John Squire Drendel

John "Squire" Drendel was born in 1923 in the Carson Valley near Minden, Nevada, where he grew up during the Great Depression, attended a one-room schoolhouse, and went on to become student body president at Douglas County High School. With the support of his community, he earned admission to the University of Notre Dame. His college years were interrupted by World War II, and he served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Theater, including operations at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. After the war, he used the G.I. Bill to attend the University of Colorado and pursue his dream of practicing law before returning to northern Nevada.

Drendel built a distinguished career as a personal injury attorney, partnering with William O. "Bud" Bradley to open a firm in northern Nevada that endures today as Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney. Alongside James Boccardo and Bud Bradley, he obtained what was then the largest plaintiff's verdict in the country - more than $3 million in Bush v. General Electric Co., 88 Nev. 360 (1968) - a defective products decision that Nevada lawyers continue to rely on. He was recognized for his commitment to civil rights advocacy beginning in the 1960s and continuing throughout his life.

Over his career he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Nevada Trial Lawyers Association, was named a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, and was recognized by Best Lawyers in America for more than 30 years. The Reno Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates now presents the "John 'Squire' Drendel Civility Award," honoring integrity, honesty, and civility in the profession. He passed away on February 15, 2024, at the age of 100, surrounded by family, remembered as a devoted family man, an avid outdoorsman, and a supporter of the arts.