Certified as an accredited estate planner and a member of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, John's principal areas of practice are estate planning, corporate, and taxation law. He is past president of the National Association of Estate Planners Councils (a 15,000-member organization), serves on the board of directors of numerous family businesses, and serves as counsel to private family foundations. He is a retired Captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve.
Clients draw on John's extensive experience in:
- Representing clients before the appellate division of the IRS involving corporate taxation and estate taxation and valuation issues, as well as the Tax Court of the United States, the Sixth Circuit of Appeals, the United States Court of Claims, and the State of Ohio Board of Tax Appeals
- As a national thought leader in estate planning, frequently presenting to estate planning councils and national business organizations and writing articles for national trusts and estates publications
- Sophisticated business tax planning
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Benefit planning, trust and estate planning, and charitable gift planning
John also is a retired Captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve.
Education
LL.M., Taxation, Georgetown University Law Center, 1973
J.D., University of Michigan Law School, 1968
B.A., Williams College, 1965
Professional Associations
- Toledo Bar Association
- Ohio State Bar Association
- The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Fellow
- Ohio State Bar Association, Taxation Committee
- National Association of Estate Planners and Estate Planning Councils, former President
- Great Lakes Historical Society (GLHS)/National Museum of the Great Lakes (NMGL), Board of Directors
- Toledo Estate Planning Council, past President
- Toledo Bar Association Taxation Committee, past Chairman
- University of Findlay, Trustee Emeritus
- United States Naval Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corp., Retired Captain
Honors
- AV® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
- Best Lawyers in America, 1993-2024
- Ohio Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers magazine, 2004-2012
- Toledo Business Journal, “Who’s Who in Toledo Area Law”