John is passionate about making Eastern Washington a better place to live by promoting the rule of law and solving problems.
John’s legal career spans a range of legal experiences with a heavy focus on litigation and client advice. John started his career defending municipalities in lawsuits involving personal injury, employment, and civil rights claims. Then, John had the great privilege of serving the State of Washington as an Assistant Attorney General in the area of juvenile and civil commitment litigation. Next, John worked for a federally qualified health center where he advised the organization on preventing and solving a variety of legal challenges, including employment issues. John then founded his own law firm called Selkirk Law where we specialized in employment law, business litigation, and criminal defense as a public defender for the City of Airway Heights.
John graduated cum laude from Gonzaga University School of Law in 2014. While there, John was a member of the Moot Court Honors Society, the William O. Douglas Club, and the ABA Rule of Law Initiative.
Prior to law school, from 2004-2010, John served in the U.S. Navy as a Fleet Marine Force Corpsman where he provided medical care to infantry Marines on the 31st MEU and during Operation Iraqi Freedom. John maintains a soft place in his heart for Marines and considers his service with the Marines one of the greatest professional honors of his life.
John also teaches Conflict Resolution at Whitworth University as an adjunct professor in the Political Science Department.
When not in the office, John enjoys adventures with his family, reading, coffee, fly fishing with self-tied flies, skiing, camping, photography, trying to play the guitar, and training Scout, the family doodle and bird dog. John also serves on the board of Trustees for Peak 7 Adventures, having held the position of secretary and board chairman.