Home Office
1012 Mullins Lane
Louisville, KY 40245
(502) 262-3300
| Experience | Years |
|---|---|
| Attorney, John Baumann, Attorney-at-Law | 2010-Current |
| Practice focused upon representing individuals who have been discriminated against by their employer. In addition, employment law for employers including defense of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charges, Department of Labor audits (Fair Labor Standards Act on overtime exemptions), National Labor Relations unfair practice charges and all other employment-related issues. | |
| Of Counsel, Ferreri & Fogle law firm | 2009-Current |
| Complementing the firm's employment law, workers' compensation, risk management, and insurance law defense practice, John Baumann offers a series of workplace proactive prevention programs specifically for employers including, among others, harassment prevention (sexual and all other forms of unlawful harassment), union avoidance (prior to any secret union card campaign) and workplace injury reducton. | |
| General Counsel & Secretary (Former HR Manager), Steel Technologies Inc. | 1996-2008 |
| Promoted from Corporate Counsel in 1996 to Counsel/Secretary/Human Resources Manager in 1997 to General Counsel & Secretary in 2001 overseeing a three-person legal department. Designated Executive Officer in 2007. Responsible for closing of five acquisitions resulting in growth from 7 plants with $300M in sales to 25 plants with over $1.3B in sales. Negotiated legal aspects, and responsible for SEC and DOJ acceptance, of $532M sale agreement to Mitsui and successfully completed closing in 2007. Major Contributions: • Established, implemented and maintained Proactive Prevention program at corporate office and plants. • Identified and obtained over $2M in government incentives and state tax savings. • Successfully obtained recovery of $500k in 12 year-old written-off collection suit. • Brought and recovered $750k in design defect lawsuit despite unfavorable contract terms. • Completed successful Secondary Offering and Private Placement raising $97M. • Instrumental in development of, and long-time executive officer of, offshore captive insurance co-op which grew from 12 to over 200 member companies and saved the company a total of over $5M in premiums. • Implemented corporate structure reorganizations resulting in over $2M in state tax savings. • Responsible for legal aspects of SOX compliance including Code of Conduct and whistleblower. • Instituted program of union avoidance resulting in no campaigns since 1999. • Successful campaign resulting in the decertification of union at plant near Gary, Indiana. • Through various joint ventures, experience with international as well as certified minority companies. • Created environmental compliance program for 15 plants. • Strategy formulation and hands-on participation in the successful resolution of all company lawsuits including arguing before the Sixth and Seventh Circuit Federal Courts of Appeals. • Drafted annual Proxy Statements as well as a Shareholder Rights Plan and a Restricted Stock Plan approved by the Board of Directors and adopted by shareholder resolution. | |
| Assistant General Counsel, Tosco Corporation | 1993-1996 |
| Created law department for start-up company following the $700M purchase of a New Jersey refinery from Exxon including negotiation of successor agreement with Teamsters resulting in significantly reduced workforce. Addressed several patent issues related to the transition of the refinery from Exxon to Tosco. | |
| Attorney, Exxon Corporation | 1986-1996 |
| Trial Attorney, Houston, TX Judgment of $2,400,000 obtained and collected for a counterclaim in a strategically critical lawsuit. Trial attorney assigned to property damage, personal injury, antitrust, and Jones Act cases. Assisted Professor Charles Allan Wright, author of Wright & Miller treatise series, in Fifth Circuit Oral Argument. Oil and Gas Attorney, New Orleans, LA Successfully unitized contested natural gas field in Jackson, Mississippi. Drafted legislation in Mississippi that was adopted into law. Refinery Attorney, Linden, NJ Closed $700M sale of environmentally-sensitive oil refinery in New Jersey. Successfully handled two NLRB hearings and several arbitrations against the Teamsters. | |
| School | Focus | Degree | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cornell University | J.D. | 1986 | |
| University of Massachusetts - Amherst | Management | B.B.A. | 1982 |
| Honors: Summa Cum Laude | |||
| Location | Years |
|---|---|
| Texas | Since 1986 |
| Kentucky | Since 1994 |
