PROFILE OF EINAR WILLIAM JOHNSON;
OWNER AND FOUNDER
OF JOHNSON AND ASSOCIATES
A highly successful, seasoned and experienced attorney for over thirty years, Einar Wm. Johnson was born in Fontana, California in 1955.
After excelling both academically, in competitive Speech and Debate, and in other co-curricular activities at Fontana High School, in 1973, Mr. Johnson was accepted for admission to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah and was awarded a scholarship by BYU's Speech Department for participation on BYU's speech and debate team. (Among numerous other honors and awards in High School and in competitive Speech and Debate, Mr. Johnson was named Fontana High's Outstanding Student in 1973, ranked 4th place in the State of California in Student Congress-Senate in 1973, and was awarded the then-highest honor of the National Forensics League - - the Double Ruby.)
Mr. Johnson continued to engage in competitive Speech and Debate while at BYU, winning numerous trophies and awards in competitions throughout the United States and during one of those years ranking among the top 16 college debate teams in the nation. He was honored as BYU's Outstanding Debater in 1974 and 1980 and was a member of Kappa Tau Alpha -- the Communications Department's Honor Society. Mr. Johnson received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Speech Communication in 1980, minoring in English and Political Science and graduating cum laude. While attending BYU Mr. Johnson also worked as a manager at Ortho Mattress in Orem, Utah. He was thereafter employed as BYU's Assistant Debate Coach from August 1979 to June 1980.
From October 1974 to October 1976, Mr. Johnson took a break from his college education to serve a two year full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. Mr. Johnson met his wife Cindy in 1973, while attending BYU, and the two were married in 1976 upon his return from his missionary service. They have been blessed with six sons, one of whom passed away at birth, and the other five of which have now achieved adulthood, with all but one married. They have also been blessed with one grandson and one granddaughter.
Upon graduating from BYU, Mr. Johnson was admitted to J. Reuben Clark Law School in Provo, Utah. While in law school, Mr. Johnson published a Comment with the BYU Law Review entitled Unscrambling the Broadcast Status of Over-the-Air Subscription Television under 47 U.S. Section 605, 1982-3 BYU Law Review 695. Mr. Johnson also received the Dean's Cup for Best Oralist at the law school qualifying him to be a member of BYU's National Moot Court Team and received various honors on the team including semi-finalist at the National Regional Moot Court Competition. Mr. Johnson was also awarded the law school's prestigious A. H. Christensen Award for Excellence in Advocacy. He also excelled academically at the law school, being honored for top grade in various classes and graduating cum laude in the top ten percent of his class. Mr. Johnson received his Juris Doctor in 1983.
Mr. Johnson was admitted to practice in the State of California in 1983. He commenced private practice in 1984, after completing a one year clerkship for the Honorable A. Sherman Christensen, United States District Court for the Central District of Utah and U. S. Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals.
From 1984 to 1989 Mr. Johnson was a business litigation associate at the law firm of Smith & Hilbig in Torrance, California, acting as lead counsel in business litigation cases of all sizes, including in the muliple six digit and seven digit range, and including complex and highly charged matters, both in the State and Federal judiciaries. Mr. Johnson also engaged in appellate practice at Smith & Hilbig. As an Associate Mr. Johnson also received training, and performed services, in business transactions matters, including general business issues and real property issues, as well as in other areas such as probate and estate planning. As a Senior Associate, Mr. Johnson assisted in training less experienced associates and also directed the activities of other associates working with him on his litigations. Smith & Hilbig represented very sophisticated and successful clientele, including large corporations, real property investors, and banks.
Mr. Johnson became a partner at Smith & Hilbig on January 1, 1990, continuing on with practice areas he dealt with as an associate, but with primary emphasis on litigation. As a partner, Mr. Johnson co-directed the litigation department of the firm which comprised about 12 attorneys at its peak. Mr. Johnson continued to train less experienced attorneys in his role as a partner. Mr. Johnson engaged in the same type of litigation and transaction matters while at Smith & Hilbig, as are listed as areas of practice for Johnson And Associates on the Practice Areas page of this site.
While at Smith & Hilbig, both as a partner and as an associate, Mr. Johnson was a very successful and well-respected litigator, maintaining a very favorable win/loss record and achieving favorable settlements in cases in the six and seven digit range. Mr.Johnson recovered millions for Smith & Hilbig's clients, including in large and complex cases. Such successes included recovery of several million dollars on defaulted bank loans and recovery of over $4,000,000 in an attorney malpractice action. The firm grew substantially during the years that Mr. Johnson was a partner and associate, in part due to the excellent client representation provided by Mr. Johnson and his exemplary skills and hard work and dedication. While at Smith & Hilbig, Mr. Johnson was inducted into the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. He was made an Honoree in Who's Who in American Law, commencing in 1990.
Mr. Johnson resigned his partnership at Smith & Hilbig on October 13, 1993. and established his own law office known as Johnson And Associates, on October 14, 1993, engaging in the same types of legal matters he handled at Smith & Hilbig. Mr. Johnson built a very substantial client base after establishing Johnson And Associates by providing highly effective and personalized legal service at very competitive rates. He has continued to recover millions for his clients and has continued to maintain a highly impressive win/loss and favorable settlement record in cases with disputes in the six to eight digit range. By way of example, Mr. Johnson has recovered millions for his bank and lending clientele, obtained a judgment in excess of $1,500,000 in a construction defect/breach of construction contract claim, against Alex Madonna of San Luis Obispo, and has recently obtained a judgment for one of his clients for about $20,000,000 after all appeals were exhausted, in a case involving theft of a business and various business torts and trade secret issues. Mr. Johnson, throughout his career has litigated against some of the top law firms in the nation. Mr. Johnson also continues to practice in transactions matters (see Practice Areas page), probate and trust administration and some estate planning (Wills and Trusts). A few years ago he was also engaged as an expert consultant in a malicious prosecution case. His experience and skills make him an effective expert witness and consultant in attorney malfeasance actions, malicious prosecution cases, and attorney fee dispute cases and he is available to serve in such expert capacities.
As the owner and founder of Johnson And Associates, Mr. Johnson provided extensive training to both attorney and non-attorney employees and has successfully directed the affairs of the office. Under his direction, satisfied clientele have returned for more business and have referred others.
Mr. Johnson is also a licensed real estate broker.
Mr. Johnson has also continued to act on his passion for Speech and Debate. He is a volunteer coach of Speech and Debate at two local high schools, presided for several years over the Los Angeles area for state and local high school speech and debate competitions (the Western Bay Forensics League), serves on the state board for the California High School Speech Association, and previously served as volunteer legal counsel for the California High School Speech Association. His teams have been successful at a local, state, and national level and he has received the honor from the National Forensics League of Two Diamond Coach. He has trained and mentored other coaches and was an active participant in the establishment of a speech and debate program at each of the four high schools in the Torrance Unified School District, Torrance, California.
At bottom line, Mr. Johnson is a highly aggressive, highly pragmatic, highly articulate, highly respected, and highly successful professional who pursues everything in which he engages with dedication and enthusiasm. Mr. Johnson has compassion for his clients and does not view the law as simply a business, but as a service tailored to help businesses and individuals through difficult times and struggles.