Background

John C. W. Cherneski was raised in Maryland and graduated from Liberty University, in Lynchburg Virginia with a degree in English. After graduating from college, John moved to Jacksonville where he worked as a public-school teacher and in the financial services industry before returning to school to study law, something he has wanted to do since high school.  Before joining Milam Howard, John worked in a civil litigation law firm with offices in Florida and Georgia.

John is active in the state and local legal community. In 2019, he traveled to Oxford, England to attend the Advanced International Trial Advocacy Program as a recipient of the Bennett Scholarship awarded by the Trial Lawyers Section of the Florida Bar. The course is organized by the South Eastern Circuit Bar Mess Foundation and recognized as one of the best and most intensive advocacy courses in the world. There, he had the opportunity to represent the Trial Lawyers Section and learn from King’s Counsel, Judges, and exceptional barristers from around the world.

In 2023, John was selected as a fellow for The Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section (RPPTL) of The Florida Bar. John will serve as a fellow for two years.

John also serves as the Chair of the Florida Bar’s Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee for the 4th Judicial Circuit and member of the Grievance Committee for the Fourth Judicial Circuit. In addition, John was a Barrister member of the Executive Committee for the Chester Bedell American Inn of Court in Jacksonville for two years. He is also active in Jacksonville’s non-legal community and previously served on the board of directors for his church, Aspire Church San Marco, and is presently on the board of directors for The Preschool in San Marco.

In his free time, you can find John helping his wife, the owner of a wedding and event planning business, spending time with family, and enjoying the north Florida outdoors.