Attorney Profile

John represents individuals, businesses, and governmental entities in civil litigation and appeals before all levels of New Hampshire state and federal courts and administrative agencies.  He also serves clients in Massachusetts where he has been licensed since 1993.

He began his career as an attorney in Washington D.C. first on Capitol Hill for the United States Senate and then with a private law firm where he represented clients in administrative appeals before federal government agencies and litigated complex civil rights and constitutional law cases in federal courts throughout the country.

John returned to New England in 1997 to join one of New Hampshire's largest law firms.  In 2002, the firm recognized John's professional achievement by promoting him from the position of Senior Associate to Officer.  John's colleagues have honored him with a BV Peer Review rating identifying him as "an attorney with an exemplary reputation and well-established practice."

In 2005, John founded Sherman & Ricker, PLLC and in 2007 established Sherman Law, PLLC located in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  John continues to counsel and represent a broad array of clients including some of the largest businesses in New Hampshire, corporate officers and executives, chiefs of police, corrections superintendents, cities and towns, planning boards, zoning boards, and municipal officials with various titles and responsibilities.

His work on behalf of local businesses includes counseling and risk management in the areas of employment and labor law.  In addition to litigating wrongful termination and sexual harassment claims, he counsels businesses on how to draft and enforce severance agreements, covenants not to compete, and non-solicitation agreements.  

Having represented zoning and planning boards for many years, John serves many of the firm's clients who need assistance in the areas of real estate, land use, and zoning.  He similarly utilizes his construction litigation background to represent homeowners, developers, contractors, and subcontractors in construction related matters such as negligent construction, failure to supervise employees, and OSHA violations. 

For many years, national insurance companies have hired John to represent their insureds in personal injury actions and also to defend the companies in bad faith, misrepresentation, breach of contract, and consumer protection act claims.  Since most personal injury cases are resolved through negotiation between an attorney and an insurance company representative, John's knowledge and understanding of the industry greatly benefits the firm's personal injury clients such as those who have experienced sexual assault, sexual abuse, traumatic brain injury, wrongful death, dog bites, and automobile accidents.

John is an honors graduate of The American University Washington College of Law (1993) and Boston College (1989). He frequently lectures in his areas of expertise and conducts loss prevention and risk management seminars for private and public entities. John is the Treasurer for the Catholic Lawyers Guild of New Hampshire and a member of numerous professional associations including the Federal Practice Section of the New Hampshire Bar, the Rockingham County Bar Association, and the New Hampshire Trial Lawyer's Association. He is admitted to practice law in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.