John E. Selent

Of Counsel

Nothing is more exciting to John than working closely with a client who’s growing or starting a business. He relishes counseling business owners and watching as the ideas in which they’ve invested themselves flourish into profitable entities with growing workforces that provide for their communities.

A past member of Dinsmore’s Board of Directors, John focuses his practice on public utility and banking regulatory, with a special emphasis on telecommunications. He frequently represents clients in regulatory and commercial disputes before state and federal courts, state public utility commissions, and other administrative agencies. He also provides counsel with respect to regulatory and general corporate matters arising in the conduct of commercial operations in the telecommunications, energy, and banking industries.

John is presently chairman of the firm’s Opinion and Audit Letter Review Committee, vice-chairman of the Diversity Committee, facilitator of the Firm’s LGBTQ Affinity Group known as In Law & Equity, and was formerly the managing partner of the Louisville office.

Credentials

Education

University of Notre Dame Law School (J.D., 1980)

Bellarmine College (B.A., 1977)

Bar admissions

  • Kentucky

Court admissions

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky

Affiliations and memberships

  • Current
    • American Bar Association
    • Kentucky Bar Association
    • Louisville Bar Association, Board member, co-chair, Diversity & Inclusion Committee
    • Louisville Bar Foundation, president
    • Electric Cooperative Bar Association
    • Federal Communications Bar Association
    • Frazier History Museum, Board member
    • Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District, Board member
    • Holy Cross High School, Board of Directors
    • Louisville Youth Group, Board of Directors
  • Former
    • University of Louisville, Antitrust Law, adjunct professor
    • Bellarmine University, Board of Overseers
    • Urban Renewal Committee of the City of Louisville, past member and chairman
    • Kentucky Public Service Commission, Tariff Regulation Advisory Group
    • Actors Theatre of Louisville, Board of Directors
    • Legal Aid Society, chairman, 2016 Justice for All Campaign

Distinctions

  • Peer Review Rated AV in Martindale-Hubbell
  • Best Lawyers®
    • “Lawyer of the Year” in Louisville for Communications Law (2016, 2018, 2020, 2024)
    • “Lawyer of the Year” in Louisville for Administrative/Regulatory Law (2021)
    • Administrative/Regulatory Law (2022-2024)
    • Communications Law (2022-2024)
    • Utilities Law (2024)
  • Kentucky Super Lawyers® 
    • For Utilities (2021)
  • “Top Lawyers” by Louisville Magazine (2013, 2016)
  • Louisville Bar Association, Pro Bono Service Award (2000)
  • Louisville Bar Foundation Fellow
  • Louisville Bar Association, Committee of the Year, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (202

News
  • August 21, 2025

    260 Dinsmore Attorneys Listed as 2026 Best Lawyers®, Ones to Watch

  • August 15, 2024

    250+ Dinsmore Attorneys Named 2025 Best Lawyers ®, Ones to Watch

  • August 17, 2023

    200+ Dinsmore Attorneys Named 2024 Best Lawyers®, “Ones to Watch”

  • August 17, 2023

    26 Dinsmore Attorneys Named Best Lawyers® 2024 “Lawyer of the Year”

  • August 18, 2022

    2023 Best Lawyers® List Recognizes 190 Dinsmore & Shohl Attorneys

  • August 19, 2021

    Best Lawyers® Recognizes 191 Dinsmore & Shohl Attorneys

  • March 5, 2021

    Dinsmore Helps Complete Sale of Bluegrass Cellular to Verizon Wireless

  • December 8, 2020

    Dinsmore & Shohl Attorneys Top 2021 Kentucky Super Lawyers Lists

  • August 20, 2020

    19 Dinsmore Attorneys Named ‘Lawyer of the Year’ by Best Lawyers®

  • August 20, 2020

    Best Lawyers® Recognizes 180 Dinsmore & Shohl Attorneys

Events
  • December 2, 2022

    2022 Dinsmore Annual CLE