Peter James Johnson, founding Member of Leahey & Johnson, P.C., is one of
the nation’s great trial lawyers.

Mr. Johnson has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America
since its original publication twenty years ago. He has been awarded Martindale
Hubbell’s highest rating—“AV.” His achievements have been chronicled in
publications such as The New York Times, Manhattan Lawyer, and the New York
Law Journal, which described him in a profile as the “standard setter” for
civil trial lawyers in New York courts.

“For many attorneys,” continues the profile in the Law Journal, “there is no
higher compliment than to call another attorney 'a Pete Johnson.’”

Known as the “trial lawyer’s trial lawyer” for his charismatic presentations,
incisive preparation, and strong impact on juries, Mr. Johnson has an unparalleled
record of success in handling and trying lawsuits and appeals involving complex
matters, personal injury, wrongful deaths, and corporate disputes.

Mr. Johnson has served as president of the Brooklyn-Manhattan Trial Lawyers
Association and as a member of the Governor’s Judicial Screening Panel. A fre-
quent lecturer to law schools and bar associations, he is a member of the Associ-
ation of the Bar of the City of New York, a member of the American Judicature
Society, and a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is the
recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from Manhattan College and
in 2005 received the Community Leadership Award from New York
Downtown Hospital.

He authored an insightful and prophetic study on the New York City criminal
justice system, which became the model for later reform of the system. He success-
fully defended, pro bono, the proposed 42nd Street Development Project from
constitutional challenges brought by adult bookstore owners. Mr. Johnson was also
appointed by the Mayor of the City of New York to serve on a Blue Ribbon
commission to investigate the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation
and recommend changes to improve healthcare delivery for New Yorkers.

A graduate of La Salle Academy and St. John’s University and Law School, Peter
served as a United States Marine in World War II and was wounded during the assault
on Iwo Jima. After a year in service hospitals, he returned home to life as a New York
City police officer by day and a law student by night. After graduation, he opened a
small office on Broad Street and began to serve clients—many of whom were once
his neighbors or were from working-class neighborhoods like the one he grew up in.
He developed the preeminent litigation law firm in the city at its current Wall Street
location.

A longtime Knight of Malta, Mr. Johnson has served as a trustee of La Salle Academy
and of Our Lady of Victory Church in Lower Manhattan. He and his family, through
The Johnson Foundation, are supporters of a variety of educational, medical,
and cultural endeavors.

 

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