John Bursch co-chairs Warner’s Appellate & Supreme Court Practice. As reported in The Wall Street Journal, John argued more than 6% of all the cases before the U.S. Supreme Court between March 2011 and the end of 2013, compiling a record that the National Law Journal observed “even more veteran high court advocates would envy.” John represents Fortune 500 companies, foreign, state, and local governments, top public officials, and industry associations in high-stakes cases with extensive publicity (see below). John participated in 30% of the U.S. Supreme Court cases that The Wall Street Journal identified as the “biggest” of last Term, and he currently represents the Estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in seeking Supreme Court review regarding intellectual property protection for Sherlock Holmes.
John has argued eight times in the U.S. Supreme Court since 2011 (argument audio available here)—five in 2013 alone—winning three Best Brief Awards for his work. He has also argued 17 Michigan Supreme Court cases, earning a record four Distinguished Brief Awards. John is a past chair of the ABA’s Council of Appellate Lawyers, has been named one of Michigan’s Top 100 attorneys by Michigan Super Lawyers, is Certified as an Appellate Specialist by the American Institute of Appellate Practice, was named a 2014 “Leader in the Law,” and is listed in Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Commercial Litigation and Appellate Practice.
John regularly provides media commentary on U.S. Supreme Court proceedings, appearing on NPR and in USA Today, among others. He is the principal author of the Michigan Supreme Court’s Guide for Counsel, co-author of the Michigan chapter in the ABA’s Appellate Practice Compendium, chapter author of the Michigan Appellate Handbook, and co-founder of Michigan’s leading appellate blog, the One Court of Justice Blog. John also recently co-founded the WNJ Appellate Practice Academy, a unique-to-Michigan institution that includes John, former Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Rick Bandstra, Justice Alton T. Davis, and other appellate experts who moot lawyers preparing for oral argument.
