John maintains a practice that is dominated by catastrophic, complex, and class action litigation in the State and Federal Courts. He focuses much of his time on insurance coverage disputes, bad faith defense, lawyer and insurance agent malpractice, business litigation, and catastrophic damages caused by all types of casualty risks, including transportation, construction, product liability, fires, and governmental liability, to name a few. He has also argued numerous appeals in the State and Federal appellate courts as counsel for a party and as amicus counsel for lawyer and trade associations. Through the years, he has been admitted pro hac vice in more than 30 jurisdictions, and is frequently hired by out-of-state firms to serve as local counsel in Indiana.
For more than 30 years, John has earned a reputation as one of Indiana's most sought after mediators. Because of the complexity of his litigation practice, John keeps the mediation to a manageable level, but he is frequently hired by judges and lawyers to mediate some of Indiana's largest and highest profile cases. He is also frequently named as an arbitrator in bodily injury, business dissolution, employment, and commercial disputes.
John has distinguished himself as a bar leader. He has been president of the state defense bar, and is a past Defense Lawyer of the Year honoree. He has also served on the Board of Directors of DRI, the largest national association of defense lawyers. In 2000, DRI named John its outstanding defense bar leader of the year. More recently, John has chaired DRI's national Judicial Task Force to explore and offer recommendations on how DRI can assist in maintaining a fair and impartial judiciary. John is a Past President of the Indianapolis Bar Association; President of the Indianapolis Legal Aid Society; and a past Chair of the Board of Visitors of Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. He is also President of the Texas based Association of Attorney Mediators.
John has been repeatedly listed in state and local polls of attorneys as one of the top lawyers. Since 2004, he has been selected for inclusion in Indiana Super Lawyers® and ranked number one overall in Indiana from 2011-2021. He was also selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® in the fields of Insurance Law; Mediation; and Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants. He was named Best Lawyers’ 2013 Indianapolis Insurance Law - Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers’ 2015 Indianapolis Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants - Lawyer of the Year and Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers' 2019 Indianapolis Person Injury Litigation - Defendants, Best Lawyers' 2020 Indianapolis Mediation - Lawyer of the Year.