John Thomas Burns Jr

PRO

John Thomas Burns Jr

4.1
Rating: 9.5

Licensed for 33 years

Divorce and separation Lawyer at Burnsville, MN
Practice Areas: Divorce & Separation, Family, Child Custody ... +2 more

14300 Nicollet Court, Suite 200, Burnsville, MN

Free Consultation

About John

Biography

Practice limited to family law for over twenty years.

One of the most respected and experienced family law attorneys in the state of Minnesota.

Practice Areas

5

Practice Areas

Divorce and Separation 30%

Practice limited to and includes all areas of family law including alimony, adoption, child custody, child support, divorce/separation, antenuptuals/prenuptuals. One of the most experienced family law appellate lawyers in the state of Minnesota with over 60 cases argued to the MN Court of Appeals and MN Supreme Court.

34 years | 3,000 cases

30%
Child Custody 25%

25%
Family 25%

25%
Appeals 10%

10%
Child Support 10%

10%

Fees and Rates

Cost

Free Consultation

$0 first 30 minutes


Payment Methods

  • Cash
  • Check
  • Credit Card

Awards

Client's Choice
Client's Choice
2014
Distinguished Peer Review Rating

Licenses

Licensed in Minnesota for 33 years

State: Minnesota

Acquired: 1992

Authorized to Practice

No misconduct found

Location

Burns Law Office

14300 Nicollet Court, Suite 200, Burnsville, MN, 55306-8329

jburnslaw.com

Online Presence

Other places you can find John online.

John Thomas Burns Jr's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

4.1 /5.0

28 Client Reviews

Filter Avvo Reviews (28) Refine reviews to match your needs. Use the filters to quickly surface reviews that align with your case or priorities.

Showing 1 - 5 of 6 reviews | 1 star

Posted by Sam | November 18, 2024 | Hired Attorney | Divorce & Separation

HORRIBLE - AVOID AT ALL COSTS

Horrible ill-informed attorney and a confidence man. Does weekly zoom meetings without a reason except to bill. Does not even know the basics of divorce law - forced OC to file a motion because he did not know how discovery works. He almost completely messed up my case - luckily he got fired befo...re the trial, when he could not answer some basic questions I asked him. He hires his cronies who also know about as less as he does about the law. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

John Burns

Replied last November 23, 2024

Vibhu: Your misleading review comes as no surprise. You threatened to defame me when I fired you as a client. Hopefully, your now 3rd or 4th attorney will have more patience with your unreasonable behavior and lack of integrity. Best of luck. John Burns

Posted by Cheyanne | April 22, 2024 | Hired Attorney | Divorce & Separation

Disorganized and inattentive

I hired John last year for a post decree modification. He quoted me roughly 5-7 thousand dollars. My total bill at the end of my court case was 11,000. I understand that things can happen/ change . I’m not as upset about the money as I am with the service he and his staff provided. From start to fini...sh he worked with me for about 8 months on my case and despite having that much time to get organized he and his staff waited until 2 hours before my affidavit was to be submitted to the courts to send me a rough draft .. at work . The rough draft was incorrect. I made the changes needed and sent it back . The second rough draft was still incorrect and I explained in my email what needed to be changed . I was told not to worry about it and John could change things at my court date . As it was 10 minutes to 5:00pm , which was the deadline, there was nothing I could do . My emails were not replied to in a timely manner however if any financials needed to be discussed my emails were replied to within 10-15 minutes. My case did not go in my favor . I don’t expect my attorney to care about me or my life . I do expect him and his staff to do their job to the best of their ability. At $450.00 an hour I deserve that and did not feel I received that . I would NOT recommend John Burns to anyone.

Posted by Kimberly | September 30, 2022 | Hired Attorney | Child Custody

Egocentric, Two Faced and Cold Hearted

John Burns cares nothing about you, your family or Veterans. John Burns is kicking me to the curb as a client of more than a year, within weeks of my court date because I can’t afford to give him another $5000. I’m a resident of Florida and just went through Hurricane Ian. John could care less. He ha...s taken over $20,000 from me and I have not gotten anything in return besides credit card debt. John may argue the fact that my son is back with me, but that is only temporary. Everything John makes happen has an expiration date, so he can make more money. I asked John for some pro-bono work, he said NO!. I have no debt with Burns Law Office and when asked for a few hours of his time he says no. After all the monies given, and you say NO. You are a piece of work. As a sit and read through the reviews I am noticing similarities. It appears John runs everyone’s retainer dry instantly. Like one gal said, he and Ben are double dipping. I can see this. And another person said John burns up your money with his so called video conferences and he has no clue about anything with you case makes you do all the work, does not read any emails sent or their attachments This is from personal experience. John is not an attorney you can count on. He makes false promises, kicks Veteran families to the curb and is full of greed. When we retained John we asked him if he does anything for Veterans, John said no, but he comes from a Veteran family and will fight as hard as he can for us. If he was from a Veterans' family, he should know better. John has kicked a Veteran family to the curb. John does not care about you or your situation. John kicked us to curb after the worst natural disaster to hit the country, how easy will it be for him to kick you to the curb? TO MY FELLOW VETERANS, RUN AND DON’T LOOK BACK. I know there are better attorneys out there, take your time a read all the reviews. Someone with the power to investigate or audit this firm should do so. Multiple people have said something about the double dipping. Do not retain John Burns, Exit from the page when you have finished reading this.

