John Powers is a founding partner of the firm of Powers and Santola, LLP. His practice is limited to the representation of catastrophically injured individuals, the field of law in which he has more than 30 years of experience. For the past 20 years, Mr. Powers has repeatedly been selected by his peers as one of "The Best Lawyers in America."

A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Albany Law School, John is a nationally recognized authority on the medical and legal aspects of catastrophic injury.

He is a former President of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association; a former President of the Capital District Trial Lawyers Association and is the co-founder of the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers. John served as a member of the Board of Governors of the American Association for Justice from 1990 until 2004 and served two terms as a member of the Executive Committee of AAJ. He is one of only 57 lawyers in the nation to be granted the status of "Life Member" in AAJ. John is currently the Vice-Chair of the Trial Lawyers Section of the New York State Bar Association and has been awarded the rank of Advocate by the American Board of Trial Advocates.

In addition to his service to the legal profession, John served as First Vice-President of the New York State Brain Injury Association and has been granted Life Membership in both that organization and the National Brain Injury Association.

A Co-Founder of the National College of Advocacy, John is in frequent demand as a speaker, particularly in the area of advocating on behalf of individuals who have suffered catastrophic injuries. In the past, he has served as a chairperson or lecturer at more than 400 programs throughout the United States and Canada.

John has published many books, chapters and articles on legal issues, including a chapter in The National Head Injury Foundation Guide to the: Analysis, Understanding and Presentation of Cases Involving Traumatic Brain Injury.

Education:

Albany Law School Union University, Albany, New York, 1972, J.D.

University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 1969, B.A.

Bar Admissions:

New York State
United States Supreme Court
United States District Court, Northern District of New York
United States District Court, Southern District of New York
United States District Court, Eastern District of New York
United States District Court, Western District of New York
United States District Court, Vermont

Published Works:

Co-Author with Daniel R. Santola, "Construction Accidents," New York Negligence Guide, Matthew Bender & Co., Inc., 1989
Co-Author with Daniel R. Santola, "Construction Accidents, How to be a Winner," Tri-Cities Building & Construction Trades Council, Fall 1989
Co-Author with Daniel R. Santola, "Compensating the Catastrophically Injured," 1989
Co-Author with Daniel R. Santola, Chapter 28, "Vehicle Collision Litigation," Shepard's/ McGraw-Hill, Inc.
"The Big Lie," Trial Lawyers Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 4, Summer, 1992
"The Wrong Choice," Trial Lawyers Quarterly, Vol. 23, No. 1, Fall, 1992
"It's Reno Standard Time," Trial Lawyers Quarterly, Vol. 23, No. 2, Winter-Spring, 1993
"The New York Experience," TRIAL magazine, April, 1993
"Direct Examination of Plaintiff's Treating Physicians and Experts," Analysis, Understanding and Presentation of Cases Involving Traumatic Brain Injury, National Head Injury Foundation, 1994
"The Seat Belt Defense In New York State," Trial Lawyers Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 3, Spring, 1994

Classes/Seminars Taught:

Throughout his career, John has presented more than 400 lectures on a wide range of legal topics throughout the United States and Canada. These include lectures at numerous law schools, medical colleges, hospitals, national, state and local bar associations and national, state and local brain injury associations.

Honors and Awards:

Member, Chief Judge's Committee to Improve Availability of Legal Services
Member, Chief Judge's Pro-Bono Monitoring Committee
Member, Editorial Advisory Board, James Publishing, Inc. Law Publishers Costa Mesa, California
American Association for Justice
- Wiedeman-Wysocki Citation of Excellence, 1994, 1996
New York State Trial Lawyers Association
- Award of Merit, 1990, 1994
- Award of Excellence, 1991
- President's Award, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2003
- Distinguished Service Award, 1997
- Presidential Achievement Award, 1999
- President's Service Award, 2000
- President's Award of Excellence, 2001
Honorary Board Member, Capital District Women's Bar Association Legal Project, Inc.
Listed in:
"The Best Lawyers In America" (continuously since 1985)
"Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers"
"New York's Top Lawyers"
"Who's Who in American Law"
"Who's Who in America"
"Who's Who In The World"
"Who's Who in Finance and Industry"
"Who's Who in the East"
Awarded Highest Rating (AV) by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory

