New York
John litigates a wide range of commercial disputes, including financial services litigations involving RMBS, disputes in the wind and solar power industries across a host of contractual issues, construction disputes, long-term take-or-pay and liquidated damages disputes, force majeure, bankruptcy litigation, insurance recovery, and commercial real estate foreclosure. He was also an arbitrator on an ICC International Court of Arbitration panel in a cross-border industrial contract dispute.
COVID-19’s unprecedented global market impact has clients across an array of industries seeking John’s counsel on force majeure and related breach of contract disputes. These include force majeure matters across jurisdictions and industries, including Energy & Infrastructure, Pharmaceuticals, Financial Services, Real Estate, Hospitality, and Retail.
John litigates significant, high stakes matters. For example, in 2017 on behalf of his client Hemlock Semiconductor Corp., in a case of first impression in Michigan, on appeal John won the dismissal of an attempt by a Japanese conglomerate to avoid $1.4 billion in purchase obligations on the theory that alleged acts by the Chinese Government constituted an “act of government” under the parties’ force majeure provision. The Michigan Bar Journal declared it one of the top 10 business cases of 2010-2019. In 2019, one of the very few RMBS actions to be tried, John was trial counsel for Credit Suisse Securities USA in a $700 million dispute in the Supreme Court of New York. At trial he handled the defense expert in the critical area of loan underwriting.
Prior to joining Orrick, John was a Litigation Associate at Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine LLP.