John Bursch represents Fortune 500 companies, foreign and domestic governments, top public officials, and industry associations in high-profile cases, primarily on appeal. John recently argued and won his 11th U.S. Supreme Court case since 2011 (Lee v. United States)—more than all but a handful of attorneys. And he has argued 27 Michigan Supreme Court cases, including multiple arguments in seven consecutive Terms, five in the 2016-17 Term alone. John has successfully litigated hundreds of matters around the country, including five with more than $1 billion at stake. Recent victories including halting the Michigan presidential-election recount initiated by the Green Party candidate for President, a favorable Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion in an $80 million class-action dispute involving an insurance policy's pollution exclusion, and upholding the boundaries of Congressional District 23 on behalf of U.S. Congressman Will Hurd in the Texas redistricting litigation.

 

A recent study found that over the 2012-15 Terms, John's Supreme Court cert. petitions had one of the highest grant rates in the country. Another recent study included John on "a veritable who's who of Supreme Court litigators" list, with the 6th highest win rate among all lawyers with four or more 5-4 Supreme Court decisions since the 2005 Term. Overall, John has compiled a Supreme Court merits record that the National Law Journal observed "even more veteran high court advocates would envy." John's cases have involved many of the most important public-policy issues of the past decade.

 

John has been widely recognized for his advocacy.  He is one of only 7 Michigan lawyers inducted into the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, and one of only 62 Michigan attorneys serving as a Member of the American Law Institute.  John's appellate skills have resulted in repeated listings in both Michigan Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers, the latter for Appellate Litigation, Commercial Litigation, and Bet-the-Company Litigation, and the former with a cover profile.  John is also the principal author of the Michigan Supreme Court's Guide for Counsel, the Court's own manual for effective advocacy.  And he was recently recognized as a Best Lawyers 2017 Appellate Practice "Lawyer of the Year."

 

John has special expertise with federal-court consent decrees governing state executive-branch agencies.  He represented Michigan and New Jersey in those states’ lengthy renegotiations of their child-welfare consent decrees, and he advised South Carolina in its ongoing negotiations over a similar consent decree. John recently co-authored a research paper on the subject, Rethinking Consent Decrees, published by the American Enterprise Institute.

Appellate Litigation, Commercial Litigation & Bet-the-Company Litigationn