Theresa Viana Johnson

Before I opened my solo law practice, I was a Manager of Intellectual Property for the telecommunications corporate giant, AT&T. During my 21 year career at AT&T, I always dreamed of having my own business.  I had great jobs at AT&T - I was a technical training course developer, an instructor of communications and finally a Manager of Intellectual Property. AT&T gave me the best training available, I traveled around the country, had a lot of autonomy compared to many jobs, and worked with a lot of wonderful people.  As the years passed, I became more and more self-realized. I began to realize that I had great ability to work hard for my company, I was pretty smart, and I also had the drive and know-how to start my own business. I wasn't afraid of hard work. The only profession that ever interested me, other than marriage, motherhood and being a professional dancer, was being a lawyer. I wanted to help people.  I wanted to be free. I always loved words and I loved to analyze things. I liked taking complex information (which AT&T trained me to do) and synthesizing it into some type of cohesive framework. Words are powerful. They can bring peace. They can bring strife. I love what the Bible says in proverbs: "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh answer stirs up anger." (Proverbs 15:1) and "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver"(Psalm 25:11-13). Thus, I began diligent pursuit of my dream of becoming an international lawyer, negotiating big time complex contracts.

Having had a corporate career with AT&T, I had no real practical legal experience the day I opened my own law office.  I did not know how to do anything practical - not even how to file a lawsuit or a motion in court.  Law school does not teach you how to practice law, only how to research it or learn legal concepts and reasoning. When I finally wound up in a courtroom, I did not even know how to address the Judge or to call a witness. I used my retirement money from AT&T to support myself for the first year or two of law practice.  The day I opened my law firm, I had only one client. It was unnerving at times and certainly exhausting. For all practical purposes, I really was my own law clerk for a couple years because I entered a very different world from corporate America.

Twenty two years later, I have had many great experiences - some horrible, some beautiful, some funny. I have had some precious clients in fascinating careers and wonderful young people who worked for me and who I mentored on to their legal careers. Believe or not, for all the stress of law, there are many touching, fun and comical moments. What could be more touching than helping a foreign national become an American citizen or helping a family stay in their home, or more fun than seeing a client's great invention come to fruition, or funnier than my client who stretched out his arms to his sides and asked our receptionist "Can I copyright me?" ? That's why I love being a lawyer - it is never boring and I'm always meeting interesting people. And there are lots of opportunities to do good.

In the last 22 years, I have successfully practiced in over 10 different areas of law. Having practiced in many areas of the law often gives me a broader and more in depth understanding of a client's complicated legal situation than the understanding of some lawyers who have focused on only one area of law. 

I'm here to help you. Just call.