P: 636-532-0042
jnations@dubllc.com

John Nations has more than thirty-five years of experience helping businesses and individuals solve legal and planning issues ranging from the common to the complex.  His passion for helping people achieve their goals has led to his representation of employers both large and small as well as helping families and their businesses achieve their goals and dreams.

A leading economic development lawyer, his practice involves solving complex legal and financial issues to bring developments and job creation to reality.  He represents clients of all kinds and sizes in land use and zoning solutions, special financial districts and solutions, negotiating contracts and complex deal and financial structures, as well as appearing in front of public boards and commissions from the local to federal levels.  He has negotiated deals on every level from local zoning boards and city councils to state Governors and departments, and to federal cabinet secretaries and departments.  He is able to use his extensive experience to help bring success to some of the most difficult challenges in real estate and business development.

In business law, he helps clients form companies, finance their operations, acquire businesses and real estate, comply with a myriad of regulatory issues, as well as help them plan for succession in management and ownership.

He is also the founder and CEO of The Polaris Strategies Group, LLC, a lobbying and government relations firm which advocates for clients in certain situations at the local, state, and federal levels of government.

John has served his community in many ways over more than thirty years.  A native St. Louisan, he served three terms as Mayor of Chesterfield and eight years as President and CEO of Bi-State Development.  He has also served on many civic and philanthropic Boards over the years including as a Commissioner for the Missouri History Museum, First State Bank Advisory Board, East-West Gateway Council of Governments, the Mosaic Project, the Regional Chamber, St. Louis Municipal League, HEC Television, Operation Food Search, Logos School, the Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce, and many others.  In addition, he was the founder of the St. Louis Regional Freightway, which supports and promotes freight and logistics opportunities in the St. Louis region and has been responsible for bringing significant new infrastructure investment to the region.

Prior to his election as Mayor, Nations served as President of the Chesterfield Community Development Corporation which led the recovery efforts after the devastating flood of the Chesterfield Valley in 1993 and as Chair of the Chesterfield Valley Tax Increment Financing Commission which financed the massive infrastructure improvements necessary to create an attractive investment environment after the flood.  He also served Chesterfield as a Planning Commissioner and as a member of the City Council.

Nations was educated in St. Louis.  He graduated from the University of Missouri–St. Louis with degrees in Public Administration and Business and received his law degree from Saint Louis University School of Law. He is a member of The Missouri Bar.

Of the many recognitions he has received over his career, in 2011, UMSL recognized him as one of their Distinguished Alumni.  In 2023, Webster Groves High School inducted him into its Wall of Fame. He has been named one of the most Influential St. Louisans multiple times by the St. Louis Business Journal and has received many awards from public and private entities.

He has been recognized as a Preeminent Lawyer by Martindale-Hubbel for nearly thirty years and as a Best Lawyer In America in real estate.