John served as Barclay Damon’s managing partner for 20 years, stepping down in 2021 as part of a firm-approved succession plan. During his tenure, the firm grew from 60 to nearly 300 attorneys, with some of its most strategic practice areas reaching national prominence.
John's work with lateral partner recruitment and integration has involved overseeing 12 separate firm-to-firm combinations ranging in size from 10 to 60 attorneys and including deals with Saperston & Day; Damon Morey; Menter, Rudin & Trivelpiece; Gilberti Stinziano Heintz & Smith; and Shapiro, Lifschitz & Schram, among other respected firms. In his roles as former managing partner and current chair of the firm, John has also helped recruit and lead the integration of dozens of large group deals involving attorneys deciding to leave regional and national competitors to join Barclay Damon.
In 2019, John turned his focus to growing the firm’s New York and Boston offices and, less than five years later, eight lawyers in two offices has become 90-plus lawyers in Boston, New Haven, New York, and Washington DC. Major market office growth jump-started with the successful recruitment and integration of a 20-attorney group from LeClairRyan, which added nationally prominent lawyers in New York and Boston and a new 12-lawyer office in New Haven. John’s work continued and, at the end of 2023, Barclay Damon combined with the 10-lawyer Washington DC-based powerhouse Shapiro, Lifschitz & Schram, establishing a fully staffed Capitol District office and adding additional depth in the areas of corporate, real estate, litigation, and power and energy construction law. Momentum continued, and 2024 saw an explosive run of new talent with the addition of a five-lawyer IP group from Murtha Cullina in New Haven; a three-lawyer IP group from Gardella Grace in Washington DC; and an 11-lawyer group focused on IP, real estate, finance, and corporate from Burns & Levinson in Boston.
The standout success of the firm’s signature lateral recruitment program has come from an innovative onboarding system and personal commitment by senior leadership to client, attorney practice, and cultural integration, which John helped develop and oversee. The result is record-high retention of lateral partners, who expand their practices and thrive at the firm for the remainder of their careers, as compared to national statistics showing that typically over one-third of laterals leave within the first four years of joining a new firm. Altogether, the transformative impact of the firm's uniquely successful growth strategy has created a seamless and stable platform of nine high-performing offices in midsize and major market cities across the Northeastern United States and in Toronto.
As the firm's chair, John reports to the managing partner and focuses on the continued growth of the firm's major market offices, managing some of the firm's largest client relationships, and driving select, strategic initiatives appointed by the firm's Management Committee.
In his legal practice, John capitalizes on his experience as a former Wall Street project finance lawyer and trial lawyer at a leading New York firm. He serves a large roster of corporate and individual clients in disputes involving white-collar and corporate fraud and complex commercial litigation matters in both state and federal court.