Distinguished Lawyer: John A. Bailey, Jr.

July 11, 2024 by Carissa Carns

By Lindsey M. Welfley

Background & Education

John A. Bailey, Jr. was born and raised in Pocatello – for the majority of his life, Eastern Idaho has been his home base. With all that Eastern Idaho has to offer, John’s affinity for skiing kept him around perhaps longer than he intended. After graduating high school, John attended Idaho State University (“ISU”) where he received multiple degrees because he “didn’t want to quit skiing.” From ISU he received his degrees in political science and economics in 1977.

When asked about his decision to go to law school and make his way into the legal profession, John candidly says, “The truth is, I just didn’t how what I wanted to do but I didn’t want to go straight to work.” John stayed an extra year at Idaho State University for the skiing but still wasn’t entirely sure where he’d end up next. At the time, several of his friends were preparing to take the LSAT for law school admittance and John decided he’d follow along. He did well enough to get into law school and he made his way to Moscow to attend the University of Idaho College of Law. John graduated with his juris doctorate in 1980 and was admitted to the Idaho State Bar later that year.

A house divided. Photo courtesy of John Bailey.

After law school, John was given an opportunity to head back to his home base. He moved back to Pocatello to work with Lou Racine, Bill Olson, Gary Cooper, and Bob Huntley at Racine Olson, where he stayed for the next 30-some years. John remembers this time as a great career run. During his time at the firm, John worked with fellow award recipient Judge Mitch Brown as he began his own practice. John and Judge Brown have been longtime colleagues, and it is great serendipity that they are both receiving similar honors this year.

John’s next endeavor was to venture into the small firm world. John, alongside two of his colleagues at Racine Olson, F.J. Hahn and Carol Jarman, started the firm Bailey, Hahn & Jarman in 2017. They were later acquired by Hawley Troxell in 2018 and John has worked out of Hawley Troxell’s Pocatello office as a partner for the past seven years.

Throughout all this time in practice, most of John’s expertise has been focused on civil defense trial work, agricultural law cases, insurance defense, and construction defect cases, with a fair amount of plaintiff’s work when he was still with Racine Olson. John also notes that he has worked on a great deal of employment law cases nowadays – “it is a blossoming part of the practice.” In his current role with Hawley Troxell, John is the sole panel counsel in Idaho for the Officers and Directors Liability group of a major carrier in Idaho and has represented Dow Agro Science, General Motors, DuPont, and several insurance companies.[i]

 

Notable Moments & Career Accomplishments

When asked about their life’s most notable moments or career accomplishments, most recipients of these awards get a bit stumped, as our members tend to be incredibly humble despite having plenty of accomplishments of which to tell. When asked this question, John wittily remarked, “Other than passing the Bar or getting married? I have to include both of those.” Rather than dwelling on his individual accomplishments, John focuses instead on the unforgettable moments that come up when telling “old war stories” with his friends and colleagues.

Among these are two cases in particular. First, John reminisces on the Walker v. American Cyanmid Co. case. Dwight Baker talked John and outgoing Idaho State Bar President, Gary Cooper, into tackling this one and it ended up holding the record as the longest (or perhaps now the second longest) trial in Idaho, at just shy of six months. Walker Farms, a large family-operated potato farm in Eastern Idaho lost much of their crops after the use of an herbicide. John notes the monumental effort required by this case and the positive outcome in the end.

 

Judge Brown with his wife, Tricia. Photo courtesy of Judge Brown.

Second of these notable cases was another crop loss defense case, this time for Dow Chemicals (Dow Agro Science). Dow had produced a new herbicide and after spending quite a bit of money on the development of their product, they found themselves in a lawsuit on a crop loss claim. John helped defend them in this case, resulting in a favorable outcome for his client. After his successful defense, John received an award from Dow Agro Science in honor of his work on the case. He recalls, “They had a special ceremony and presented me with the award. It was a big deal to them, but I’ve never had that happen before! To be awarded something by a client.”

In addition to his notable contributions to case work, John also noted his induction into the American College of Trial Lawyers as something his has always been really proud of. He was inducted in 2018.

 

 

Role Models & Reflections

There are three main colleagues John calls to mind as heavy hitters of positive influence throughout his career – Lou Racine, Bill Olson, and Gary Cooper. Each of these colleagues were individuals who impacted and guided how John structured his own approach to the practice of law, and who were also influential in John’s personal life. John even notes his running household joke, “What would Bill do?”

When reflecting on his time practicing in Eastern Idaho, John states, “One of the cool things about this job is meeting and getting to know these farmers and contractors in Idaho.” John has spent decades developing long and positive relationships with the farmers who he calls “the salt of the earth.”

Family Life & Hobbies

John and his wife, Christine, have one daughter, Becky, and she is one of John’s paralegals. John tells the story of helping Becky get a job fighting fires in the Caribou Targee Forest: “My wife never appreciated that experience or the test on her nerves, so I had to get Becky a different job.”

Cattle ranching at Parker Ranch. Photo courtesy of John Bailey.

John spent much of his younger years coaching football and women’s soccer. He jokes that he’s not entirely sure how he had the time to do it, but he must have found a way! In addition to spending time with family, John enjoys riding anything on two wheels – particularly his mountain bikes, road bikes, and motorcycle – and golfing, though he notes that he’d never let his golf game get in the way of a nice walk through the country.

John would like to thank his family, his partners, and the Board of Commissioners.

Lindsey Welfley

Lindsey M. Welfley is the Communications Director of the Idaho State Bar, overseeing all communications-related initiatives of both the Idaho State Bar and the Idaho Law Foundation, Inc. She graduated from Grand Canyon University with her undergraduate degree in history in 2015 and has been employed with the Idaho State Bar ever since. Lindsey has been the Communications Director since March 2019.

Endnotes

[i] John A. Bailey Bio. Hawley Troxell. https://hawleytroxell.com/the-firm/people/john-a-bailey/.