Frank James Johnson

Mr. Johnson is one of the founding partners of Johnson & Weaver, LLP. Prior to starting his own law firm, Mr. Johnson was a partner in the law firm Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, a full-service Am Law 100 law firm with more than 600 attorneys in sixteen offices located throughout the world. Mr. Johnson has represented some of the largest well-known companies in the country in complex business disputes. He has conducted both jury and non-jury trials in state and federal court.

Areas of Practice

Mr. Johnson’s practice focuses on complex litigation. Mr. Johnson has extensive experience in all aspects of trial practice, mediation, trial preparation, and non-jury and jury trials in state and federal court. In addition to his general trial practice, Mr. Johnson has both prosecuted and defended a number of cases involving securities fraud in class actions and derivative cases.

Professional Qualifications and Activities

Mr. Johnson was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1994. He has an AV rating with Martindale-Hubble which indicates very high to preeminent legal ability and very high ethical standards as established by confidential opinions from members of the Bar.
Client/Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbard

He is currently admitted in good standing with the following courts:

– All courts of the State of California
– The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
– The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
– The United States District Courts for the Southern and Central Districts of California
– The United States Court of Federal Claims

Mr. Johnson is also a member of the following professional organizations

– The American Bar Association
– The San Diego County Bar Association
– The Federal Bar Association
– The Litigation Section of the State Bar of California
– SD Regional Chamber of Commerce, Vice Chair Tech Comm. (2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05)

Mr. Johnson completed the following trial advocacy programs

– San Diego County District Attorney one-month misdemeanor jury trial program
– Louis M. Welsh American Inn of Court, one year program
– San Diego Inn of Court College of Advocacy, multi-week trial course
– San Diego Inn of Court College of Advocacy, multi-week evidence course

Following graduation from law school in 1994, Mr. Johnson served as a judicial law clerk for one year for the Honorable John S. Rhoades, a federal trial judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.

Education and Awards

Mr. Johnson received his Juris Doctorate degree from Washington University School of Law in 1994, where he was in the top 10% of his class while in attendance. In his first year of law school, Mr. Johnson received the American Jurisprudence Award in Contracts. At both Washington University School of Law and the University of San Diego School of Law (where Mr. Johnson was a visiting student in his third year), Mr. Johnson won first place awards in each school’s Moot Court Competition. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from San Diego State University in 1990, where he graduated second in his class major, with honors and summa cum laude.