Posted by Benard | August 08, 2022 | Hired Attorney

Expensive and unreliable.

Milked me for all my money while he sat in his home in Texas. Kept telling me things that sounded good but no action, he left all the work on to his assistant Ben, who didn't complete anything and has an awful attitude. Waste of time and money, my life is worse now because of my the decision to reta...in John Burns Jr, I regret it everyday. DO NOT RECOMMEND.

John Burns

Replied last August 22, 2022

Mr. Lockhart: Your review is inaccurate. You missed the part about not providing me with all of the documents and updates I said I needed to effectively represent you. And, the fact that your lack of follow-through left me with no choice but to withdraw as your counsel (even though you wanted me to continue to represent you). The Court Orders tell the rest of the story. Frankly, I would not want to represent another client like you who does not take an active role in their own case.

Posted by anonymous | May 11, 2018 | Hired Attorney | Lawsuits & Disputes

DO NOT WORK WITH THIS GUY!!

After more than five years and over 18,000$ later, I finally wized up! He will swoon you with his ONE framed Award on the wall, a nice suit and a smirking smile- but please listen to me. He won't care about You,ONLY YOUR MONEY! The man is heartless and incompetent. Takes days to return your calls. D...ouble dips you with his Assistant and clearly has a hard time winning a case. I'm so sorry to all of the people I reffered to him. If you make the mistake of hiring him,make sure you review your itemized bill, you can be certain you'll find mistakes. In my eyes- an arrogant man making money from the vulnerable poor people

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John Thomas Burns Jr's Lawyer Endorsements

Endorse John
Howard I Bass headshot
Howard Bass

Divorce and separation lawyer | Nov 17

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I wholeheartedly endorse this attorney. John is one of the best family lawyers in Minnesota. I met him many years ago as an adversary and his tenacious representation of his client immediately earned my respect. Since then I have referred countless clients to him and consistently receive positive feedback about his representation. If you need a family lawyer, I strongly encourage you to contact John Burns."

Christopher J. Burns headshot
Christopher Burns

Family lawyer | Nov 13

Relationship: Family member

"John is a well respected divorce attorney who has done a very good job zealously advocating for the clients I have referred to him. I endorse John and will continue to encourage friends and referral sources to send family law matters in the south metro to him as well."

View All Endorsements
Christopher Joseph Burns headshot
Christopher Burns

Divorce and separation lawyer

Howard I Bass headshot
Howard Bass

Criminal defense lawyer

Experience

Rating:  9.5 (Superb)

Honors

2020

Distinguished, Martindale-Hubbell

2015

BV Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

2014

BV Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

2014

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2014

Clients Choice, AVVO

2006

Dakota County Hero's Award, Legal Aid of Dakota County

2004

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2003

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2003

Who's Who in American Law, Law & Politics Magazine

Work Experience

1996 - 1998

Partner, Sheridan & Burns

1994 - 1996

Partner, Knutson, Stier, Earley, Knutson, Sheridan & Burns

1994 - 2024

Owner, Burns Law Office

1992 - 1994

Lawyer, McMenomy, Hanson & McCann

1990 - 1992

law clerk, Indiana Supreme Court

Associations

2004 - Present

Dakota County Bar Association

Board of Directors

1993 - Present

First Judicial District Ethics Committee

Member

1992 - Present

First Judicial District Bar Association

Member

1992 - Present

Minnesota State Bar Association

Member

1992 - Present

American Bar Association

Member

2004 - 2006

Dakota County Bar Association

President

2000 - 2002

First Judicial District Bar Association

President

Sample of Legal Cases

Anne Heaney v. Bruce Heaney

Court of Appeals reversed award of custody to wife.

Heather McGraw v. Timothy McGraw

Court of Appeals reversed extension of Parenting Consultant's term.

Mary Myhre vs. Steven Myhre

Court of Appeals reversed awards of spousal maintenence, child support and attorney's fees and remanded the case back to the District Court for further proceedings.

See More Legal Cases

Education

1992

Indiana University School of Law

JD - Juris Doctor

1989

Minnesota State University, Mankato

BA - Bachelor of Arts

Speaking Engagements

2014

Litigation & Alternative Disputes Seminar

Practitioners Guide to Navigating Early Neutral Process

2007

Minnesota Family Law Las Vegas Seminar

Trends in Family Law

2006

Minnesota Family Law Brainerd Seminar

Trends in Minnesota Family Law

Publications

2013

Burns Law Blog Who Keeps the House

Languages

English

Activity

Avvo Rating

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Avvo Rating Levels
10.0 - 9.0 Superb8.9 - 8.0 Excellent7.9 - 7.0 Very Good6.9 - 6.0 Good5.9 - 5.0 Average4.9 - 4.0 Concern3.9 - 3.0 Caution2.9 - 2.0 Strong Caution1.9 - 1.0 Extreme Caution