As a business lawyer, John helps clients deal with the wide range of issues that surface during the life of a business such as proper structuring, contracts with others, financing and acquisitions. John also does probates and estate planning, from preparing simple wills to preparing sophisticated tax-savings vehicles such as a QRPT (Qualified Real Property Trust) and family limited partnerships. Some of his estate-planning clients are business owners whose principal asset is their business.

Representative Experience

• Northland Telecommunications Corporation. Incorporated and helped raise initial funding for this 20th largest U.S. cable television company, together with acquisition of cable systems in Washington, California, Idaho, Oklahoma and Texas. Served as Board Member since 1985.
• Counseling on and drafting of complex last wills and life insurance trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, stock redemptions and limited partnerships, as well as advising with respect to pension and IRA beneficiary and tax planning.

John also served as lead counsel in the following cases, the first two of which were presented to and affirmed by the Ninth Circuit:

• Fentron Industries v. The National Shopmen Pension Fund. A class action brought at the request of Fentron to represent its employees and retirees whose past service credit had been forfeited by the union plan. Commenced in 1970, it was one of the earliest pension cases decided by the Ninth Circuit, which court sustained the district court's summary judgment in favor of the employees. Attorney fees were awarded.
• McDaniel v. The National Shopmen Pension Fund.  A companion Fentron case challenging the union's right to reduce past service credit without a showing that the financial integrity of plan was adversely impacted. In 1990, the Supreme Court of United States declined certiorari, and a trial court summary judgment in favor of the employees that had been affirmed by the Ninth Circuit was upheld.
• LPIW and G-P/L-P Pension Trust v. Louisiana Pacific. After working for many years for an employer that sponsored a single-employer pension plan with a pension committee, which included union representatives, he was asked by that union to represent it because of a conflict. The employer approved because the representation would assist in establishing good working union relations. The litigation involved plan termination and asset transfer problems, research on unique ERISA provisions that were applicable, court appearances and IRS submissions. The amount of union plan assets transferable to the company's new plan to cover the union members was determined through settlement negotiations after preliminary court actions were successfully pursued.

Professional and Community Activities

• President 2007-2008, Seattle Rotary #4
• Past President and Trustee, Seattle Rotary Service Foundation
• Trustee and Past Vice President, PONCHO
• Trustee and Past Chairman, Pacific Northwest Ballet
• Past President and Trustee, Seattle Children’s Home
• Past Member, Goodwill Games Arts Committee
• Past Legal Counsel, United Cerebral Palsy of King-Snohomish Counties
• Past Managing Partner, Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland
• Past Member, Western Pension Conference

Background

John (born Seattle, Washington) joined Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland in 1966 following a one-year clerkship with Washington State Supreme Court Justice Robert Hunter and a two-year clerkship with U.S. District Court Judge George H. Boldt. John served as a Washington State Bar Association Bar Admissions Examiner for two years, has written law review articles, served as an expert witness in a fiduciary liability trial, and lectured and qualified as an expert ERISA witness.

A Vocalist in Tune with Clients

After graduating from college with a major in music, John could have had a job teaching music in Seattle’s public schools. Though he opted instead for a legal career, he still enjoys using his voice, his principal musical instrument. For years, John sang with the Seattle Opera Auxiliary Chorus and was a tenor soloist at a Seattle church. This interest in music is partly why John donates time to local arts organizations.

As a business lawyer, John stays tuned to client needs. His clients include businesses ranging from startups to established companies worth millions of dollars, including one of the nation’s largest cable television companies, of which he helped start and serves as a board member. This involvement in music and business led to John's being elected as President of Seattle Rotary #4, the largest and fourth oldest Rotary Club in the world. In addition to general business work, John also does estate planning.