vegas in May 2021, graduating first in his class. He was admitted to the Bar of the State of Illinois on November 10, 2021. His practice areas include workers’ compensation, criminal defense, family law, personal injury, and general litigation. He is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Coles-Cumberland Bar Association, and the Mattoon Kiwanis Club.

Ashley J. Sherwood

Ashley J. Sherwood is an attorney at Heller, Holmes & Associates, P.C. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science with a minor in Psychology from Indiana University (2017-2021). She received her Juris Doctor degree and a graduate certificate in Criminal Law from Robert H. McKinney School of Law at Indiana University in May 2024. She was admitted to the Bar of the State of Illinois on November 6, 2024. Her practice areas include family law, estate and estate planning, personal injury, and criminal defense. During law school, she was a member of Indiana Law Review and held leadership roles in the Student Bar Association and Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Society, and was a recipient of the Illinois State Bar Association Rural Practice Fellowship in 2022.