John is a fourth generation attorney who has been serving the Saginaw Community as a lawyer and community volunteer since 1992. John graduated from Saginaw Douglas McArthur in 1975, Alma College in 1979, and the Detroit College of Law (now Michigan State University School of Law) in 1987. While in law school, John worked as a student assistant prosecuting attorney and then spent five years practicing plaintiff's personal injury in the metropolitan Detroit area. In 1992, John returned to Saginaw to practice law in the same firm with his father, becoming experienced in multiple legal matters and areas of practice.  

John has been active in the Saginaw Community since his return. He is presently the President and Trustee of the Wickson-Link Memorial Foundation and is the Secretary and Trustee of both the Allen E. Nickless and Marie A. Nickless Memorial Foundation and the Alice Turner Memorial Trust. These three entities have been responsible for making grants for the betterment of the Saginaw Community for many years. John is past President of the Saginaw County Bar Association, past Chairman of the Saginaw Promise Board Authority, and is a former City Counsel member and board member of the Saginaw Covenant Academy. Additionally, John serves as a Trustee and is a past Chair of the Saginaw Valley State University Foundation. He is a fellow of the Michigan State Bar Association and Saginaw Riverfront Commission Member, Advisor to the Tenth Circuit Drug Court, and an ex-officio member of the Home Builder's Association of Saginaw Board of Directors.