Johnson

J.R. Johnson advises and advocates in matters involving governmental authority, constitutional claims, and complex regulatory disputes, representing both private parties and public entities. A former Executive Director and General Counsel of the Texas Ethics Commission, he brings deep knowledge of Texas campaign finance, lobby, and governmental ethics laws and counsels clients at the intersection of public policy, compliance, and litigation.

• Governmental Litigation
• Government Relations
• White Collar, Compliance & Government Investigations
• Election & Campaign Finance
• Commercial Litigation
• Intellectual Property Litigation

J.R. Johnson focuses his practice on government and constitutional litigation, with particular experience in disputes involving the scope of governmental authority, regulated political activity, and the intersection of public policy and private rights. He represents both private parties and governmental entities in high-stakes matters involving constitutional claims, challenges to state action, and complex regulatory disputes.

As former Executive Director and General Counsel of the Texas Ethics Commission, J.R. led the state agency charged with enforcing Texas’s campaign finance, lobbying, and personal financial disclosure statutes. In that role, he advised the Commission on enforcement proceedings, statutory interpretation, rulemaking, and constitutional questions arising under the First Amendment and related provisions. He also directed the agency’s legislative affairs and worked closely with lawmakers on proposed statutory amendments and regulatory reforms.

Drawing on that experience, J.R. advises clients navigating compliance with Texas political law and provides strategic counsel on issues involving campaign finance, lobbying regulation, and governmental ethics requirements. J.R.’s practice also includes government relations work at the intersection of public policy and litigation. He counsels clients on rulemaking challenges, government procurement disputes, and regulatory investigations, and he provides strategic guidance where administrative process, legislative action, and litigation risk converge.

In addition to his government-focused work, J.R. has experience representing plaintiffs and defendants in complex commercial disputes, including matters involving intellectual property, fiduciary duties, and contractual rights.

• Governmental and Constitutional Litigation
  • Advised and supported defense the Texas Ethics Commission in high-profile constitutional challenges brought in connection with the Commission’s enforcement of lobbyist registration and campaign finance laws. These matters included claims that the Commission’s authority violated the separation-of-powers provision and infringed on First Amendment rights, with courts upholding the Commission’s constitutional authority and enforcement powers through multiple stages of litigation.
  • Representing a private party in pending litigation against a Texas state agency and its executive head challenging the scope of agency authority. The case involves ultra vires claims and related administrative-law issues concerning whether executive officials acted beyond their statutory authority, and presents significant questions regarding the limits of agency power under Texas law.
  • Advises regulated entities and other private parties regarding the Texas Public Information Act at all stages of the process. This work includes drafting public information requests, preparing and reviewing briefing to the Office of the Attorney General, intervening on behalf of third parties to protect proprietary or confidential information, and pursuing or defending litigation to seek the disclosure or non-disclosure of records held by governmental entities.
  • Representing a large public educational institution in ongoing litigation challenging the constitutionality of recently enacted Texas statutes on First Amendment grounds. These matters involve claims concerning the scope of governmental authority to regulate speech and expressive activity within public institutions, and require coordination of trial and appellate strategy in complex, high-visibility constitutional disputes.
• Commercial Litigation
  • Excluded plaintiffs’ expert testimony in a nine-figure securities fraud suit against a Fortune 500 telecommunications company, resulting in a take-nothing verdict.
  • Represented more than 80 independent oil and gas producers in lawsuits related to the bankruptcy of a midstream company.
  • Helped secure nine-figure summary judgment for a children’s hospital and its co-plaintiff in a breach-of-contract suit for unpaid pharmaceutical royalties.
• Intellectual Property Litigation
  • Assisted early-web inventor and patent holder in multiple venues, including against Microsoft in the Northern District of Illinois.
  • Represented the pioneer of cellphone trade-in programs in an arbitration proceeding asserting trade secret misappropriation.
  • Excluded defendant’s expert testimony in patent infringement suit related to cellphone software, ultimately resulting in an eight-figure jury verdict.
  • Served as local patent defense counsel for Apple in the Western District of Texas.
• Texas Ethics Commission
  • Directed the operations of the TEC, a state agency with statewide enforcement jurisdiction of campaign finance and political ethics laws.
  • Secured bipartisan support for significant reforms to the TEC’s interpretation and application of state ethics laws through advisory opinions and rulemaking.
  • Advised the TEC’s appointed governing board on the resolution of hundreds of enforcement matters.
  • Developed and executed the TEC’s legislative strategy for the 87th, 88th, and 89th Regular Sessions.

• Texas, 2009
• U.S. District Courts
  • Texas: Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western
• U.S. Courts of Appeals
  • Federal Circuit

• University of Texas School of Law, J.D., 2009
• University of Chicago, B.A., with honors, 2006

• Fellow, Texas Bar Association

• Speaker, “TEC Update,” Professional Advocacy Association of Texas, December 4, 2024.
• Speaker, “They Did What? New court cases instantly impact political compliance law,” Professional Advocacy Association of Texas, September 18, 2024.
• Speaker, “Legislative and Campaign Law,” State Bar of Texas, December 14, 2023.
• Speaker, “TEC Update,” Professional Advocacy Association of Texas, December 2023.
• Speaker, “TEC Update,” Professional Advocacy Association of Texas, December 2022.

• Long Center for the Performing Arts
  • Member of the Board of Trustees, 2021-present