Carin Leanne Johnson

Carin and her associate Jesse were extremely helpful in our successful attempt to secure custody of our 9 mo. old grand daughter. If you are attempting to obtain custody be prepared for the long haul, the system moves slowly so be bring your patience. Carin and Jessie advised us of this in the begi...nning and were very good at keeping us going forward and not getting bogged down. Both were very professional while being human at the same time and we have no qualms in recommending them to anyone having an issue in the Juvenile arena.

I have hired Carin Johnson to represent clients of mine on several cases. We jointly represented the same client on different aspects of their legal issue. Her specialty is juvenile dependency and she was advising myself and my clients on how to coordinate the juvenile dependency and criminal cases... to get the best overall outcomes for our clients. She is intelligent, honest and compassionate. Carin is my "go to" attorney for dependency law cases.

The way I met Carin was kind of serendipitous. I had served on a jury for a drunk driving case several years prior. We were pretty sure the defendant was guilty, but the defense attorney's case was so compelling, we could not follow through with a guilty verdict. I could not but remember his name. ... Fast forward five years, and I find myself in a situation I would most rather forget. One session between my daughter and her therapist would change all our lives overnight. She opened up about her father, and the verbal abuse that came along with his alcoholism. Although he was the perpetrator, CFS viewed me as failing to protect them, and they were removed from my care without hesitation. My life had turned upside down. If there is a threshold for mental breakdown, I had blown well past it. I hunted down that impressive lawyer I'd seen in court years before, and to my surprise, his wife was also an attorney. And as luck would have it, it was Carin herself that specialized in CFS custody cases. She offered to meet with me that day and upon entering her office, I damn near collapsed at her feet. I could hardly breathe, was verbally jumbled and incomprehensible. She sat right in front of me, let me cry, but she didn't coddle me - she did have to. There is an energy about her that just makes you feel safe. She knew the right questions to ask and listened intently, like she was sussing you and the entire situation out. All the meanwhile, you can palpably hear the wheels in her head turning. She's decisive and has a clear plan of how exactly she is going to take your case on. My proceedings took six months start to finish. There seemed to be more and more unexpected turns as time went on. A lot of holy-sshht moments. She knows how to take a lead and cut right through the weeds, with her confidence in tow. You place a bomb in front of her, and she will defuse it with her bare hands. She's a bad@$$ like that. I would consider myself a high maintenance client. Whatever I threw her way, she would seem to find an accommodation to it before I even finished the sentence. "Carin, I can't handle all these people" - and just like that, she secured a private room for me ahead of each hearing. This woman is unflappable both in and out of court. If people use what they have, then Carin uses her smile, stature, and argumentative style to her (and your!) advantage. Her brain is locked and loaded in the points she wants to make, but her delivery and presentation is done in such a way that captivates the attention of the room. She is disarming and incredibly persuasive. I think a part of that is because you can see that she really believes in her clients. She fights for you with all her heart and all her might, but never comes off abrasive or pitbullish. Carin has it down to an art. All this being said, all my charges were dropped and at the end of it, the judge had only the kindest words to say about Carin and I both. We both sat without gesture, but when we walked out of our last court appearance, gave each other a hug and massive high five. With all due respect, I never want to see her again (HA), but should you ever need an intelligent, strategic lawyer who makes you feel like she REALLY has your back, Carin's your girl.

I think I have stopped and started writing this review, about 500 times. Only because my words and feelings cannot express the amount of gratitude, love and respect, my family and I have for Carin. My court appointed lawyer recommended her, about 2 months into my case with CPS. Having my lawyer give ...up in the beginning of the fight of my life, was heartbreaking. But I am so thankful she did. The amount of fear and anxiety I had, was unimaginable. Meeting Carin for the first time, talking to her and telling her everything, was easy. It was organic. She provided vital information, that I never knew about. She had a way of telling me like it is, only facts, and never strayed from the truth regardless of how hard it was to hear. She knew how important it was for me, to regain my children. Carin guided me the entire way. I stuck to everything I was advised to do and did it with acceptance and appreciation. Her confidence, knowledge, wit, and heart, gave me hope, strength,and strength to fight a fight I couldn't believe was reality. It hasn't been very long since my case has been closed. I am a changed person from who I was several months ago, but I am stronger and I owe a lot of that to Carin. She didn't just fight for me, she also brought my family closer and we have become a united front for my children. I still and probably forever, will be brought to tears when I look back at what she's done for us. To me, she's more than a lawyer. During the hard times, she was my leader and my protector. Now, she's my hero, and someone I admire. With the unfortunate events, she is apart of my story and my kids', but every time I look at my children, I think of her. We will forever be grateful for the hard work and time, Carin put in. Life may different, and may have took turns I didnt expect. But Carin, brought it back full circle.

I hired Carin for a recent dependency case on the advice of my court appointed attorney, and it was the best advice that I have ever taken. Dependency law is a very specialized and sensitive area of law and Carin is an absolute expert in this area. She made herself available to meet with me after hou...rs the same day that I called her due to the time sensitivity of the case. She carefully explained the entire process to me and made sure that I understood exactly what to expect each step along the way. She stayed in constant contact with me throughout the entire case, including nights and weekends, even on her own birthday. The quality that sets her so high above the rest is her compassion – she took my case personally. I felt that she was more than my attorney, I felt that she was my family. She fought for me and my daughter as if we were her own. She doesn’t take on clients for their money, she takes on clients because she feels strongly about advocating for the reunification of families, especially when the parents are wrongly accused. My case didn’t go to trial, and I am 100% confident that if it weren’t for Carin, we would not have had the same outcome. I owe everything to her – she saved my family!