John was a Police Officer in the Northern Territory Police Force from July 1988 to January 2000. During that period he served as a Police Prosecutor, and had worked in various sections of the force, including the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), Drug Squad, Crime Cars/Tele Policing Unit, Traffic Section, Warrants and Enquiries, Firearms Section, General Duties, and Community Policing - where John sought to improve the lives of others as a lecturer on the topic of Drug and Alcohol Resistance (DARE program).

In 2000 John resigned from the Police Force to pursue his true passion of becoming a Criminal Defence Lawyer. Accordingly, he left the jurisdiction of the Northern Territory to undertake legal studies at James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland. Whilst studying to obtain his law degree in Queensland, John was purposely selected by Kariba Mina Torres Strait Island Commission to report to the Queensland Government on strategic mechanisms to prevent deaths in custody. In this capacity, John visited Stuart Prison in Townsville and spoke to indigenous and non-indigenous prisoners daily. Given that John is very easy to communicate with, open-minded, unbiased, and non-judgmental in character, those within the prison system soon gained mutual trust and respect for John. It became apparent that John was genuinely focused on equal justice for ‘all' within the boundaries of our legal system.

Having obtained his Bachelor of Laws Degree (LLB) in late 2005, in 2006 John returned to his place of origin, NSW, where he then obtained his Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (GDLP) at the College of Law in St Leonards, Sydney. Having completed the last phase of his initial legal training (PLT) at Aboriginal Legal Services (ALS) in Redfern under the direction of his Principal Solicitor (now, His Honour Magistrate …) Peter Bugden, on 15 February 2008 John was formally admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW as a Solicitor.

As a Solicitor in NSW, John initially worked as a Criminal Defence Lawyer on the South Coast of NSW before returning to Sydney to work for a criminal law firm in the city area, followed by another based in Parramatta. During that same period, on 27 July 2009, John was formally registered with the High Court of Australia (Canberra, ACT) as being a Solicitor and Barrister, able to practice in any Federal Court jurisdiction.

On 1 July 2011, having completed the Unrestricted Practicing Certificate Program for Sole Practitioners (FMRC), John then gained his unrestricted status as a Solicitor in NSW. Since 2011, John has been registered with The Law Society of NSW as being a Principal Solicitor with an unrestricted licence to practice law.

John works closely with carefully selected Barristers in NSW, and coupled with his own experience and continued enthusiasm for the study and practice of criminal law, he continues to achieve very good results for his clients as the Principal Solicitor of CATLAW (Criminal AVO Traffic Law/yers).