John Cayley is a North Dakota native and 1985 graduate of the University of North Dakota School of Law. He graduated from the North Dakota State University College of Pharmacy in 1979 and practiced pharmacy thereafter, on a full-time basis prior to law school. Since beginning his legal career in 1986 Mr. Cayley has specialized in the defense of health care providers.

From 1988 until joining Schmid & Voiles in 2003, Mr. Cayley was with the Los Angeles law firm of Rushfeldt, Shelley & Drake, representing doctors and Hospitals in a variety of cases including birth injury, wrongful death, emergency medicine, and elder abuse, among others.