John H. Bryan is a civil and criminal trial attorney licensed to practice in the state and federal courts of West Virginia. His practice consists almost exclusively of litigation, with an emphasis on civil and criminal jury trials - frequently trying difficult cases to verdict. 

He was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and grew up in Melbourne, Florida. He attended Melbourne Central Catholic High School, where he helped lead the football team to an undefeated record.  He then attended the University of Central Florida after being offered a spot on the NCAA Division I football team, where he earned a degree in Political Science and was a captain of the nationally-ranked mock trial team.  He was then accepted into the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law, where he was awarded the prestigious Gressman-Pollitt Award for oral advocacy and was a member of the national moot court team. 

In his professional career, he has worked as an investigator of police misconduct for the Department of Justice, as a prosecutor in Raleigh North Carolina, and has practiced criminal defense in Durham North Carolina.  After moving to West Virginia, he declined an invitation to join one of the state's largest corporate law firms in order to represent individuals - mostly in personal injury litigation.  Since founding his own law firm, he has continued fighting big corporations, big law firms, insurance companies, as well as the state, on behalf of individuals and families in their time of need.   

He lives in Union, West Virginia, with his wife, Julie, and son, John Jr.

Licensure:

Member of State Bar of West Virginia and

United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia

Education:

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law, J.D.

University of Central Florida, B.A., Political Science

Law School/College Honors:

Eugene Gressman-Daniel Pollit Award for Outstanding Oral Advocacy

National Moot Court Competition Team

Accepted into and Practiced in Full-Year Criminal Clinic

Yale Mock Trial Tournament Champion

American Mock Trial Association National Finalist

Kilpatrick-Stockton Mock Trial Tournament Best Attorney

Experience:

Barry L. Bruce & Associates, L.C., Lewisburg, WV

Practiced primarily personal injury litigation

Wake County District Attorney's Office, Raleigh, NC

Prosecuted criminal cases in North Carolina state courts

United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division,

Special Litigation Section, Washington, D.C.

Investigated pattern or practice police misconduct, as

well as civil rights violations occurring in state jails and 

prisons located throughout the United States

UNC-Chapel Hill Criminal Clinic

Practiced criminal defense of juveniles in the state courts

of Durham, North Carolina 

Continuing Legal Education Seminars Taught:

Handling the Police Liability Claim

West Virginia law governing ciivil actions against police departments and police officers

Common liability issues in police liability cases

National Business Institute

Cases Litigated Against Most Large Law Firms in West Virginia, including:

Steptoe & Johnson, Bailey & Wyant, Pullin Fowler & Flanagan, Huddleston Bolen, Bowles Rice McDavid Graff & Love, Allen Guthrie & Thomas, Jackson Kelly, Francis Nelson & Brison, Key Casto & Cheney, Offut Nord 

Cases Litigated in Numerous West Virginia Counties, including:

Greenbrier County, Monroe County, Mercer County, Summers County, 

Fayette County, McDowell County, Kanawha County, Wayne County, 

Putnam County, Pocahontas County, Raleigh County, Berkeley County, 

and Preston County West Virginia

Memberships:

American Association for Justice, Member

(formerly American Trial Lawyers Association)

 - Member of Motor Vehicle Liability Section

 - Member of Criminal Law Section

National Rifle Association, Member

Kentucky Rifle Association, Member

Contemporary Longrifle Association, Member

National Wild Turkey Federation, Member

Union Chamber of Commerce, Member

Bluegrass Ruritan Organization, Member

Monroe Early Childhood Association, Board of Directors

Legal Assistants:

Rainy Bogdan

Suzanne Jackson