John specialized in the law of public finance and municipal bonds and has participated in a wide range of capital infrastructure project financings throughout the United States. Representative bond counsel clients include major power, energy, transportation, industrial development, environmental and housing public authorities and agencies, as well as various states and municipalities. Other representative clients include major investment banking firms and banks serving as underwriters for various public finance projects. He also served as special counsel to universities and corporations, as well as government relations counsel for a major trade association and others. John served as an Assistant Counsel to the Governor of the State of New York, during which time he participated in drafting and negotiating legislation rescuing the Urban Development Corporation from insolvency; authorizing the creation of the Municipal Assistance Corporation for The City of New York; authorizing the creation of Emergency Financial Control Boards for the cities of New York and Yonkers; and authorizing the creation of the Public Authorities Control Board.

John has long been also involved in numerous charitable, cultural, civic and professional activities, including his involvement as a member of the Boards of the Alliance for Downtown, the Downtown Lower Manhattan Association, the National Committee on American Foreign Policy and as a member of the New York City Bar Association's Task Force on New York State Constitutional Convention and its Council on International Affairs. He served as a Partner in the Partnership for the City of New York and a member of the Board of Directors of the Academy of Political Science, the Citizens Union, the Flax Trust, the New York City Health & Hospitals Corporation, the College of Mount St. Vincent and the Institute for Mediation and Conflict Resolution, and as a member of the New York State Health Financing Council, the New York State Temporary Commission on State and Local Fiscal Policies, the New York State Hazardous Waste Disposal Advisory Committee and the New York State Court Facilities Task Force. He has also served as the Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Chairman of the Committee on International Arms Control and Security Affairs of the New York City Bar Association.

In recognition for services to peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland, Queen Elizabeth II awarded John an honorary "CBE" (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 2004 and the University of Ulster awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws in 2003. John has also written and lectured frequently on the peace and reconciliation process in Northern Ireland.

John is not engaged in active practice.

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