John G Horn, a partner at Harter Secrest & Emery LLP, is a go-to expert for complex commercial disputes. His specializations in construction, Indian law, and environmental matters have led to precedent-setting cases in both the New York Court of Appeals and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Recent cases include navigating a complex multi-million dollar real property dispute between a tribal gaming corporation and a developer, as well as representing a sovereign Indian Nation in a nine-figure dispute with New York State.
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Profile
Work Department
Litigation
Position
Partner
Career
John Horn advocates. He has handled complex commercial, construction, Indian law, and environmental matters throughout New York State and beyond. Whether at trial, on appeal, or in a boardroom or virtual arbitration hearing, John has spent more than 20 years making the case for his clients—tirelessly, creatively, and successfully. A former federal court law clerk, John is equally adept leading litigation teams and serving as knowledgeable local counsel.
Among John’s most notable litigation achievements has been making new contract, environmental, and land use law in the New York Court of Appeals and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. But equally important to him are his service from 2009 to 2023 as Partner-in-Charge of the firm’s Buffalo office, his current role as Harter Secrest & Emery’s Inclusion and Equity Committee Chair, and his decades of volunteer work for community and civic organizations throughout Western New York.
Memberships
- Director, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo
- Member, Diversity & Inclusion Council, Buffalo Niagara Partnership
- Life Fellow, The New York Bar Foundation
- Director, Minority Bar Foundation
- Member, Bar Association of Erie County
- Member, New York State Bar Association
- Member and Mentor, Minority Bar Association of Western New York
- Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America-Trial Lawyer Honorary Society
Education
- 1998, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, J.D., cum laude
- 1995, Northwestern University, M.A.
- 1989, University of Rochester, B.A.
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