About Leigh Johnson

Background: Ms. Johnson has a long history of providing critical services to clients. She served five years in the United States Air Force as a Mobile Combat Specialist providing critical communications behind unfriendly lines. She was an Air Traffic Controller for 12 years providing radar control for aircraft into and out of the three major Bay Area airports, and she worked 7 years as a Biological Scientist assisting in the production of high grade pharmaceuticals for people with congenital defects, such as Hemophilia and Alpha One deficiencies. Ms. Johnson has learned to thrive in challenging environments. She has a proven history of working under extreme pressure and in very stressful conditions. She is highly skilled in working with populations in need of precise and immediate action. She is able to provide calm and professional assistance in a variety of situations. She draws from a wealth of prior experience in order to provide exceptional services to her clients.

Education: Ms. Johnson has a Certificate in Substance Abuse Counseling and an Associate degree in Social Work from Merritt College, Oakland (Highest Honors); a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from California State University, Hayward (Golden Key Honor Society); and a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from John F. Kennedy University School of Law, Orinda, California (Cum Laude).

Strategy: Ms. Johnson is skilled in assisting and facilitating her clients in reclaiming their power, healing their pain, and moving forward with their lives. Her approach to lawyering is the utilization of various methods, such as conflict resolution, human dynamics, and psychological principles which allow the parties to reach agreement and resolution. She believes it is important to treat all parties with dignity and respect while attempting to resolve issues with the least amount of litigation. However, she is willing and able to be litigious when and if the circumstances dictate.

Experience: Ms. Johnson is a strong and effective advocate. She is not your typical lawyer and can best be described as a cut above the rest. She is strong and forceful when dealing with opponents and yet has a kind and gentle disposition when dealing with people in general. She will listen to you, return your calls, and be brutally honest about whether or not you have a good case, or about the necessary actions you need to take to prevail in your case. She is always open to settlement, but she prepares for trial from the first day that your case comes into her office.
Ms. Johnson has been certified as a Specialist in Family Law by the California State Bar, Board of Legal Specialization. California attorneys who are certified as specialists must have taken and passed a written examination in their specialty field, demonstrated a high level of experience in the specialty field, fulfilled ongoing education requirements, and been favorably evaluated by other attorneys and judges familiar with their work. Ms. Johnson is also an esteemed Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, where she assists with the teaching of the Northern California Chapter’s Trial Advocacy Training.

Trial Advocacy: Ms. Johnson has completed and has taught numerous programs in Trial Advocacy. She is a graduate of Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyer’s College Basic Training and Graduate Courses. She is on Faculty at the Trial Lawyer’s College in Dubois Wyoming, where she returns several times during the year to teach trial skills to lawyers from all around the country. She has taught at the Death Penalty College where she trains lawyers representing clients in capital cases. She has taught subjects such as: opening statements, advanced trainings on voir dire and diversity in jury selection, how to do focus groups, and discovering the story. Ms. Johnson is highly skilled in conducting focus groups to find the theme and pulse of her case, and in using storytelling techniques in developing and presenting her cases. It is likely that you will have multiple focus group sessions during the life of your case. This will help us to better understand the issues in your case and allow us to discover the best way to present your case to the court.
Ms. Johnson is the facilitator of a group of over 65 trial lawyers in the Bay Area. She has confidential monthly meetings where she teaches trial skills and assists lawyers with working on their cases. This also provides an opportunity for Ms. Johnson to brainstorm and to receive feedback on her cases. So instead of having only one lawyer working on your case, you will have input from a collective group with years of experience in multiple areas of the law. This is a valuable benefit to our clients, and ensures that they will have a collaboration of some of the best legal minds in the state working on their cases.

Community Service: Ms. Johnson serves on the Board of Directors for the Contra Costa County Bar Association (CCCBA). She is the co-chair of the Education Outreach Program for CCCBA and is strongly committed to issues affecting children. Ms. Johnson is committed to making legal services available to all sectors of the population. Toward that end, she dedicates a significant portion of her practice to providing low cost/no cost legal services to individuals through the Moderate Means and Legal Aid programs.

Customer Service: Ms. Johnson is committed to the practice of law and will competently and effectively work to preserve your rights and to obtain the best results possible. Ms. Johnson will work diligently for you and will keep you informed on every aspect of your case. Her goal is to ensure that your experience with the Law Offices of Leigh E. Johnson is a pleasurable and memorable event. With Ms. Johnson as your attorney, you can truly rest assured that you have “Left Everything In Good Hands.”