John has been a key team member involved in several successful start-ups. He has managed a wide variety of successful acquisitions and other projects for well established enterprises and also serves as a day to day legal advisor for a wide variety of Wisconsin based business.
He is capable, conscientious and tenacious and takes pride in his craft. He enjoys unraveling a legal problem and communicating alternatives to a client in a way that makes client decision making simpler – not more complex. John believes that his success as a lawyer is measured by the success of his clients.
Having studied and lived in both Europe and Latin America, his practice has often been flavored with international spices.
Clients
John represents entities ranging from small, family owned businesses to large, publicly held companies. The industries in which his clients are involved range from software development to medical devices, industrial equipment and more.
Client Recommendations
“My father-in-law, Tom Butterbrodt, introduced me to John. John worked with Tom when Tom bought, owned, ran and then sold Berlin Foundry. Now we’re glad to have John as part of the AMS team. John is creative and efficient. He understands a businessman’s perspective and keeps his advice understandable. Without over-lawyering, he provides high quality work product. At AMS, we trust and value John’s counsel.” – Steve Metcalf, President and principal shareholder, Air Motion Systems, Inc.
“As we started and grew Picis, John helped us work through some complex legal challenges which enabled our strong growth. We also had a multi-national strategy from the beginning that John structured for us. John was a practical, efficient, and resourceful advisor and important team member.” – Todd Cozzens, CEO of Picis
“As corporate counsel, John is an important part of the MN team – he is creative, practical and hard working. At the same time, we have fun at MN, and John has been part of that as well.” – Tim Reinland, Chairman and CFO of Musicnotes.com
“John is a wealth of information; he not only provides excellence during the acquisition but also provides advice on the ancillary disciplines of an acquisition; such as, tax, regulatory and licensing. He has worked on a number of medium sized acquisitions with us and has been outstanding. He understands the drill, and knows how to work with our team without over-lawyering the project.” – Charles Shapiro, North American General Counsel of Novozymes
Notable Representations
- As a board member and lawyer, John helped organize Picis SA, a medical software developer, based in Paris. Following several private financing rounds and a corporate migration to the U.S. by Picis, John managed several U.S. acquisitions and a recapitalization for Picis. In 2010, Picis was sold to United Health Care.
- John was involved in the initial funding of Musicnotes, Inc., a Madison based internet retailer. John has represented Musicnotes through a series of private financing rounds, a self-tender and the organization and documentation of an international joint venture. John continues to serve on Musicnote’s board of directors.
- He represented Novozymes AS, a large Danish corporation listed on the Copenhagen stock exchange, in a series of U.S. acquisitions.
- He serves as the day-to-day legal advisor for a number of Wisconsin based business, including Air Motion Systems, Inc., a Hudson, Wisconsin based manufacturer of dryers for the printing industry.