General Biography   
John concentrates his practice in the area of civil litigation including torts, contracts, construction, products liability, personal injury and commercial matters.  He is also a certified civil mediator.  John has been in private practice since August of 1983 and has been with Turner, Padget, Graham & Laney since 1986.  He served as law clerk to S.C. Circuit Judge Dan F. Laney, Jr. (Third Judicial Circuit) from 1982 - 1983.  John has been named the national Chair of the Construction Law Committee of the Defense Research Institute (DRI) effective October 14, 2007.

John is admitted to practice in all South Carolina Courts, the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the Richland County, South Carolina and American Bar Associations, is a former Chairman of the South Carolina Bar Trial and Appellate Advocacy Section, and is a past member of the South Carolina Bar House of Delegates.  He is a member of the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys Association, the Defense Research Institute, the American Judicature Society, and the U.S. Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference 

Bar Admissions   
Supreme Court of South Carolina
United States District Court for South Carolina
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Judicial Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
United States Supreme Court

Education   
University of South Carolina, J.D., 1982
Wofford College, B.A., cum laude, 1979

Professional/Civic Affiliations  
Defense Research Institute (DRI),  DRI Construction Law Committee; DRI Construction Law Committee National Seminar Program Chair (2006-2007);  DRI Construction Law Committee National Chair 2007- Present; DRI Diversity Committee;  South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association; United States Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference, Permanent Member; Eagle International, Inc., Board of Directors

PRIOR POSITIONS:   Chairman, South Carolina Bar Trial and Appellate Advocacy Section,  Member of South Carolina Bar House of Delegates; Chairman of the Board of Directors, Columbia World Affairs Council

Speeches/Presentations/Awards 

1)  2008 Best Lawyers in America, Construction Law 

2)  2008 Super Lawyers, Civil Litigation

3) Electronic Discovery and the Insurer's Claim File; General Casualty Insurance Company, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, April 29, 2008.

4)  E-Discovery: What You Must Know, What You Should Know, and Everything in Between; Eagle International Associates, Inc., Fall Seminar, Chicago, Illinois, October 2007

5) The Insurers' Perspective on Defense Costs; Defense Research Institute (DRI) Construction Law Seminar, Scottsdale, Arizona, September 2007

6) Electronically Stored Information and E-Discovery: A Primer; Eagle International, Inc. Spring Conference, Charleston, South Carolina,  May 2007

7) E-Discovery and The Electronic Claims File; Church Mutual Insurance Company corporate seminar, Wausau, Wisconsin, April 2007

8) Electronic Discovery; 2006 DRI Construction Law Seminar, San Francisco, California, September 2006

9) Damages: 2005 DRI Construction Law Seminar, Las Vegas. Nevada, September 2005 

10) Electronic Discovery; American Corporate Counsel Association (ACCA) Conference, Greenville, South Carolina, March 31, 2005
 

Publications

1)  Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS), Defense Research Institute Construction Law Compendium, 2007

2) Co-authored the article, The Expert Extrapolation Mirage, Defense Research Institute's "For the Defense" magazine, June 2005.