Bio

John is a corporate and commercial transactions lawyer who advises companies, founders, investors, and executives at all stages, from initial structuring to exit.

His clients are usually the smaller party at the table, facing a counterparty with more leverage, more lawyers, and its own paper. John has run his own practice since 2015, and he knows how Fortune 500 companies and private equity funds negotiate because he spent the first eleven years of his career practicing at a large law firm, doing that work. He knows which terms actually move, which are worth pressing, and which to concede. His approach is pragmatic and business-focused. The goal is not to win every point. It is to close the deal cleanly, on reasonable business terms that meet the client’s business needs.

His practice spans commercial agreements, data privacy and AI, mergers and acquisitions, financings, and executive compensation, for clients in software and SaaS, technology, digital platforms, the creator economy, consumer products, health and wellness, and entertainment. For many he is the legal department they do not yet have. For others, he is an extension of an existing in-house team. John’s practice is AI-forward. He uses AI daily for drafting, review, and legal research, running the same tools much larger firms are investing in heavily. A solo practice carries none of their overhead, and his rates reflect it.

John began practicing in 2004. Before starting his own firm, he was a corporate partner and co-chair of the international practice group at Strasburger & Price in Austin, Texas, then a 200-lawyer firm and now part of Clark Hill. He is also of counsel to Cain & Skarnulis PLLC in Austin. He is licensed in Washington and Texas, practices from his office on Bainbridge Island, Washington, and is fluent in Spanish, serving clients in Mexico and Latin America in their own language.

He lives on the island, a short ferry ride from Seattle, and is happiest outdoors: sailing, trail running, and swimming in Puget Sound.