| Activity | Organization | Start Year | End Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | JK Success Enterprises LLC | 2008 | |
| Details: A legal/management inspirational/educational speaker/consulting firm. Our focus is on workplace proactive prevention programs (harassment, union and injury) and conducting leadership/management and other skills training (success, negotiation and dealing with adversity) emphasizing humanistic values as critical components of maintaining an organizationâs healthy culture while, in the process, enhancing the bottom line. Available for interactive presentations, more interactive workshops, and consulting. See our updated websites at LearnSuccessToday.com, ProactivePreventionCulture.com and TheInspiringEsquire.com | |||
| Adjunct Professor | University of Louisville | 2006 | |
| Details: UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, Louisville, KY 2006-Present, Commercial Law 301, Legal Environment of Business, 2010-2011: Teaching five classes with a total of 250 students. | |||
| Advisory Director | Thorntons, Inc. | 2002 | 2008 |
| Award | Organization | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Most Inspiring Professor | Scholar Athlete Recognision Dinner | 2009 |
| The scholar athlete of the year selected John Baumann as her most inspiring professor. | ||
| Position | Years |
|---|---|
| Chairman of the Board, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Kentucky Chapter | 2004-Current |
| Activities: Grant wishes to children with life-threatening conditions. | |
| Director, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce | 2004-2008 |
| Title | Publisher | Published |
|---|---|---|
| Learn Negotiation Today | ||
| University of Louisville | ||
| Learn Success Today | ||
| BB&T, University of Louisville, others | ||
| Proactive Prevention | ||
| Kentucky Bar Association, Marcus Evans General Counsel Summit, ALFA seminar | ||
| Remaining Non-Union | ||
| Kentucky Chamber of Commerce | ||
| Adopt a Proactive Prevention Program and Enhance Bottom Line Profits | American Management Association | January, 2010 |
| Can anything really be done to actually prevent workplace harassment, prevent union card campaigns and reduce injuries? The answer may be seen in the example of one company with 15 steel processing plants and 1,500 employees, of which 1,200 are on industrial plant floors. You would expect this type of organization to be involved with several harassment lawsuits per year. With a typical settlement likely to conservatively be in excess of $100,000 and the typical defense attorney fees to be an even higher amount, the unnecessary expense is substantial. However, since 1999, this organization has experienced no employment-related lawsuits. Throw into the mix a diverse workforce (various religions, races, and national origins), and add women working on the plant floor, the record becomes even more impressive. Even more incredible is the fact that these plants are not limited to traditionally non-litigious locations, but this company’s largest plants are in Detroit, Cleveland, northern Indiana and Ohio. This organization also had two of its plants vote in a union in 1995. From 1998 to 1999, unions also obtained enough cards for an election to be held in two additional plants. In 1999, this organization won the election in one plant, the union withdrew before the election in the other, and the employees decertified one of the 1995 elected unions. This was all done at great expense, not only in dollars, but also in employee time, productivity, and morale. Since 1999, this organization has been subjected to no union card campaigns. In 1999, this organization recorded 300 workers compensation claims. Ten years later, with 50% more employees, there were less than 70 claims filed. That's over 200 to 500 injuries that did not happen. Real live people that went home to their families intact and could work the next day. | ||
| Videos |
|---|
 Football StoryIntensity: Focused Passion story from Learn Success Today talk John Baumann tells the football story. To learn more about John Baumann visit ... |
 John Baumann, "Proactive Prevention" - Part 2 of 2Proactive Prevention Corporate House Counsel Speech John Baumann Presents "Proactive Prevention" to the Kentucky Bar Association. Part 2 of 2 |
 John BaumannProactive Workplace Harassment Prevention Programs John talks about the three topics he covers in presentations, his expertise, and successes. |
 John BaumannTangible Takeaways from Learn Success Today John Baumann talks about what he wants people to get from his presentations. |
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