Professional Associations and Memberships:

New York State Trial Lawyers Association
- Sustaining Member
- President, 1992 - 1993
- President-Elect, 1991 - 1992
- 1st Vice-President, 1990 - 1991
- 2nd Vice-President, 1989 - 1990
- Treasurer, 1988 - 1989
- Executive Committee, 1986 - 2004
- Board of Directors, 1983 - 2004
- Award of Merit, 1990, 1994
- Award of Excellence, 1991
- President's Award, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2003
- President's Achievement Award, 1999
- President's Service Award, 2000
- President's Award of Excellence, 2001
- Distinguished Service Award, 1997
- Chair, Law Day Dinner
- Chair, Key Person Committee
- Chair, Publications Committee
- Chair, Attorney Referral Committee
- Chair, Convention Committee
- Chair, Pro-Bono Committee
- Vice-Chair, Membership Committee

American Association for Justice
- Life Member
- Member, Executive Committee
1995 - 1997
- Member, Board of Governors
1990 - Present
- Member, Council of State Presidents
1991 - 1994
- State Delegate
1990
- Chair, Political Action Management Committee
1995 - 1997
- Co-Chair, Constitutional Litigation Committee
1993 - 1995
- Organization and Home Office Committee
1994 - 1995
- State Legislative Advisory Committee
1996 - 1998
- Long Range Planning Advisory Committee
1996 - 1998
- Public Affairs Committee
1995 - 1997, 2001 - Present
- Legal Affairs Committee
1993 - 1995
- State Relations Committee
1992 - 1995
- Presidents Council
1991 - 1994
- No-Fault Coordination Committee
1992 - 1995
- ATLA/ABOTA Liaison Committee
1996 - 1998
- Membership Task Force Committee
- Key Person Committee
- Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group Executive Committee, 1993 - 2001
- Wiedeman-Wysocki Citation Of Excellence, 1994, 1996

New York State Bar Association
- Sustaining Member
- Vice-Chair, Trial Lawyers Section 2004 - Present
- Secretary, Trial Lawyers Section, 2003-2004
- Treasurer, Trial Lawyers Section, 2002-2003
- Member, Executive Committee, Trial Lawyers Section, 1988 - Present
- Chair, Legislative Committee, Trial Lawyers Section, 1988 - Present
- Program Chair and Lecturer, 1986 - Present
- Member, Special Committee on Medical Malpractice, 1994 - 1995
- Member, Tort Reparations Committee, 1995 - Present

New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers
- Co-Founder

Academy of Catastrophic Injury Attorneys
- Board of Directors, 2004 - Present

Capital District Trial Lawyers Association
- Charter Member
- President, 1985 - 1986
- Vice-President, 1983 - 1985
- Treasurer, 1981 -1982
- Board of Directors, 1979 - 1981
- Program Chair and Lecturer, 1978 - Present

American Board of Trial Advocates
- Advocate
- Charter Member, Albany, NY Chapter
- Representative to the National Board of Directors

Foundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates
- Charter Senior Life Fellow

New York State Trial Lawyers Institute
- President, 1992 - 1993
- Treasurer, 1988 - 1989
- Program Chair and Lecturer, 1981 - 2004

New York State Lawyers Political Action Committee
- Chairman, 1993 - 2003
- Treasurer, 1989 - 1993
- Trustee, 1983 - 2004

American Association for Justice Political Action Committee
- Trustee, 1995 - 1998

National College of Advocacy
- Co-Founder
- Program Chair and Lecturer

Roscoe Pound Foundation

- Fellow

Trial Lawyers for Public Justice

- Sustaining Member

Civil Justice Foundation
- Champion

New Jersey Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA-NJ)
- Member
- Lecturer

Albany County Bar Association
- Sustaining Member
- Lecturer

Onondaga County Bar Association
- Sustaining Member

Northern District of New York Federal Court Bar Association
- Member

National Brain Injury Association
- Life Member

New York State Brain Injury Association
- Life Member
- 1st Vice-President, 1993 - 1995
- Board of Directors, 1992 - 1993
- Counsel, 1983 - 1985

Birth Information:

August 2, 1947, Schenectady, New York