John DeWispelaere headshot
John DeWispelaere
Associate, Corporate Department & Vice-Chair, Sports Practice Group
Office603-628-1382
900 Elm Street
10th Floor
Manchester, NH 03101

John is a corporate transactional attorney who advises businesses and business owners on a range of transactional matters, including, proper corporate governance, entity selection and formation, complex contract drafting and review, business owner succession planning, and buy and sell side mergers and acquisition transactions. John also assists in the formation, governance, and the corporate transactions of New Hampshire charted depository banks, chartered public trust companies, chartered and un-chartered private family trust companies, and other entities licensed by the New Hampshire Banking Department.

John is the Vice-Chair of the Sports Practice Group, a practice group that assists individuals, businesses, schools, non-profit organizations, and other individuals involved in the sporting landscape. John is a subject matter expert on Name, Image and Likeness matters for both academic institutions and student-athletes. In addition to assisting schools and student-athletes in Name, Image and Likeness agreement transactions, John works with professional athletes in reviewing contracts and prospective business opportunities, and counsels’ business in the sports landscape on governance and mergers and acquisition matters.

Prior to joining McLane Middleton in 2021, John was a Hearings Examiner with the New Hampshire Banking Department where he reviewed, and assisted with, the formation, and governance of, of New Hampshire chartered depository banks, credit unions, public trust companies, and private trust companies.

John earned his J.D. from the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law (2015). In 2014, John competed in the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition and in 2015, he was the Chief Justice of the Moot Court Executive Board. John received his B.S. in Marketing and Entrepreneurial Venture Creation from the University of New Hampshire, cum laude, with a Minor in Economics (2011).

Areas of Focus

  • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Corporate Business Law
  • Sports Law
  • Public and Private Trust Companies

Admissions

  • New Hampshire
  • Massachusetts

Publications

Put the Coach on the Line: An Alternate Approach to Increasing Player Safety in the NHL,” Virginia Sports and Entertainment Law Journal, Volume 14, Issue 1.

Involvement

  • NH Bar Association – Corporation, Business and Banking Law Section, Co-Clerk
  • Member of the Friends of the Manchester Animal Shelter’s Board of Directors
  • ACG Boston Ambassador
  • Graduate of the 2023 ACG Boston Accelerator Program
  • Graduate of the 2022 Stay Work Play Rising Stars Leadership Program

Awards

  • Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch (Entertainment & Sports Law), 2024