John has served as lead counsel in numerous mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, financing transactions, real estate acquisition and dispositions, business divestures and other related transactions.
Education & Credentials
Education
University of Notre Dame
B.B.A., 1996University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
J.D., 2006- cum laude
- Editor-in-Chief, University of Detroit Mercy Law Review
- Justice Frank Murphy Honor Society
- Jerome P. Cavanagh Memorial Scholarship
Bar Admission
Acknowledgements
- Best Lawyers in America®
- Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Law, 2021-2024
- Lawyer of the Year, Mergers & Acquisitions, 2023
- Grand Rapids Magazine
- "Top Lawyers," Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions, 2019-2022
- "Top Lawyers," Mergers & Acquisitions, 2023
- The Legal 500 United States
- Mergers & Acquisitions - Corporate and Commercial, 2023
- "Recommended Lawyer," Private Practice Powerlist: M&A, USA, 2023-2024
- "Recommended Lawyer," 2019, 2020, 2022
- Michigan Super Lawyers®
- Business & Corporate Law, 2018-2019
- "Rising Star," Business & Corporate Law, 2013-2016
- Michigan Lawyers Weekly
- "Up and Coming Lawyer"
Prominent Assignments
Counsel small and large businesses with respect to general business, corporate planning and governance issues. Serve as outside general to closely held and ESOP-owned companies of varying sizes and industries.
Extensive experience implementing and executing mergers, acquisitions and divestitures of corporate assets for private equity firms and strategic buyers and sellers, with transactions ranging in value up to $100 million.
Lead counsel to private equity funds regarding structure, acquisitions and dispositions, and post-closing general counsel representation of portfolio companies.
Counsel businesses and individuals in real estate purchase, sale, and leasing transactions. Real estate counsel to Michigan State Building Authority for bond offerings to support university and municipal facilities.
Extensive involvement in contractual and real estate matters relating to alternative energy projects. Served as counsel to either developers or lenders in connection with nine of the twelve largest wind farms in the State of Michigan, including financings ranging up to $1 billion.
Professional Involvement
- Business Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan, Former Chair
- Association for Corporate Growth, West Michigan Chapter
- Programming Committee
- American Bar Association
- Grand Rapids Bar Association
Community Involvement
- Kent District Library Development Board, Former Member
- Saint Thomas the Apostle Parish
- School Board (2012-2018, President 2016-2018)
- Finance Council (2019-Present,Chair 2022-Present)
- Boy Scouts of America
- President Ford Field Service Council Executive Board
- Kent County Market Development Board, Chair
- "Building Character Celebration" Recognition Dinner, Chair
- Leadership Dinner, Committee
- Cub Scout Pack 3217, Cubmaster and Den Leader
- Troop 345 Assistant Scoutmaster
- Michigan Branch, International Dyslexia Association Board of Directors, Former Member
- Michigan Street Corridor Plan Steering Committee, Former Member
Publications/Presentations
- Co-Author, “Michigan Supreme Court Decision – A Reminder on Requirements Contracts,” Dickinson Wright Client Alert, July 2023
- Presenter, Fundamentals of Purchase Agreements, Real Property Law Section 2014 Summer Conference, State Bar of Michigan
- Discussion Leader, Dealing With Distressed Properties, Real Property Law Section, State Bar of Michigan (October 2012)
- Co-Author, "Michigan Corporate Law Summary," Practical Law Company, Inc. (July 2012)
- "Section 488 Revisited: Opportunities for Flexible Governance for Michigan Corporations," Michigan Business Law Journal, Vol. 31, Issue 3 (Fall 2011)
- Co-Author, “Current Asset Dispositions: REO Sales--The Lender’s Viewpoint,” Real Property Law Section 2011 Summer Conference
- "Stimulus Plan Holds Opportunities for Business: Energy-Related Provisions," Dickinson Wright Client Alert, February 2009
- "Detroit's Renaissance Zones: The Economics of Tax Incentives in Metropolitan Location Decisions, the Results of the Zones to Date, and Thoughts on the Future," 83 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. 329 (2006), reprinted in 17 Journal of Multistate Taxation and Incentives 8, November/December 2007