John P. Venzke received his B.S. degree, cum laude, with a major in government, from the University of Houston, in 1971.    In 1974, he obtained his J.D. degree, summa cum laude, from Bates College of Law at the University of Houston.  He graduated first in his class and was Managing Editor of the Houston Law Review.  He was also a member of the Order of the Barons and the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity.

Upon graduation, he was employed at a major Houston law firm in the litigation section.   Subsequently, he was a partner in a business litigation firm in Houston and then formed Gustafson & Venzke, a trial firm specializing in insurance defense work.  For several years, he practiced with his wife in the Venzke Law Firm., also a litigation firm.  From 2022 until 2023, he practiced with a trial firm in the state of Washington before joining Daw & Ray as a partner.

He has been continuously Board Certified in Civil Trial Law in Texas since 1983 and is rated AV by Martindale Hubbell.  He was elected to membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates.  He has tried more than 130 jury cases and argued more than 25 cases to state and federal appellate courts.   In addition to being licensed in Texas, he is also licensed in the state of Washington, in the federal courts for the Western District of Washington and the Southern District of Texas and the United States Supreme Court.