John’s practice revolves around legal writing and research. His specialties include complex administrative litigation and civil and criminal appellate advocacy. He has represented the State of Utah, various state agencies, and individuals in state and federal courts of appeal.
John grew up along the coast of Maine where he spent most of his time in the woods or on the water and eventually studied forestry at the University of Maine, graduating with Honors in 2001. After working for a decade, John studied law at the University of Utah College of Law.
During school, John uncovered a passion for legal research and writing, and he's now an admitted law geek. He was elected an executive editor of Utah Law Review, president of the Natural Resources Law Forum, and served as committee chair of the University of Utah’s Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund. In addition, John was one of eight students selected (out of 850 applicants) to serve in the US Environmental Protection Agency's Summer Honors Program in Washington, DC. John also represented the University of Utah at the National Environmental Moot Court Competition in New York, where his team won the David Sive Award for best brief in the nation and advanced to the competition's final round. He was also a William H. Leary Scholar, received four CALI awards for highest grade in a course, and was awarded the Dewsnup Fellowship in Natural Resources Law.
John is licensed to practice in Utah’s state and federal courts and the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
Experience
Utah Court of Appeals
• Law Clerk to the Honorable Stephen L. Roth
Utah Office of the Attorney General
• Assistant Attorney General & General O'Hara Honors Fellow
US Environmental Protection Agency
• Honors Clerk
Publications
• The Binding Guidance Principle, 4 American Indian L.J. 1 (2016)
• Rural Ozone Pollution: New Science, Old Rules, 8 Appalachian Natural Res. L.J. 149 (2014)
• Airborne Emissions in the Natural Commons, Justist-Dateline (Jan. 21, 2014)
• Water Securities: Rights to Use, Used as Collateral, 2013 Utah L. Rev. 1725
• Case Note, Navajo Nation v. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 17 A.B.A. Water Res. Comm. Newsl., No. 1 at 16 (2015)
• Case Note, EPA v. EME Homer City Generation, 17 A.B.A. Air Quality Comm. Newsl., No. 3 and 4 (2014)
