About John A.
John A. Lauer built a career that crosses accounting and law. He started in numbers and moved to courtrooms. That combination shapes how he approaches client matters and case analysis.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Gannon University in 1986. After college he worked as a certified public accountant at KPMG. A decade later he returned to school and received his Juris Doctor from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1996.
Lauer’s early professional life was rooted in public accounting. His time at KPMG gave him experience on audits, tax matters and financial reporting. That background informed his transition to legal practice. In 1996 he joined MacDonald, Illig, Jones & Britton as a partner, a role that placed him in a firm environment where litigation and transactional work intersect with financial issues.
He is licensed to practice in several jurisdictions. Those include Pennsylvania and Florida, and he holds admission in Georgia. He also appears before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and the United States Tax Court. That mix of state and federal admissions reflects a practice that moves between local courts and specialized federal forums.
Membership in professional groups has been a steady part of his career. He belongs to the Pennsylvania State Bar, the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Erie County Bar Association. He is also a member of the Florida Bar Association and the American Bar Association. His membership in the National Academy of Elder Law Lawyers indicates an engagement with the elder law community and the legal issues affecting older clients.
Colleagues and clients see his background in accounting as a practical asset. He brings an accountant’s attention to detail to legal filings and a lawyer’s perspective to financial problems. That dual training proves useful in tax proceedings, bankruptcy-adjacent matters, and cases where financial documentation plays a central role.
Today he practices at MacDonald, Illig, Jones & Britton. His work spans state and federal litigation and includes matters handled before the United States Tax Court.
