Mr James W. Johnson > Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP > New York, United States > Lawyer Profile

Mr James W. Johnson

212-907-0859 jjohnson@labaton.com View profile View profile

Work Department

Securities Litigation

Position

Partner

Career

James W. Johnson is a Partner in the New York office of Labaton Sucharow LLP.  Jim focuses on complex securities fraud cases. In addition to his active caseload, Jim holds a variety of leadership positions within the Firm, including serving on the Firm’s Executive Committee.  He also serves as the Firm’s Executive Partner overseeing firm-wide issues.

Jim has been recognized by Lawdragon as one of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America” and one of the country’s top “Plaintiff Financial Lawyers,” and Benchmark Litigation has named him a “Litigation Star.” He has also received a rating of AV Preeminent from the publishers of the Martindale-Hubbell directory.

In representing investors who have been victimized by securities fraud and breaches of fiduciary responsibility, Jim’s advocacy has resulted in record recoveries for wronged investors.  Currently, he is prosecuting the high-profile case against financial industry leader Goldman Sachs—In re Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. Securities Litigation.

A recognized leader in his field, Jim has successfully litigated a number of complex securities and RICO class actions including: In re Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. Securities Litigation ($275 million settlement with Bear Stearns Companies, plus a $19.9 million settlement with Deloitte & Touche LLP, Bear Stearns’ outside auditor); In re HealthSouth Corp. Securities Litigation ($671 million settlement); Eastwood Enterprises LLC v. Farha et al. (WellCare Securities Litigation) ($200 million settlement); In re Bristol Myers Squibb Co. Securities Litigation ($185 million settlement), in which the court also approved significant corporate governance reforms and recognized plaintiff’s counsel as “extremely skilled and efficient”; In re Amgen Inc. Securities Litigation ($95 million settlement); In re National Health Laboratories, Inc. Securities Litigation, which resulted in a recovery of $80 million in the federal action and a related state court derivative action; In re Vesta Insurance Group, Inc. Securities Litigation ($79 million settlement); and In re SCANA Securities Litigation ($192.5 million settlement).

In County of Suffolk v. Long Island Lighting Co., Jim represented the plaintiff in a RICO class action, securing a jury verdict after a two-month trial that resulted in a $400 million settlement.  The Second Circuit quoted the trial judge, Honorable Jack B. Weinstein, as stating “counsel [has] done a superb job [and] tried this case as well as I have ever seen any case tried.” On behalf of the Chugach Native Americans, he also assisted in prosecuting environmental damage claims resulting from the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Memberships

Jim is a Member of the American Bar Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, where he served on the Federal Courts Committee.  He is also a Fellow in the Litigation Council of America and a Member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Law and Economic Policy.

Education

New York University School of Law
J.D., 1980

Fairfield University
B.A., 1977