John is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, and on the Roll of Legal Practitioners for the High Court of Australia. John has been admitted to practice for over 45 years, and has worked in the law for over 51 years.
John has practised in New South Wales, in the Australian Capital Territory and in Western Australia. He has been a partner in a national legal firm and has twice established his own practice. John is currently the principal of the legal firm known as "Butlers" which is based in Nedlands, Western Australia. Much of John's practice over the last 46 years has been in the areas of Business and Estate Planning, Wills & Estates, and Family Law.
John served with the Australian Army Reserve for 13 years, is a Commissioned Officer, and is presently on the Reserve of Officers. He has served in various capacities on the governing bodies and committees of a number of independent and government schools over the last 37 years.
John has been involved in owning and managing a number of small businesses over the last 35 years. John is currently a director of a number of private companies, and is involved in various projects. He has presented at, and participated in, various business workshops and seminars in Australia and overseas.
John and his wife Dianne have spent a substantial amount of their time in Asia over the last 15 years and are actively developing business relationships which will promote the interests of their clients in Australia and in Asia. They have spent the majority of their time in Asia in Singapore, Malaysia, China and Taiwan.
John believes strongly in the power of a community to create what it wants. He regularly speaks to various groups within the community. John is a member of Rotary.
He is currently the State co-ordinator for Global Energy Network Institute (GENI) an international organisation which is actively involved in energy and environmental issues. John was the President of a Chamber of Commerce.
John has served on the Board of a Counselling Agency and is keen to see clients empowered to resolve their own conflicts.
John established The Legal Connection, a service which provided recorded legal advice on audio tapes and live and recorded legal advice on a 1900 telephone service. John has also operated a number of country offices and still regularly spends time in the country seeing and acting for country clients. His aim, and the aim of all at Butlers, is to make the law more accessible, more affordable, more understandable and more human to everyone.
John is pleased to have been involved in the creation of The Australasian Lawyers' Group.
With John's current practice, he places a strong emphasis on creating a learning environment, where members of the Team can share their knowledge and enjoy learning. He has also removed the traditional hierarchical structure so as to eliminate the idea that any one person is more or less valuable than another.
The firm of Butlers is committed to optimising the use of technology and John is actively involved in developing the delivery of legal services over the Internet. Because he enthusiastically embraces technology, John enjoys the freedom of jumping on a plane with his ultra-light notebook computer and PDA, while still being available to clients and Team Members.
In summary, John's professional passions are:
- Being a part of a talented legal Team which is committed to providing the highest quality service to its clients.
- Enthusiastically using technology to assist in delivering those services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, anywhere in the world.
- Working with clients to assist them to protect and build their assets, especially through appropriate Business and Estate Planning.
- Being actively involved in small business, and developing business connections between Asia and Australia.
- Playing a part in making the law more affordable, accessible, understandable and human.
When he is not working, John's greatest pleasure is to spend quality time with his wife Dianne, his daughter, and his 3 granddaughters