Biography

John is the senior trial lawyer in the Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Client Services Department and chairs the International Practice Group, focusing on international dispute resolution.  He has served as lead trial lawyer in numerous complex commercial, international, banking, securities, products liability, insurance and trust litigation cases, including class actions.  John has practiced in state and federal courts and before arbitration tribunals in approximately 35 states and foreign countries.  In the past five years, John has represented clients in a wide variety of business disputes, including successful representations in an International Chamber of Commerce arbitration against a large Korean company, a federal court litigation against a Canadian government-owned corporation, an arbitration in Hong Kong that was settled through  mediation coordinated through the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, a securities arbitration customer claim resulting in a multimillion dollar settlement, the defense of a federal court consumer class action, and a case where a large sum of stolen funds was recovered by coordinating court actions in Turkey, Cyprus, Portugal and the Cape Verde Islands.  He is also experienced in obtaining evidence abroad under Letters Rogatory and The Hague Evidence Convention as well as obtaining evidence in the U.S. for use in foreign proceedings.  John recently has had extensive experience involving both the enforcement of and defense against enforcement of foreign country judgments in U.S. courts and the enforcement of U.S. judgments abroad.

John is a frequent speaker on enforcement of judgments and on international commercial arbitration.  Recently, he has presented at programs given by the Center for International Legal Studies in Salzburg, Austria (2001 and 2004); the Cincinnati Bar Association in Cincinnati (2004); the American Arbitration Association in Cincinnati (2004); The Hamilton Law Association at Niagara on the Lake, Ontario (2005); The American Bar Association in Chicago (2005); Program on Foreign Investments in Buenos Aires, Argentina (2005) and Latin American Congress on International Business and Arbitration in Mar del Plata, Argentina (2005).

Throughout his career, John has been active with the American, Federal, Ohio State and Cincinnati Bar Associations.  He currently chairs an American Bar Association subcommittee on International Arbitration and regularly attends and speaks at bar association conferences.  In 2004, he served as CLE chair for civil programming at the Federal Bar Association Annual Convention.

John also frequently represents clients on appeals in state and federal courts and is a Life Member of the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference.  He was also recently appointed to chair the Rules Advisory Committee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Prior to joining GH&R, John served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Philip Pratt, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.  Based on the grading and comments of his peers, John was named one of “Ohio’s Super Lawyers” in 2004 and 2005, and one of The Best Lawyers in America for business litigation and international arbitration in 2006 and 2007. He is recognized with an AV Rating, the highest rating given to lawyers by Martindale-Hubbell.

Law School

J.D., cum laude, University of Michigan, 1972

Education

B.S., Economics, University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School), 1969

Bar Admissions

Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan
U.S. District Courts
   Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio
   Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky  
   Southern District of Indiana
   Eastern District of Michigan
   Eastern District of Wisconsin
   District of Colorado
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
U.S. Supreme Court

Affiliations

American Bar Association; Litigation, International and Dispute 
   Resolution Sections
Federal Bar Association Civil CLE Chair for 2004 National
   Convention
Ohio State Bar Association, Federal Courts Committee,
   Chair (1990-1992)
Kentucky Bar Association
State Bar of Michigan
International Bar Association, Dispute Resolution Section
Cincinnati Bar Association, Grievance Committee
Northern Kentucky Bar Association
American Arbitration Association
London Court of International Arbitration
International Arbitration Committee of CPR Institute
Center for Resolution of Disputes, Panel of Arbitrators
Common Pleas Court, Hamilton County, Ohio, Panel of Arbitrators
Potter Stewart American Inn of Court, Master of the Bench,
   Executive Committee Member
Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference, Life Member
Rules Advisory Committee, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth
   Circuit, Chair 2004-present
Supreme Court Historical Society
Wesley Education Center, Board Member, Treasurer,
   Past-President
International Business Law Consortium, Primary Contact