John is a trial lawyer with extensive experience in complex business litigation,
white-collar defense, and arbitration.
In recognition of his broad experience and stature in complex federal litigation, John was named President of the
Faculty of Federal Advocates in 2011. The FFA is an organization of more than 600 attorneys dedicated to improving the quality of legal practice in the federal courts in the District of Colorado. As President, John will work closely with the federal bench to increase the levels of advocacy and professionalism in federal court.
John was recently appointed by the United States District Court for the District of Colorado to be on a joint bench-bar task force to draft practice standards and a new local rule dealing with e-discovery.
John has represented businesses and individuals in
white-collar regulatory and criminal investigations and prosecutions. John has experience conducting internal investigations and negotiating favorable resolutions prior to the filing of indictments and regulatory violations.
John also has represented businesses and individuals in a diverse array of cases involving securities,
intellectual property and trade secrets, employment, product liability, commercial and financial disputes, and frauds of all kinds. Some of his recent cases include:
- Representing the owner of a trucking company in a 27-count federal, white-collar fraud prosecution. Obtained a complete dismissal of the case
- Representing Fitch, Inc., one of the three major independent credit rating agencies. The State of Wyoming and the Wyoming Retirement System sued Fitch, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s over their ratings of mortgage backed securities, alleging losses of hundreds of millions of dollars when these securities were ultimately downgraded
- Representing Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, in a matter involving an employee moving to Credit Suisse allegedly in violation of his non-compete and non-disclosure agreements with his former employer (the plaintiff)
- Representing Kirkpatrick Bank in a lawsuit involving a failed real estate development. In a six-day trial, John defeated numerous claims for lost profits and lender liability, and secured a $9 million verdict for the client
- Representing First Citizens Bank in numerous matters following its purchase from the FDIC as receiver of the former United Western Bank, including a complex series of actions in state and bankruptcy court involving a $12 million real estate project
- Representing a former officer of TierOne Bank in a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation concerning financial reporting
- Representing the court-appointed receiver in the $140 million Sean Mueller Ponzi-scheme in matters involving the investigation and tracing of assets of the Mueller hedge funds and litigation to recover those assets for the benefit of the investor-victims
- Representing USA.NET on numerous matters concerning electronic communications privacy, litigation, and subpoena compliance
- Representing a local community bank concerning an internal investigation of fraudulent insider loans and related disclosures to regulatory agencies. John’s investigation ultimately resulted in the un-raveling of a $20 million Ponzi-scheme and a successful federal prosecution
- Representing Charles Schwab & Co. in a successful motion to compel a securities arbitration before FINRA
- Representing Bank of the West on numerous matters including in a complex foreclosure action involving numerous lender liability and mortgage securitization counterclaims, and a dispute with a former employee concerning trade secrets and a covenant not to compete
- Additional general litigation experience...
In addition, John has specific experience in the emerging field of
sports law litigation. He has represented numerous Olympic-level athletes in anti-doping, team-selection, and disciplinary disputes with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the U.S. Olympic Committee, and the respective national governing bodies. He is one of a handful of attorneys nationwide recognized by the USOC athlete ombudsman for experience in this area.
John serves as a trial-advocacy instructor at the University of Colorado School of Law, and he has taught and written on numerous topics, including arbitration, trade-secret protection, criminal law and procedure, and trial practice.
Before joining Lindquist & Vennum, he honed his courtroom skills working for the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Denver, where he defended numerous clients accused of white-collar and other crimes. Prior to that, John worked for the Denver law firm of Isaacson, Rosenbaum, and the national law firm of Morrison & Foerster. Following law school, he clerked for the Hon. Lewis T. Babcock, senior judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
John’s community work includes coaching youth lacrosse and serving as a Boy Scouts cubmaster; he was named Cubmaster of the Year in 2002 by the Boy Scouts’ Denver-Area council. An avid athlete, John regularly competes in marathons, triathlons, and devotes additional time to downhill skiing, rock climbing, and cycling.
Publications
- “In Rare Move, Feds Drop White-Collar Case,” Law Week Colorado, July 9, 2012
- “Employers in Immigration Enforcement Bulls-Eye,” Denver Business Journal, April 13–19, 2007
- “Employers at the Center of Immigration Enforcement” (with Nancy B. Vollertsen), Biodiesel magazine, February 2007
- “Directing the Flood: The Arbitration of Employment Claims,” The Labor Lawyer, Volume 10, Number 2, pp 217, Spring 1994
Honors and Awards
- Colorado Super Lawyers, 2012, 2013
- President of the Faculty of Federal Advocates, 2011
- Elected to the Faculty of Federal Advocates' board of directors, December 2007
- Appointed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado to the court's Criminal Justice Act Standing Committee, 2001-2003
- Martindale-Hubbell "AV" rated