AREAS OF PRACTICE
John has served in senior positions as both in-house and outside counsel. This potent combination has instilled in John a broad appreciation for how to best partner with his clients to achieve their objectives. John serves as outside general counsel to numerous entities in the insurance, retail and investment industries, among others.
Before joining Momkus, John served as General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel of a publicly-traded property and casualty insurance holding company. In those roles, John managed a number of high-stakes litigation matters and guided the company through several large M&A and financing transactions. John also served as the company’s Privacy and Chief Compliance Officer, charged with ensuring compliance with SEC and NASDAQ regulations, state insurance laws, Gramm-Leach-Bliley and other requirements.
John was formerly a litigation partner with a large international law firm where he gained first and second chair trial experience in commercial, securities, employment, products liability and other complex litigation matters. John has considerable experience conducting internal investigations and has also represented clients responding to subpoenas and investigations by government agencies.
In addition to his litigation practice, John advises clients on all types of business transactions, including corporate formation and governance, mergers and acquisitions, secured financings, real estate leases, commercial contracts, and independent contractor and employment agreements. John also has substantial experience with complex regulatory matters, particularly in the area of insurance and other financial services.
Prior to his career in law, John served in the U.S. Navy as a surface warfare officer. John lives in Naperville with his wife, Julie, and their three sons. He enjoys running, biking, swimming, reading and hanging out with friends and family.
Before joining Momkus, John served as General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel of a publicly-traded property and casualty insurance holding company. In those roles, John managed a number of high-stakes litigation matters and guided the company through several large M&A and financing transactions. John also served as the company’s Privacy and Chief Compliance Officer, charged with ensuring compliance with SEC and NASDAQ regulations, state insurance laws, Gramm-Leach-Bliley and other requirements.
John was formerly a litigation partner with a large international law firm where he gained first and second chair trial experience in commercial, securities, employment, products liability and other complex litigation matters. John has considerable experience conducting internal investigations and has also represented clients responding to subpoenas and investigations by government agencies.
In addition to his litigation practice, John advises clients on all types of business transactions, including corporate formation and governance, mergers and acquisitions, secured financings, real estate leases, commercial contracts, and independent contractor and employment agreements. John also has substantial experience with complex regulatory matters, particularly in the area of insurance and other financial services.
Prior to his career in law, John served in the U.S. Navy as a surface warfare officer. John lives in Naperville with his wife, Julie, and their three sons. He enjoys running, biking, swimming, reading and hanging out with friends and family.
NOTABLE EXPERIENCE
Litigation
- Defeated $600,000 lost profits claim against third-party logistics carrier arising out of delayed shipments after 3-day trial.
- Defeated $485,000 claim for unpaid commissions by independent sales rep after bench trial.
- Represented actuarial consulting firm in response to Securities and Exchange Commission subpoena.
- Won a $1.4 million arbitration award for wrongfully terminated franchisee of a national paramedical services provider.
- Successfully vacated $7 million default judgment and obtained dismissal with prejudice of claims against a public digital media company.
- Obtained favorable settlements on behalf of multiple franchisees of chiropractic services chain alleging fraud, breach of contract and wrongful termination.
- Prevailed in arbitration of dispute between joint venture partners regarding the failure of a project to develop an advanced pavement striping system.
- Obtained favorable jury verdict on fraud claim against a software development company.
- Obtained summary judgment prior to class certification in action seeking to invalidate DUI policy exclusion for first-party claims.
- Defended securities fraud claims brought against a successful mutual fund market timing investor. Litigated in numerous venues, including an SEC civil enforcement action in federal court, New York Attorney General criminal proceedings in state court, class action claims consolidated in a multi-district litigation proceeding and state securities department administrative proceedings.
- First-chaired defense of workers compensation retaliatory discharge action settled during trial for nominal value.
- Successfully defended and resolved products liability action involving catastrophic fire aboard luxury yacht allegedly caused by defective hydraulic hose.
- Obtained dismissal with prejudice of products liability claim arising out of an allegedly defective electrical switch.
- Successfully defended and resolved a wrongful death lawsuit brought against the manufacturer of a warehouse automatic storage and retrieval system.
- Defended officers and directors of an insurance company in liquidation against civil RICO claims brought by the Illinois Director of Insurance and settled case well within limits of D&O insurance policy.
- Represented start-up health and wellness club in all aspects of corporate formation and structure, branding and intellectual property protection, leasing and raise of $5+M through private placement.
- Represented borrower in $5.25M mezzanine facility and issuance of warrants.
- Represented medical practice in shareholder buy-out.
- Conducted regulatory and licensing due diligence for multiple transactions on behalf of client in service contract and home warranty industry.
- Represented seller in $3M purchase of funeral home business and associated real estate.
- Led legal due diligence, documentation and negotiation efforts for $95M strategic divestiture of managing general agency operations.
- Managed due diligency, legal issues and negotiations for $120M sale of retail insurance agencies consisting of approximately 200 store locations and premium finance operations.
- Coordinated legal issues related to refinancing of $200M secured debt facility with new senior and subordinated debt facilities. Drafted and negotiated numerous debt facility amendments, waivers and forbearance agreements.
- Negotiated and closed $7.8M sale-leaseback of IT assets.
- Conceived and executed complex transaction injecting $5M of capital into regulated insurance subsidiary through mortgage on real estate asset under lease to federal government.
- Negotiated mortgage transaction documents, including lease amendments and authorizations from General Services Administration, and secured approval from regulators in two states.
- Managed all legal and regulatory matters to launch premium finance business. Obtained licenses in seven states, developed finance documentation and established compliant operational processes.
bar admissions
- Illinois
- Northern District Illinois, Trial Bar
- Central District Illinois
- Seventh Circuit
speaking engagements
- Recurring Panelist 2016 - 2019, Rule 12 Motions and Pre-Trial Procedure, Annual Federal Court Boot Camp: The Nuts and Bolts (Pincus Professional Education)
- Speaker, Boilerplate Checkup: Lurking Litigation Issues in Your Commercial Contracts, North Shore General Counsel Association, May 10, 2016
- Panelist, Management and Leadership of New Attorneys, Eleventh Hour PRMCLE, DuPage County Bar Association, May 20, 2016
- Panelist, Procuring and Producing Electronically Stored Information and Investigating and Gathering Evidence from Challenging Sources, Advanced Litigation Strategies, November 10, 2016 (Pincus Professional Education)
- Speaker, A Checklist Manifesto for Preparing or Responding to Litigation, Property and Casualty Insurers Association of America - Litigation and Governmental Affairs Committee Annual Meeting, June 22, 2017
publications
- Privilege Concerns Over Disclosures to Independent Auditors, Securities Law 360, 11/10/2006
- Expanding the Tri-Partite Relationship: Extending Evidentiary Privilege to Fourth-Party Legal Audits, 2000 U. Ill. L. Rev. 1339
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS
- Illinois State Bar Association
- DuPage County Bar Association
- North Shore General Counsel’s Association, Emeritus Member
- Robert E. Jones American Inn of Court
- Veterans of Foreign Wars Judd Kendall Post 3873
- Veterans Leadership Council
EDUCATION
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, J.D.
United States Naval Academy, B.S.
United States Naval Academy, B.S.
