About John

Legal Biography

John is a native Pittsburgher who has practiced law in Pennsylvania since 1990. John earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Georgetown University in 1986, including six credits earned at Brasenose College, Oxford University. He received his Juris Doctor degree in 1990 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he also served as Head Notes and Comments Editor of the school’s Law Review.

Following law school, John served as a law clerk to the Honorable Sylvia Rambo, a United States District Court Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, PA.

After completing his judicial clerkship in 1992, John entered private practice with the large Pittsburgh law firm, Tucker Arensberg, PC. At Tucker Arensberg John practiced primarily in the field of commercial litigation, handling a multitude of matters from antitrust actions to land use disputes to breaches of contract. John was named a Shareholder at the firm in 1998.

While at Tucker Arensberg, from 1998-2002 John served as an adjunct faculty member at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University, teaching a class to MBA students titled “Labor and Employment Issues in the High Tech Workplace.”

John left Tucker Arensberg in 2002 to pursue his own business interests as well as to practice law as a sole practitioner.

Hospitality Industry Biography

In addition to his law practice, John serves as President & CEO of the Priory Hospitality Group, an owner and operator of boutique hotels, as well as a service provider offering consulting and management services to private clients.

His development projects over years include the expansion of the Priory Hotel on Pittsburgh’s North Shore, the creation and operation of Priory Fine Pastries, a retail and commercial bakery, the re-launch of the Mansions on Fifth Hotel and event center in Shadyside, and the construction and operation of the Comfort Inn & Suites North Shore. He currently operates the Priory Hotel and Grand Hall at the Priory (a 42 room independent boutique hotel & large [350 person] event venue) and the Mansions on Fifth Hotel, a 22 room hotel and event center located in the Shadyside neighborhood. Both the Priory Hotel and Mansions on Fifth were named “Best of the Burgh” by Pittsburgh Magazine for 2024-25 in the Boutique Hotel and (B & B Style) Boutique Hotel categories.

John has been active with hospitality industry trade groups for many years, and served as the state chair of the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association in 2016. John currently serves on the state board of that organization as Chair Emeritus. He is a 20 year+ director of the North Side/ North Shore Chamber of Commerce, serving as that organization’s Board Chair in 2006-2008.

Volunteerism

John is involved in a variety of charitable concerns. He serves on the Board of Directors of the National Aviary, and is a founding board member of WORK, a nonprofit organization devoted to lifting the poorest of the poor in Haiti, Ghana and Taiwan out of poverty by assisting them in finding and maintaining good, dignified jobs. Previously, he was active on the Board of Directors of the Homeless Children’s Education Fund and the Community Advisory Board of WQED Multimedia.

Personal

John and his wife Suzanne live in Ben Avon Borough, outside of Pittsburgh. They have four grown children.