John Burwell Garvey
Professor of Law
Director, Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program
- AB, Harvard College, cum laude
- JD, Suffolk University, cum laude
- jgarvey@piercelaw.edu
- (603) 513-5214
- Courses: Evidence, Pretrial Advocacy, DWS Negotiations, DWS Capstone
- Committees: Curriculum, Webster Scholar Oversight
Professor Garvey is the Director of the Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program. He is leading a first in the nation program for honors students which will prepare those students for admission to the bar based upon rigorous evaluation of their practical legal skills as well as substantive knowledge of the law. This program was initiated by the New Hampshire Supreme Court, and is a collaborative effort of the Court, the New Hampshire Board of Bar Examiners, the New Hampshire Bar Association and Pierce Law.
The program has already received national praise and encouragement from judges, lawyers and legal education scholars. Professor Garvey has been selected to serve on the Carnegie Foundation’s Initiative on the Future of Legal Education and has been asked to speak at national and international events regarding the Webster Scholar program.
Prior to joining Pierce Law as a full time faculty member in 2005, Professor Garvey had a long association as a member of the adjunct faculty. He has extensive teaching experience and has been a frequent presenter to lawyers and judges. He first taught Evidence at Pierce Law in 1985, and continues to teach Evidence and other courses.
In addition to his teaching experience, Professor Garvey brings to Pierce Law nearly 30 years of lessons learned in practice. He started his legal career as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps and successfully defended what is believed to be the first case of a military doctor ever charged with manslaughter arising out of the death of a patient. During his three years in the Navy, Lieutenant Garvey had a distinguished courtroom career and received both the Navy Achievement Medal and the American Bar Association Award for Professional Merit.
Upon completing his military tour in 1981, Professor Garvey joined Sulloway & Hollis, a prominent private firm in Concord, New Hampshire. During his 24 years at the firm, he devoted his time to a wide range of litigated matters, and rose to become the chair of the litigation department; his practice focused primarily on commercial litigation, plaintiff's personal injury, class actions, and medical malpractice defense. As counsel to the plaintiff in commercial and personal injury matters, he successfully handled cases that rank among the largest verdicts and settlements in New Hampshire and Vermont. He was lead counsel in a national class action, brought primarily on behalf of teachers who had invested funds in particular retirement annuities, which resulted in a 22 million dollar settlement. In addition, he was one of the original principal attorneys in the Claremont case, which made a successful state constitutional challenge to New Hampshire's method of funding the education of its children.
In addition to being an experienced trial lawyer, Professor Garvey is a well known mediator. He is the author of Mediator is an Action Noun, published in the summer 2005 edition of the New Hampshire Bar Journal. He has been recognized by his peers for his mediation skills by his selection in both Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers - where selection is limited to 5% of all lawyers.
Professor Garvey has received numerous honors during his years of practice, including the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union "Bill of Rights Award". He has been selected for Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Law, and is A/V rated by Martindale-Hubbell. He is very excited to have the opportunity to combine his teaching and practice experience in what he calls his "dream job" as the Director of the Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program.
