John DeGroote

John DeGroote

Dallas, TX recognized lawyers icon Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2022
DeGroote Partners LLC

1 Best Lawyers award

DeGroote Partners LLC logo

Awarded Practice Areas

Mediation

Biography

In complex business, technology, and intellectual property matters involving parties and interests around the country and beyond, John DeGroote has served as a mediator and arbitrator in significant disputes since 2013. His experience as a litigator, corporate counsel and business executive brings rare and valuable perspective to dispute resolution.

Mr. DeGroote previously served as chief litigation counsel to KPMG Consulting, LLC/BearingPoint, Inc., a $3 billion global consulting firm with as many as 17,000 employees, for over eight years. He later became the company’s chief legal officer and, ultimately, its president. Prior to KPMG Consulting, John practiced with a nationally known litigation boutique and a major Texas law firm, representing plaintiffs and defendants in complex commercial and intellectual property litigation matters.

In 2009, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York appointed Mr. DeGroote to serve as the liquidating trustee to the BearingPoint, Inc. Liquidating Trust. In the time since, he has been appointed and retained to manage various estates, claims, and special situations around the country. He has served as lead settlement negotiator in hundreds of cases, mediating and negotiating settlements on behalf of corporate and individual clients in more than 20 states.

Mr. DeGroote graduated from the Duke University School of Law in 1990. Before that, he received his B.A. from Mississippi State University in 1986. He received his mediation training from Pepperdine University’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution in 2005 and arbitration training from the AAA in 2012.

DeGroote Partners LLC

1 Best Lawyers award

DeGroote Partners LLC logo

Overview

  • Duke University, J.D., graduated 1990
  • Mississippi State University, B.A., graduated 1990

  • Texas, State Bar of Texas

  • American College of Civil Trial Mediators - Member
  • Association of Attorney-Mediators - Member
  • Dallas Bar Association - ADR Section - Past Chair
  • Duke Law School Alumni Association Board of Directors - Past Chair
  • Duke Law School Future Forum - Past Chair
  • Dwell with Dignity Foundation - Past Director
  • General Counsel Forum, Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter - Past Chair
  • National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals - Member
  • National Litigation Committee, Association of Corporate Counsel - Past Chair
  • St. John’s Episcopal School Board of Trustees - Past Trustee
  • State Bar of Texas - ADR Section - Past Chair
  • Texas Bar Foundation - Life Fellow

  • United States Supreme Court
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
  • United States District & Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
  • Texas, State Bar of Texas
  • American College of Civil Trial Mediators - Member
  • Association of Attorney-Mediators - Member
  • Dallas Bar Association - ADR Section - Past Chair
  • Duke Law School Alumni Association Board of Directors - Past Chair
  • Duke Law School Future Forum - Past Chair
  • Dwell with Dignity Foundation - Past Director
  • General Counsel Forum, Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter - Past Chair
  • National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals - Member
  • National Litigation Committee, Association of Corporate Counsel - Past Chair
  • St. John’s Episcopal School Board of Trustees - Past Trustee
  • State Bar of Texas - ADR Section - Past Chair
  • Texas Bar Foundation - Life Fellow
  • Duke University, J.D., graduated 1990
  • Mississippi State University, B.A., graduated 1990
  • United States Supreme Court
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
  • United States District & Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia

Client Testimonials

Awards & Focus

Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2024 - Mediation
Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers® for:
  • Mediation, Dallas/Fort Worth (2024)
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 for work in:
  • Mediation
Awards:
  • Best Lawyers in America, 2022-2026

  • Texas Super Lawyers, 2006, 2018-2025

  • Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America, 2020
  • Global Leader: Mediation, Who's Who Legal
  • Best Lawyers in Dallas by D Magazine
  • Inaugural Member, ADR Champions List, The National Law Journal
  • Lawdragon 500 Hall of Fame

Additional Information

  • Past Professional Memberships
  • Past Chair, State Bar of Texas ADR Section
  • Past Chair, Dallas Bar Association ADR Section
  • Past Chair, National Litigation Committee, Association of Corporate Counsel
  • Past Chair, General Counsel Forum, Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter
  • Past Chair, Duke Law School Alumni Association Board of Directors
  • Past Chair, Duke Law School Future Forum
  • Past Chair, Texas Attorney-Mediators Coalition
  • Past Trustee, St. John’s Episcopal School Board of Trustees
  • Past Director, Dwell with Dignity Foundation
  • Scholarly Lectures/Writings
  • "Missed Opportunities and More: 3 Mediators' Perspectives on Advocacy at Mediation," Dallas Bar Association (March 2019)(Panelist).
  • "The Mediator's Proposal - An Advanced User's Guide," TexasBarCLE (January 2019) and ABA Committee on Women in Dispute Resolution (October 2018).
  • "What I Wish My Mediators Knew," ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Webinar (March 2017) (Moderator).
  • "Mediation 4.0: Using Technology and Neuroscience to Improve Outcomes", TexasBarCLE Webcast (April 2016)(Co-Presenter).
  • "Making the Best of a Bad Situation: Successful Strategies for a Bankruptcy Mediation", Dallas Bar Association ADR Section (January 2016) (Moderator).
  • Early Case Assessments, in Inside Counsel: Practices, Strategies, and Insights, 307-318 (Marc I. Sternberg and Stephen B. Yeager, 2015).
  • Negotiation, Mediation and Settlement, in Texas Litigator’s Guide to Departing Employee Cases, 129-46 (Mark A. Shank, 2014).
  • High-Low Agreements and More: Definitive Tools to Break Impasse in Mediation, in Definitive Creative Impasse-Breaking Techniques in Mediation, 177-94 (New York State Bar Association, 2011).
  • Special Licenses/Certifications
  • Commercial Panel Member, American Arbitration Association

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