John's focus is on construction litigation, having been involved with all phases of construction and litigation for more than 30 years. He regularly handles claim evaluations, construction defect analysis, discovery processes, depositions, pretrial motions, jury instructions, mediations, and litigation proceedings including arbitrations, bench trials, and jury trials.
With a civil engineering background, John worked for more than a decade as a project manager, design manager, and project executive for a design/build contracting company involved in lightweight building enclosure systems and specialty structures, such as airports, courthouses, university buildings, commercial buildings, and specialty structures. His responsibilities included contract negotiation, design development, constructability reviews, construction planning and oversight, risk analysis, budget development, change order negotiation, and coordination between teams and outside counsel. With this extensive background, John's dual experience in construction and litigation allows him to efficiently evaluate claims and disputes, offering clients a thorough understanding of their legal positions and the construction process.
Before joining Cozen O'Connor, John was a senior attorney with the construction group of an Am Law 100 firm. There, he helped clients resolve millions of dollars in claims through settlement. He also second-chaired a trial involving a $700M highway widening project, defending against major technical claims, and obtaining dismissal of all claims he was involved in.
John earned his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at Purdue University and his law degree from Loyola Law School.
John brings over 30 years of comprehensive experience in engineering design, construction project management, and construction litigation. His focus is on construction litigation, where he handles various aspects such as client meetings, claim evaluations, construction defect analysis, discovery processes, depositions, pretrial motions, jury instructions, mediations, and litigation proceedings including arbitrations, bench trials, and jury trials.