Our Team
J. John Franich, Esq.
Founding Member
John was born and raised in Fairbanks, and graduated from Lathrop High School in 1971. His first years of work were as a butcher for his father at the old Quality Meats where he worked during high school, and while attending UAF where he earned his BA in 1976.
John continued his education and, in 1980, he earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of the Puget Sound. He has been an active member of the Alaska Bar Association since. He first entered into private practice and about 5 years later transitioned to advocacy for those most in need through his work for the State’s Office of Public Advocacy (OPA) where he worked for about 20 years.
John has served two terms on the State Bar’s Board of Governors, he has also served on the Mental Health Advisory Board, and the Board for the Alaska Center for Children and Adults (ACCA), and done work with the Fairbanks Alliance for the Mentally Ill.
In 2005, after retiring from OPA, John returned to private practice and established the firm, Franich Law Office, LLC. He has remained in private practice since, focusing largely on workers’ compensation and personal injury matters.
He is an advocate by nature, and has been actively litigating cases for more than 40 years. John’s appellate work has made significant impacts on our State’s laws, having taken over 150 cases before the Alaska Workers’ Compensation Appeals Commission, and nearly 50 cases before the Supreme Court for the State of Alaska, over the years.
Heather M. Brown, Esq.
Member Attorney
Heather is a member attorney with Franich Law Office, LLC practicing in the areas of criminal defense, domestic relations, probate, workers’ compensation and more.
Heather, like John, was also born and raised in Fairbanks. After graduating from Lathrop High School in Fairbanks, she earned her Bachelor’s Degree at Gonzaga University, and then earned her Juris Doctorate in 2013, from Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama.
After graduating from law school, she returned home and was admitted to the Alaska Bar Association in 2014.She first joined the firm as an intern after her first year of law school in 2011, and has stayed on with the firm since, becoming a partner in 2023.
Heather has successfully litigated many divorces and complex custody matters, including cases involving jurisdictional disputes, relocation, and allegations of child abuse, domestic violence and substance abuse. She is also an enthusiastic advocate for clients facing criminal charges, having successfully defended clients against DUI charges as well as various assault charges. She has proven to be an innovative problem-solver, and has a special knack for the art of “long-distance lawyering,” having represented several clients across the states in Alaska’s courts.
She enjoys the challenge of trial practice, and is a zealous advocate for her clients.
Robert M. Beconovich, Esq.
Of Counsel
BIO Coming soon.
