Bar Admissions

  • Florida, 1997
  • U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida, 2009
  • Pennsylvania, 1996 (Voluntarily Inactive)

Education

  • J.D., Law, 1996 – University of Mississippi School of Law, Oxford, Mississippi
  • B.A., Psychology, 1993 – University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Seminole County Bar Association, Member
  • Orange County Bar Association, Member
  • The Rotary Club of Winter Springs, Board of Directors

At heart, I am a problem solver. I am continually studying something new, for example: patents for developing products, financial analysis, woodworking, and computer programming. When one of my clients asks for solution, I am able to consider their issues from many difference angles. Sometimes a traditional approach can; accomplish their goals; other times unorthodox strategies need to be developed.
I am a strong advocate of the collaborative process. My business and legal experience along with my psychology training allows me to evaluate situations from a perspective that goes beyond mere legal analysis. John has lived on the East Coast, the West Coast, and parts in between. He has always been interested in the interplay between the law and perceptions of fairness.

In 1989, he entered the University of Connecticut and studied psychology. While at the University of Connecticut, he worked in an inpatient facility leading recreational, occupational and family dynamics group sessions for pediatrics, adolescents and adults.

During his undergraduate studies, John served as a research assistant for Dr. Phares and Dr. Danforth in a study evaluating how adolescents, parents, and teachers perceive and report distress over adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing behaviors, which was published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology.

Also while an Undergraduate tat the University of Connecticut he served as a research assistant to Dr. Andrea E. Chapdelaine while she conducted research into perceptions of procedural versus distributive justice. This foundational research, part of Dr. Andrea E. Chapdelaine’s doctoral work at the University of Connecticut, explored how the fairness of processes and outcomes impacts overall satisfaction within interpersonal relationships.

He then was chosen as an intern working with the State of Connecticut, Judicial Branch in the Child Support Services section.

In 1993, he received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Connecticut. He gained admission to several law schools and attended the University of Mississippi. In 1996, John began the study of law at the University of Mississippi Law School in Oxford, Mississippi where he served as a teaching assistant in the Domestic Violence Clinic and handled cases on behalf of victims of domestic violence. Upon graduation in 1996, he obtained a license to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Seeking a warmer climate, he moved to Florida in 1997.

Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. As a peacemaker the lawyer has superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.

Abraham Lincoln
In 2001, John took a position representing the Florida Department of Insurance, which later became the Florida Department of Financial Services. During his tenure with the Florida, he handled many functions: litigated cases involving substantial penalties; handled appeals; assisted to develop the Electronic Data Interchange; authored an article about Employee Leasing Companies, which was published in the PEO Insider; assisted in the administrative rule making process; and helped to develop a computer based system for processing large volumes of Final Orders.
In 2008, John returned to Central Florida to reenter private practice. He began working with Smith Brown, P.L., where he handled matters such as: condominium association law, real estate commission disputes,commercial real estate transactions, complex business litigation, foreclosures,divorces, and general civil practice. He focused his practice in Family Law and determined to open another office as a solo practitioner. John focuses his practice on Family Law, Business Litigation and Commercial Real Estate Transactions.  He is a strong advocate of the collaborative process. John’s broad base of legal experience along with his psychology and business education allow him to evaluate his cases from a perspective, which goes beyond mere legal analysis. View the my profile at google+ profile.