John Bell is a native of central Ohio. He attended Miami University of Ohio from 1977 through 1980 and received a B.A. in psychology. He then attended the University of Cincinnati College of Law and was awarded his J.D. in March 1984. He was admitted in to the Ohio Bar in May 1984 and the Tennessee Bar in 1995. Apart from a short stint as a Managing Attorney and Project Director in a Tennessee Legal Aid office and a Senior Attorney in a legal aid support office, he has been in the private, solo practice of law since his admission.

His practice primarily serves a Hispanic clientele, often in Immigration Court and family courts. He is General Counsel, pro bono, to the Ohio S.P.C.A., Inc., three County Humane Societies and several animal rescue charities.

He is probably best known for using the Consumer Sales Practices Act to close down an Eastern Ohio puppy mill, and Mandamus actions to compel county animal shelters to comply with the Revised Code, and to end the use of "gassing" as a method of euthanasia.