John is a trial lawyer with a national practice in complex commercial litigation  spanning a wide range of practice areas and industries.

His clients include manufacturers, contractors, financial services companies and tribal entities  in cases brought in state and federal courts across the country, including the Court of Federal Claims.

John’s trial resume includes a precedent-setting financial services verdict. The three-week jury trial in U.S. District Court in Minnesota, which he tried with Fox partner Eric Nystrom, resulted in a judgment of more than $17 million in favor of American Bank of St. Paul and 25 other banks. The case is believed to be the first reported verdict in the country in which a bank was held liable for aiding and abetting the fraud of one of its customers and the only time a bank has been held liable for conspiracy to commit fraud.

More recently, John defended a manufacturer in a month-long jury trial in San Francisco arising out of a large, downtown construction project that involved multiple defendants. Among other witnesses, John cross-examined plaintiff’s causation and damages experts.

John honed his skills as a Trial Attorney with the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice where he defended the government against claims brought by nuclear utilities over the Department of Energy’s failure to begin disposing of spent nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain. John made the closing argument in the first spent fuel case to go to trial and was lead trial counsel for the government in lawsuits brought by Southern Nuclear and Pacific Gas & Electric. As a member of the Spent Fuel Team, John also cross-examined damages experts and fact witnesses in numerous other cases.

Businesses in a wide variety of industries rely on John’s skills. He has a wealth of experience in manufacturing, government contracts, construction and financial services. John has defended or prosecuted claims involving contract and warranty, fraud and other business torts, deceptive trade practices, tribal law, bankruptcy and fraudulent transfers, and shareholder oppression.