John R. Trentacosta was a partner in the Litigation Department at 麻豆直播 & Lardner LLP. He was actively involved in drafting and litigating contracts commonly used in the manufacturing and automotive industries. He frequently represented clients in supply chain disputes, particularly automotive and supplier鈥憁anufacturer matters in the automotive and manufacturing sectors. He was the former chair of the Detroit Litigation Department and the founder and a member of the firm鈥檚 Automotive Industry Team. He also was a member of the Commercial Transactions & Business Counseling and International Practices.
Representative Experience
John handled complex contract, UCC, and supply chain counseling and multi-million dollar litigation for numerous automotive and manufacturing companies, including:
- Autoliv ASP, Inc.
- BorgWarner, Inc.
- Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC
- Brose North America, Inc.
- Cooper-Standard Automotive Inc.
- Freudenberg North America
- General Electric Consumer & Industrial
- Harman International Industries, Inc.
- Hella Corporate Center USA, Inc.
- Inteva Products
- Johnson Controls, Inc.
- Kautex North America
- Kongsberg Automotive, Inc.
- Lear Corporation
- Nemak, S.A.
- Nexteer Automotive Corporation
- Pirelli North America, Inc.
- Textron Inc.
- TI Automotive
- Tower International
- Vari-Form Inc.
- Veoneer US, Inc
- Visteon Corporation
- Walbro LLC
- Whirlpool Corporation
- Williams International
- ZF Steering Systems LLC
Awards and Recognition
John was recognized by JD Supra鈥檚 2022 Readers Choice Awards in the Transportation category as one of the top ten authors writing about transportation on JD Supra during 2021. He was also recognized by the National Law Review as a 2021 Go鈥慣o Thought Leader in the area of Transportation Law. In 2017, John received the Stephen H. Schulman Outstanding Business Lawyer Award from the State Bar of Michigan Business Law Section and was named to BTI Consulting Group鈥檚 Client Service All鈥慡tar Team. This honor is bestowed upon individual attorneys who deliver outstanding client service, according to corporate counsel interviewed at large organizations with $1 billion or more in revenue.
John had more than 35 years of commercial, contract, and supply chain litigation experience. Having published three books in this area, he was recognized as one of Michigan鈥檚 leading experts in Article Two of the Uniform Commercial Code involving commercial transactions. In 2010, he was named a BTI Client Service All鈥慡tar, an elite group of attorneys nominated solely and exclusively by clients in BTI鈥檚 independent study as delivering the absolute best in client service.
John was peer review rated as AV Preeminent庐, the highest performance rating in the Martindale鈥慔ubbell庐 Peer Review Ratings鈩 system, and was selected for inclusion in the 2006 and 2008鈥2021 Michigan Super Lawyers庐 lists for business litigation. He was listed in the 2006 edition of Chambers USA: America鈥檚 Leading Lawyers for Business and was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America漏 beginning in 2010 in the field of commercial litigation. He was named one of the 25 Leaders in the Law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly and was also named to DBusiness magazine鈥檚 2011 list of Top Lawyers in the areas of commercial law and commercial litigation.
For more than 30 years, John was recognized as an expert in automotive and manufacturing supply chain law, having published several books on the topic and lectured at universities in the United States, Hong Kong, and Germany.
Affiliations
John was a member of the State Bar of Michigan and has served as chairperson (1995鈥96) and council member (1990鈥95) of the Business Law Section. He served as chairperson of the UCC Committee (1987-98). He was also a member of the American Bar Association, Business Law and Litigation Sections.
