John T. Bender

John Bender is an award-winning and nationally recognized attorney who dedicates his practice to winning high-stakes legal disputes and serving as a trusted advisor to businesses, entrepreneurs, and boards navigating consequential legal, regulatory, and governance issues.

A trial-ready advocate in matters involving exposure of tens and hundreds of millions of dollars, John routinely prosecutes and defends high-stakes matters involving securities, breach of contract, partnership and shareholder disputes, corporate governance, claims of fraud embezzlement, unfair or deceptive practices or competition, class actions, franchising, real estate development, manufacturing and supply chains, and disputes over trade secrets and other intellectual property. John's work has been covered in major news publications such as TIME Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and The Seattle Times.

With deep experience in venture capital, private equity, M&A, banking and other commercial contexts, John has been entrusted with cases at the highest level of consequence. John's track record includes serving as court-appointed Special Counsel and lead trial lawyer in the two largest cases of investment fraud of record in Pacific Northwest history, where creditors asserted nearly US$1 billion in combined losses and he prevailed in establishing that the enterprises operated historic nine-figure Ponzi schemes.

John also focuses his practice on defending companies and executives against the full spectrum of government scrutiny—regulatory enforcement, parallel investigations, and internal inquiries into accounting, governance, and registration and disclosure requirements by agencies such as SEC, DFI, or state attorneys general. John is adept at navigating government inquiries toward early resolution, before an inquiry hardens into a public charge, or vigorously challenging government overreach through trial if necessary.

In 2025, John was awarded the Washington Defense Trial Lawyers Association's Outstanding Plaintiffs' Trial Lawyer of the Year Award. Benchmark Litigation has selected him to its "40 & Under List...the guide to the best and brightest litigators under 40 in the US" in back-to-back years (2024-2025). John has consistently been recognized as a leading lawyer in Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation (2026), Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America (2021-2026), and the Washington Rising Stars list (2017-2026).

John is a recognized leader and advisor at the forefront of the intersection of emerging technologies and regulated industries such as digital assets, artificial intelligence, and financial services. John's serves on the board of directors for the Washington Technology Industry Association. He is an advisory board member of Northwest Quantum Nexus. He is a member of WTIA's Cascadia Blockchain Council and served on the Washington blockchain workgroup sponsored by the Washington State Department of Commerce. He is a past volunteer and speaker for the City of Seattle's New Citizen Campaign. He is a past board member and chair of the WSBA's Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Board. He sits on King County's judicial conferencing and judicial officers survey committees.

John received a B.A. from Seattle University, a J.D. from University of Washington, and an LL.M. from the University of California, Berkeley.