About John
John is known for his extensive solo jury trial experience, having been recently recognized as a “Rising Star in Personal Injury Defense Litigation” by Alabama Super Lawyers Magazine. John’s litigation experience is not limited to personal injury litigation, however, as he is often asked to represent the firm’s clients with disputes concerning insurance, construction, securities, real estate, and general business/corporate conflict. In these areas, John has had the opportunity to try over fifteen solo jury trials, several bench trials, and attend arbitration hearings, successfully winning dismissal or verdicts in favor of the firm’s clients a majority of those times.
Significant Jury Trial experience representing individuals, businesses and their
insureds, to include the following:
- Motor Vehicle Accidents
- Road Construction Defects
- Premises Liability
- Product Liability (representing sellers of alleged defective products)
- General Construction Defects
- General Insurance Defense
- Dram Shop/Liquor Liability
Significant Litigation experience, to include the following:
- Injunction Hearings
- Arbitrations
- Motions for Summary Judgment
- Mediations
- Administrative Hearings
Client Representations, to include the following:
- Insurance Companies
- Real Estate Brokers/Agents
- General Contractors
- Homebuilders
- Hospitality/Service Companies
- Large Commercial Carriers
- National Retailers
- Municipalities
- Investment Brokers
- Local Businesses (“Mom & Pop”)
Reported Appellate Decisions:
- J.C. Duke & Associates v. West
- Burkhardt v. Yates Construction
A native of Montgomery, Alabama, John is a graduate of Cumberland School of Law at Samford University, where he was a member of Cumberland’s National Trial Team. Prior to Law School, John attended Troy State University where he received a degree in Political Science, minoring in History and Business Administration. At Troy, he served in the Student Government Senate and as a Justice on the Student Supreme Court. During and after college, John proudly worked for both of Alabama’s US Senators as both a summer intern and constituent case worker.
John joined the firm following an internship with the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals and a clerkship with Circuit Court Judge William H. McDermott, deceased, of Mobile. Since joining the firm, he is frequently asked to speak at seminars on litigation skills and trial techniques, most recently serving as a faculty member for the Alabama Defense Lawyer’s Association’s Trial Academy. He is currently serving on the firm’s TIPS Committee, Securities Litigation Group, and was recently elected to the Associates Committee for the Mobile office.
John is married to Margaret Sue Helmsing, a Mobile native, and they reside in Mobile. Margaret Sue and John enjoy volunteering with their church, Government Street Presbyterian, where John was recently installed as Deacon. John is a graduate of “Leadership Mobile, Class of 2009” and was recently appointed as a Board Member to the Mobile Metro Area YMCA.