John J. McCune

John Jennings McCune was a longtime partner in the Reno office of McDonald Carano, where he was remembered as a pillar of the firm. Born March 20, 1919, the son of a Methodist minister, he attended Lawrence College and went on to the University of Michigan, from which he graduated in 1941. At Michigan he served as Student Body President and as President of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity - a pairing of honors no one before him had achieved in the same year. He returned to the University of Michigan Law School, graduating in 1949.

After law school, Mr. McCune joined what was then the largest law firm in Michigan, where one of his early assignments was serving a subpoena on Jimmy Hoffa. He also entered public life, serving two terms in the Michigan House of Representatives from 1951 to 1956. A Republican who was once asked to run for governor, he successfully sponsored 1955 legislation restricting alcoholic beverage advertising that became known as the 'McCune Bill.' He was admitted to the State Bar of Nevada on December 31, 1960.

In Nevada, Mr. McCune built a distinguished career in Reno as a longtime partner at McDonald Carano. He took pride in orchestrating the transition of his client representation to the next generation, mentoring colleagues Tim Rowe, Matt Addison, and Paul Georgeson. Fittingly, his last legal project involved labor unions and the violence that can erupt during a strike. He died on April 23, 2001.