About John P.
John P. Burns returned to formal study a decade after earning his bachelor’s degree. He received a B.A. in Political Science from Monmouth University in 1958 and later earned his J.D. from Western State University College of Law in 1977. Those credentials bookend an unusual educational path that preceded a long career in trial work.
He established his practice in 1981 as the owner of The Law Offices of John P. Burns/Calton & Burns, L.L.P. Over the years the firm handled cases in state and federal court. Burns is admitted to practice in California and before the Ninth Circuit, and he has maintained an active presence in litigation circles since forming his practice.
Trial skills are a clear through line in his training. He holds a diploma certificate from the National College of Trial Advocacy and completed certified mediator training at Pepperdine University in Malibu. Those qualifications reflect time spent in both adversarial settings and alternative dispute resolution forums.
Burns has taken several leadership roles in local and statewide trial lawyer organizations. He served in multiple officer positions for the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association from 1996 through 2000, including secretary, treasurer, vice president and then president. He was president of the association in the year 2000. His organizational work overlapped with long-standing memberships in consumer-oriented bar groups: he has been a member of Consumer Lawyers of San Diego since 1985 and Consumer Lawyers of Los Angeles since 1990. He also joined the Consumer Lawyers of California in 1981 and the American Association for Justice the same year, participating in its Aviation Section.
Colleagues and adversaries describe Burns as a courtroom lawyer who returned repeatedly to trial practice and professional association service. He maintained connections to continuing education and peer networks that kept his trial work current, rather than moving into purely transactional or administrative roles.
In recent years he continued to be listed as the principal of his firm and to participate in cases that required trial-level advocacy or mediation. His career spans decades of civil litigation practice in California courts and federal appellate work in the Ninth Circuit. He currently practices civil trial litigation in California and before the Ninth Circuit, handling consumer and aviation-related cases.
