John Dawson is a retired partner in Foley & Lardner LLP's Milwaukee office. He served as the managing partner of the Milwaukee office from 1994 to 1999 and previously served as the national chair of the firm's Litigation Department from 1986 to 1994.
At the time of his retirement in 2005, Mr. Dawson was listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the areas of alternate dispute resolution, business litigation and First Amendment law. He currently is listed in the area of alternate dispute resolution. His practice experience encompassed a broad range of commercial litigation and regulatory issues, including technology licensing; telecommunications; dealer and distribution; libel, slander, and media law; antitrust; intellectual property and trade secret; insurance and reinsurance coverage; futures and commodities trading; and product warranty and contract liability issues.
Mr. Dawson served on the committee of State Bar members assessing for legislative introduction the Revised Uniform Arbitration Act. Reflective of his training and experience in mediation, he is named in the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution's Regional Panel of Distinguished Neutrals for the State of Wisconsin. He is the author of two published articles on mediation: "Why Mediation Works When Negotiations Don't," Wisconsin Law Journal (Dec. 2003); and "Deciding When to Mediate Business Disputes," Wisconsin Lawyer (March 2005).
From its formation in 2000 through September, 2006, Mr. Dawson served as a member of the Preliminary Review Committee of Wisconsin's Office of Lawyer Regulation upon appointment by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He presently serves on the Wisconsin Judicial Commission following Supreme Court appointment in November, 2006. Mr. Dawson chaired the Eastern District of Wisconsin Advisory Group on the Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 under appointment by the chief judge of the district.
Mr. Dawson is an adjunct professor at the Marquette University Law School, teaching a course on media law.
Mr. Dawson served as president of the Milwaukee Bar Association in 1994-1995. He received his bachelor's degree in business administration from Northwestern University in 1963. Following active duty as a junior officer in the United States Naval Reserve in 1964-1967, Mr. Dawson received his J.D. degree, with distinction, in 1970 from Duke University School of Law, where he was managing editor of the Duke Law Journal.