LEGAL AND LAW-RELATED SERVICES PROVIDED BY JOHN V. McSHANE 1. FAMILY LAW. John McShane has practiced family law for nearly thirty-five years and has handled some of the most complex family law matters in Texas. He has been Board Certified in family law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1981. He was listed among the top six divorce lawyers in Dallas by D Magazine in 1995 and among the best lawyers in Dallas by D Magazine in 2001. For many years, John McShane has specialized in the complex, family law case. His firm has represented numerous sports and entertainment figures, as well as CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies. As stated by former family law client, T. Boone Pickens, “John McShane is as good as it gets in family law.” 2. COLLABORATIVE FAMILY LAW. John McShane has been one of the leaders in bringing this exciting new model of peaceful family law dispute resolution to the State of Texas. As a co-founder of the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas, John McShane has provided training to several hundred Texas lawyers in this model. Additionally, he was instrumental in obtaining passage of the first Collaborative Family Law statute in the nation during the last session of the Texas legislature. Texas Lawyer refers to John McShane as “the Godfather of Collaborative Family Law.” 3. CRIMINAL LAW. John McShane has also practiced criminal law for nearly thirty-five years. He has been Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1980. During this time, he has handled many complex criminal cases, including a number of high-profile matters. He has also written and lectured extensively on creative sentencing alternatives in criminal law. His clients include Dallas television personality Iola Johnson who states, “John McShane saved my life. The jury found me not guilty after ten minutes of deliberation. Additionally, John McShane has provided extremely wise counsel to me on personal and professional matters for over twenty-five years. I highly recommend him for any legal matter.” 4. PROFESSIONAL LICENSE DISCIPLINE CASES. Since 1980, John McShane has represented numerous dentists before the Board of Dental Examiners, physicians before the Board of Medical Examiners, and attorneys before the State Bar Grievance Committee. He has also lectured frequently on ethical matters at law schools, dental schools, and medical schools. As a former chairman of the District 6A State Bar Grievance Committee of Dallas and the District 6A Professionalism Enhancement Program Committee, John McShane has an intricate knowledge of attorney disciplinary matters. 5. CONSULTING, COACHING, LEGAL COUNSELING. On many occasions, John McShane has assisted lawyers by coaching and counseling their clients. Often the role of coach and legal counselor is not compatible with the role of aggressive trial advocate. For this reason, John McShane specializes in interfacing between lawyers and their clients, helping the clients contextualize the various strategic and tactical matters, and helping the clients gain a better perspective on the litigation. Garry Weber, former Dallas County Judge and city councilman, stated: “Just knowing him [John McShane] saved me.” Emmy Award-winning journalist Paula McClure affirms that, “He’s a person who can get through all the legal jargon and red tape, and cut right through everything to your heart and soul and pull you through.” 6. DEALING WITH LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES. For many years, one of John McShane’s subspecialties has been dealing with the legal and tactical implications of client impairment through substance abuse or mental health difficulties. Twenty years ago, John McShane developed and pioneered the “recovery defense.” This is a model of dispositional planning designed to get the impaired client into a recovery program and then use the client’s recovery in mitigation of the consequences he or she is facing in a criminal case, divorce/child custody case, or a professional license discipline case. John McShane has written and lectured extensively on this topic. His work in this area has been the subject of front page stories in the Dallas Morning News, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. This approach to these difficult issues has also been the subject of a number of television and radio programs in which John has been interviewed. 7.SETTLEMENT COUNSEL/PEACEMAKER. An unfortunate problem confronting the trial lawyer in the complex case is that due to the pressures of trial preparation, it is difficult to fully focus on meaningful settlement negotiations. This is one of the reasons settlement often occurs only on the eve of trial, after the parties have been exhausted through enormous expenditures of financial and emotional capital. With his partner, Edwin Davis, John McShane is available to contract with the parties as settlement counsel and pursue settlement on a parallel tract while trial preparations are being conducted by lead trial counsel. With the financial sophistication of Edwin Davis (who is Board Certified in Family Law and Tax Law, and licensed as a Certified Public Accountant) and the peacemaking skills of John McShane, they have been able to bring about “win-win” settlements in situations where settlement seemed impossible. District Court Judge Dee Miller stated in the ABA Journal, “He’s a great detail man and a great big-picture man. He’s a visionary and an idealist who is also thorough in exploring all the possibilities of settlement and mediation.” 8. SPECIAL MASTER. One of the more vexatious problems in complex litigation is the time and effort devoted to discovery disputes and disputes over other ancillary matters such as interim fees and fees for expert witnesses. John McShane is available to serve as a Special Master for determining discovery disputes, appropriateness of attorneys’ fees and expenses, and other matters which normally consume an inordinate amount of court time and expense in a high conflict case. In one such case, John McShane resolved discovery disputes involving thousands of documents and attorneys’ fees and expenses in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in a manner satisfactory to both sides. As stated by Mike McCurley, one of the lead attorneys in that case, “Not only did you make this case go faster and smoother, but perhaps most importantly, you gave the parties an avenue to be heard short of going to Court, issue by issue. . . . you saved these people perhaps a hundred times of what you cost them in fees.” 9. COACH/MENTOR TO ATTORNEYS. During his thirty-five-year career, John McShane has served as a coach and mentor to hundreds of attorneys. Literally every week he receives requests for advice and assistance from his colleagues. In addition to his legal Board Certifications, John McShane is a Certified Professional Coach and a Member of the International Coach Federation. He coaches lawyers on stress management, resiliency, and quality of life issues, as well as mentoring on tactical and legal matters. Don P. Jones, Division Director, Strategic Planning, of the State Bar of Texas, states that, “John McShane is one of the great, cutting-edge national and international leaders in the art of helping lawyers create higher quality lifestyles while realizing increased professional success. His seminars and speeches are dynamic, fearless and inspiring, and his individual presence is clear, conscious and healing. In short, John talks the talk and walks the walk.” Attorney Michael Meripolski states, “I wanted you to know that I benefitted a lot from the advice you gave me. My income level is going up, and my stress level is going down. Once again, thank you.” 10. SPEECHES/WORKSHOPS FOR LAWYERS AND LAW STUDENTS. John McShane is a sought after speaker at programs sponsored by bar associations, law firms, and law schools. His presentations stress ethics, high performance lawyering, and reclaiming joy in the practice of law. As stated by Professor Bruce Winnick, who has sponsored John McShane’s speeches at the University of Miami Law School, “John McShane is a spellbinding speaker.” The Law Offices of John V. McShane, P.C.
8350 N. Central Expy., Suite 1200
Dallas, Texas 75206
Phone: (214) 365-9007
Fax: (214) 365-9030
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Copyright © 2009 by The Law Offices of John V. McShane, P.C. All rights reserved. You may reproduce materials available at this site for your own personal use and for non-commercial distribution. All copies must include this copyright statement.
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