John Gianoulakis has two major areas of concentration. One is as a trial lawyer in Business Litigation. The second is in representing public school districts, both as a counselor on a wide variety of issues from employee and student problems to the Open Meeting Law and Civil Rights and Constitutional issues, and as a trial lawyer.

As a trial lawyer, Mr. Gianoulakis has tried approximately 50 cases (both jury and non-jury) to conclusion in federal and state courts and has argued approximately 30 cases in various appellate courts in the Midwest. He has represented defendants in employment discrimination cases and legal malpractice cases and has been involved in a wide variety of other litigation on covenants not to compete, property disputes, blighting and tax increment financing cases, contractual disputes, an antitrust case, trust litigation, wrongful termination of employees and distributors and defense of class actions.

Mr. Gianoulakis was attorney for the relator in the qui tam whistleblower case that resulted in the largest fraud settlement ever reached by the United States in Eastern Missouri.

Mr. Gianoulakis has also served as independent counsel in making an investigation and report to several entities and has served as a sole arbitrator, an arbitrator on a panel of three arbitrators and a mediator in a wide variety of disputes.

Areas of Practice

• Litigation

  • Legal Malpractice Defense

  • Appellate Practice

• Education Law

• Employment Law

Education

• Harvard Law School, J.D.

• Washington University, A.B.

Bar Admissions

• Missouri

• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

• U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th, 7th and 6th Circuits

Professional Associations, Memberships & Honors

• Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers

• The Missouri Bar (Chairman, School Law Committee, 1979-1980)

• American Bar Association

• The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis

• Member, 22nd Judicial Circuit Bar Committee, 1977-1985

• Member, Board of Directors, 1972-1981, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, Inc., Vice-President, 1976-1978 and President, 1978-1980

• Member, Washington University Board of Trustees (ex-officio), 2001-2003

• Vice Chair, 2000; Executive Vice Chair, 2001 and Chair, 2002-2003, Washington University Alumni Board of Governors.

• Member, University City Board of Education, 1970-1976, Vice-President, 1970-1971 and President, 1971-1973, 1975-1976

• Adjunct Professor of Law, Washington University School of Law, 1987

• Phi Beta Kappa

• Recipient, Washington University Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2000

• Recipient, Washington University Founder's Day 2005 Distinguished Alumnus Award

• Listed in Chambers USA 2005 (America's Leading Lawyers for Business)

• Listed in Best Lawyers in America in Commercial Litigation and Legal Malpractice Defense

Selected Publications and Presentations

• CLE presentations on Employment Law, Education Law and Civil Trial Practice and author of several articles on Employment Law and the St. Louis Desegregation case.