John M. Guard Is an Experienced Commercial Litigator, Who Frequently Handles a Wide Variety

Tampa Office
Tel: (813) 387-0274
Fax: (813) 387-1765

John M. Guard

Partner

John M. Guard is an experienced commercial litigator, who frequently handles a wide variety of commercial, real property, and trust litigation matters. He has tried numerous cases to verdict in both state and federal court. He also regularly assists clients with government investigations, civil investigative demands, and internal investigations relating to a wide array of alleged misconduct. His recent work includes

·  Representing at trial an individual trustee in an action seeking the premature termination of a trust and the removal of the trustee by all the beneficiaries to the trust. The court denied all relief to the beneficiaries and found the trustee's fees charged to be reasonable;

·  Securing the dismissal of a financial institution in a negligence action brought by non-customers relating to purportedly bogus wire instructions;

·  Successful defense of a more than ten million dollar negligence claim against an insurance brokerage client, including receiving partial summary judgment on the plaintiff's standing to assert representative claims; and

·  Securing a temporary restraining order on behalf of a pharmacy client against the United States Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration preventing the termination of the client's DEA registration.

Prior to joining Quarles & Brady, Mr. Guard served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. In that capacity, Mr. Guard investigated and prosecuted a wide range of criminal matters, including mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and healthcare fraud matters through trial.

Prior to serving as an Assistant United States Attorney, Mr. Guard worked for approximately seven years as an attorney at a large law firm. During that time, Mr. Guard represented telecommunications, technology, and financial institutions in a variety of commercial and consumer litigation matters, including class action defense.

Mr. Guard also served as a law clerk to the Honorable James S. Moody, Jr., United States District Court Judge for the Middle District of Florida.

Legal Services

·  Fiduciary, Trust and Probate Litigation

·  White Collar Crime and Internal Investigations

·  Trade Secrets and Unfair Competition

·  Banking & Financial Institutions

·  Litigation & Dispute Resolution

·  Financial Institutions Litigation

·  Trade Secrets

·  Professional Liability

Education and Honors

·  Tulane University School of Law (J.D., summa cum laude, 2000)

o  Order of the Coif

o  Dean Medal (highest grade point average for third year of law school)

o  George Dewey Nelson Memorial Award (highest grade point average among common law students)

o  Tulane Law Review

·  Florida State University (B.A., 1997)

o  Majors: Political Science and History

Bar Admissions

·  Florida

Court Admissions

·  U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit

·  U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida

·  U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida

Professional and Civic Activities

·  Tampa Connection (Class of 2006)

·  America Inns of Court, J. Clifford Cheatwood Inn (2005)

·  Federal Bar Association (Member)

·  Duval County Bar Association (2009–2010)

·  Hillsborough County Bar Association (2000–2009)