John H. Sullivan, President
John H. Sullivan has headed the Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC) since 1995. He oversees a lobbying, research, and appellate program that is supported by a broad group of businesses, individuals, and local government groups.
Sullivan launched CJAC’s comprehensive legal and legislative work to reform the state Unfair Competition Law (Business and Professions Code 17200). In 2001-2002 he organized the research and planning that led to the initiative campaign “Californians to Stop Shakedown Lawsuits — Yes on 64,” and co-chaired the campaign that won passage of Proposition 64 by a solid 59% to 41% margin on the November 2004 statewide ballot.
Sullivan chaired a civil justice working group for newly-elected Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, developing a set of short and longer-term legal reform options for the new Administration.
In early 2009 he was appointed by California Chief Justice Ron George to the Steering Committee of the California Commission on Impartial Courts, a group charged with developing proposals to protect and enhance the independence of the California judiciary.
Sullivan was a co-chair of the 2000 referendum campaign (Proposition 30-31) that blocked a law to re-establish costly third-party insurance litigation.
He was a co-chair of the successful 1996 campaign against Proposition 211, the California initiative sponsored by plaintiffs’ securities lawyers, and also chaired the campaign that defeated Proposition 207, which would have locked into law a generous contingency fee system.
He was an advisor to Governor Pete Wilson’s Council on California Competitiveness, whose investigation included a review of excessive legal costs. Sullivan has received the American Tort Reform Association’s “Civil Justice Achievement Award.” From 2001 to 2006 he served on the ATRA board of directors.
Sullivan served two-and-a-half years as chief deputy director of the state Department of Fish and Game in the early 1990s and from 1986 to 1991 was Undersecretary of the state Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency.
He served on the post-election transition teams of both former Governor Pete Wilson and former Governor George Deukmejian.
Sullivan was legal counsel and legislative director for the California Taxpayers’ Association from 1977 to 1986. He is a journalism graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and worked in the newspaper and public relations fields before earning a law degree at the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law. He has served as a director of the Sacramento Symphony Orchestra and has received the President’s Award from California Fly Fishers Unlimited for conservation work on the American River in Northern California.
He is married to Dr. April Halliday-Sullivan, a Sacramento area veterinarian.