In his litigation practice, John has served as lead trial counsel in the areas of insurance coverage, banking defense, environmental defense, products liability actions and commercial disputes. He has successfully represented clients in jury trials and bench trials in the federal and state courts throughout Louisiana. Additionally, he has successfully represented clients in cases before the Louisiana Courts of Appeal, the Louisiana Supreme Court, and the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal.

Banking and Financial Institutions: John has represented national and state banks in lender-liability suits, R.I.C.O actions, fraud and forgery claims, negligence actions, and checking and demand deposit lawsuits including those arising under the Louisiana Commercial Code, the U.C.C., and retail banking. His financial institution litigation also includes claims involving breach of contract and commercial transactions, as well as arbitration claims brought before FINRA, the NASD and AAA.

Insurance Coverage and Defense: John routinely represents insurers and carriers in a wide variety of insurance coverage disputes including bad faith suits, professional liability claims, class action litigation, Louisiana Direct Action claims, suits against insurance agents, declaratory judgment actions, and the representation of manufacturers and distributors in products liability cases.

Environmental Defense: John’s environmental practice involves the representation of insurers, oil companies, and landowners in large scale environmental contamination cases; the defense of insurers and insureds in “legacy” lawsuits claiming pollution from prior oilfield production activities; and the representation of insurers and insureds in mass environmental toxic-tort cases.

John was admitted to practice in Louisiana in 1986. Prior to co-founding Salley, Hite, Mercer & Resor, LLC in 2004, John had been a partner at Sessions, Fishman & Nathan, LLP in New Orleans. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from the University of Virginia, and he graduated Order of the Coif and magna cum laude from the Tulane University School of Law in the top 5% of his class. He was a member of the Board of Editors of the Tulane Law Review from 1984 through 1986 and served as Notes and Comments Editor from 1985 through 1986. He wrote a case note on Federal Preemption that appeared in the Tulane Law Review. He has served on the Federal Bar Association's sub-committee on federal rule changes. John is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.