Attorney Profile
John interviewed for a job with Quinn Johnston after having first practiced law in St. Louis. “When I met with the firm’s hiring committee, I was ready to impress them with my work experience, my law school class ranking as salutatorian, or my undergraduate degree in accounting,” he recalls, “but they were much more interested to hear about me as a person, my values, work ethic and my experiences growing up in Peoria.” The interest the firm showed in its lawyers as people appealed to John. He joined the firm’s Peoria office in 1991 and was elevated to partner a few years later. He currently serves as Managing Partner at the firm.
John leads the firm’s workers’ compensation defense practice, representing and advising employers in employment matters, and defending their liability claims. He regularly arbitrates workers’ compensation claims annually, performs accident investigations, defends employers in related third-party liability claims or premises liability claims, and generally represents business owners, retailers and contractors in a variety of settings from accidents to business disputes. Examples of his results include:
- Obtaining reversal of an Arbitrator’s award of surgical authorization for a lumbar fusion where other evaluating physicians had disputed propriety of the surgery proposed by the injured worker’s treating physician.
- Obtaining a defense verdict for a retailer named as a third-party defendant in a claim brought by a city employee for bilateral ankle fractures.
- Obtaining a favorable arbitration decision denying a claim for benefits to an employee who claimed injuries from an unwitnessed accident. The result was due in large part to a prompt investigation of the accident which included surveillance evidence conducted within days of the alleged event.
- Obtaining a denial of a workers’ compensation claim filed by a bus driver alleging that a defective driver’s seat caused repetitive trauma injuring her low back.
John resides in Dunlap with his wife Nancy and two children.
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Practice Areas
Education
- J.D., Southern Illinois University School of Law, Carbondale, Illinois, 1990
- Law Review: Southern Illinois University Law Journal, Lead Articles Editor
- Honors: summa cum laude, Moot Court Board President, National Moot Court Team, Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Delta Phi, Balfour National Scholar
- B.S., Accounting, Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois, 1987
Admissions/Associations
- Illinois
- Missouri
- U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois
- Claims & Litigation Management Alliance
- Illinois State Bar Association, Workers’ Compensation Section Council 1995-1999
- Peoria County Bar Association
- Missouri Bar Association
- Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel
- Greater Peoria Claims Association
Ratings/Recognitions
- Martindale-Hubbell rating of AV® Preeminent
- Illinois Leading Lawyers list, 2012 – 2022
- Illinois Super Lawyers list, 2012 – 2020
Professional Publications
- “Workers’ Compensation Update,” Lorman Group, 2012 – present
- “Advanced Workers’ Compensation,” ISBA Law Ed
- “Third Party Liability Claim Update,” Workers’ Compensation Claims Association
- “Workers’ Compensation Law, ADA and FMLA,” Council on Education in Management
- “Workers’ Compensation Explains,” Central Illinois Employers Association
Community Activities
- Braves Club Board, Bradley University, 2004 – 2011
- Pediatric Resource Center, Board Member and Officer, 2002 – 2008
- St. Vincent DePaul Education Commission
- St. Vincent DePaul Finance Council