Presentations and Publications
Books
A respected and widely published author, John published four books in the areas of contract, UCC and supply chain law. These books include:
- Michigan Contract Law, Second Edition (Institute of Continuing Legal Education, 2013)
- Michigan Contract Law, (Institute of Continuing Legal Education, 1998)
- Michigan Legal Forms-Uniform Commercial Code (Lawyers Cooperative Publishing, 1995)
- Law of the Automotive and Manufacturing Supply Chain: A Handbook for Success (麻豆直播 & Lardner LLP, 2023)
Articles
John also published numerous articles on UCC issues and commercial litigation:
- 鈥淐ontracting for International Arbitration in the Global Supply Chain,鈥 Michigan Bar Journal (September 2018)
- 鈥淏est Practices for Drafting Supply Chain Contracts,鈥 Michigan Bar Journal (October 2017)
- 鈥淲arranty Dispute Litigation,鈥 Michigan Bar Journal (January 2017)
- 鈥淔orce Majeure Clauses: An 鈥極ut鈥 for Suppliers Facing Shortages and Supply Chain Disruptions from West Coast Labor Dispute,鈥 Dashboard Insights (February 2015)
- 鈥淒isputes in the Manufacturing Supply Chain: A Primer on Warranty and Disclaimer Law,鈥 Michigan Bar Journal (October 2014)
- 鈥淩isks and Strategies with Contracts of Indefinite Duration,鈥 Michigan Business Law Journal (Fall 2012)
- 鈥淚P Tug of War,鈥 Inside Supply Management, Vol. 22, No. 4 (May 2011)
- 鈥淐ommercial Impracticability and Fair Allocation Under UCC 2-615,鈥 Michigan Bar Journal (November 2010)
- 鈥淒rafting Effective Warranties,鈥 Inside Supply Management, Vol. 21, No. 8 (August 2010)
- 鈥淒ealing with Financially Troubled Suppliers,鈥 Material Handling Management, (July 2010)
- 鈥淩estructuring Contracts in Stressful Times: Strategies for Successful Contract Negotiations,鈥 Nonprofit World, Vol. 28, No. 3 (May/June 2010)
- 鈥淯pdate: Demands for Adequate Assurance of Performance Under the UCC in a Major Economic Downturn,鈥 The Michigan Business Law Journal, Vol. 29, Issue 3 (Fall 2009)
- 鈥淭he Much-Maligned Purchase Order: Issues, Strategies, and Solutions,鈥 Michigan Bar Journal (May 2007)
- 鈥淭echnology and Intellectual Property in Supplier Contracts: Risks and Strategies,鈥 OESA Supplier News (March 2007)
- 鈥淒emand for Adequate Assurance of Performance Under the UCC,鈥 The Michigan Business Law Journal, Vol. XXIII, Issue 1 (Spring 2003)
- 鈥淒amages in Breach of Contract Cases,鈥 Michigan Bar Journal (October 1997)
- 鈥淎nnual Survey of Michigan Law, Commercial Transactions and Contracts,鈥 The Wayne Law Review, Vol. 42, No. 2A (1996)
- 鈥淎nnual Survey of Michigan Law, Commercial Transactions and Contracts,鈥 The Wayne Law Review, Vol. 41, No. 2A (1995)
- 鈥淧erformance and Breach of Contracts Under UCC Article 2,鈥 Michigan Bar Journal (June 1995)
- 鈥淒rafting and Litigation Issues in Contract Formation,鈥 Michigan Bar Journal (July 1993)
- 鈥淓stablishing a More Efficient and Effective Relationship with Outside Litigation Counsel,鈥 The Michigan Business Law Journal, Vol. XIV, Issue 4 (July 1992)
- 鈥淒rafting Purchase Orders and Other Documents of Sale,鈥 The Michigan Business Law Journal, Vol. XIV, Issue 3 (May 1992)
- 鈥淎rticle 2 Warranties and Warranty Disclaimers,鈥 Michigan Bar Journal (March 1991)
- 鈥淯CC 2302 Unconscionability in a Commercial Setting,鈥 The Michigan Business Law Journal, Vol. XII, Issue 4 (October 1989)
- 鈥淯niform Commercial Code Recent Issues in Article 2 Law,鈥 The Michigan Business Law Journal, Vol. XI, Issue 2 (September 1988)
- 鈥淐ommercial Litigation Between Computer Vendors and Customers,鈥 Michigan Bar Journal (June 1987)
- 鈥淧rotecting Internal Review and Critical Self Analysis from Disclosure,鈥 Michigan Bar Journal (August 1986)
Academic Experience
John served on the Advisory Board for the Supply and Value Chain Center, Quinlan School of Business (MBA), Loyola University-Chicago.
John lectured at major business schools, law schools and trade associations on legal issues and strategies in the manufacturing supply chain, including:
- Michigan State University Executive MBA Program
- University of Michigan School of Law
- Shue Yan University 鈥 Hong Kong
- Loyola University Quinlan School of Business
- Indiana University-South Bend
- Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA)
- National Association of Purchasing Managers (NAPM)
- Institute of Supply Chain Management (ISM)
麻豆直播 Partners Author Automotive and Manufacturing Supply Chain Handbook
麻豆直播 Automotive Report
