Johnson

J.R. Johnson advises and represents businesses, governmental entities, and political organizations in matters involving legislative or agency action, regulatory implementation, procurement, public information laws, government investigations, and disputes concerning the scope of public authority.

• Governmental Litigation
• Administrative & Regulatory Law
• Election & Campaign Finance
• Government Relations
• White Collar, Compliance & Government Investigations
• Commercial Litigation

J.R.’s practice focuses on disputes arising from legislative or agency action, regulatory implementation, government investigations, procurement processes, and other exercises of public authority. He represents businesses, governmental entities, political organizations, and industry groups in matters involving agency enforcement, constitutional claims, public information laws, procurement disputes, and challenges concerning the scope of governmental power.

Before joining Butler Snow, J.R. served as Executive Director and General Counsel of the Texas Ethics Commission, the state agency responsible for administering and enforcing Texas campaign finance, lobbying, ethics, and political advertising laws. In that role, he advised agency leadership on constitutional, statutory, and administrative-law issues while overseeing agency operations, rulemaking, enforcement proceedings, legislative engagement, and litigation strategy.

J.R. regularly advises clients navigating the implementation and enforcement of newly enacted laws, agency rules, and governmental initiatives, particularly where litigation risk intersects with regulatory strategy, public policy, or politically sensitive governmental action. His practice frequently involves issues concerning agency authority, statutory interpretation, separation-of-powers principles, First Amendment protections, sovereign immunity, and judicial review of governmental action.

In addition to his governmental and regulatory practice, J.R. has substantial experience representing clients in complex commercial, healthcare, and intellectual-property litigation involving contractual disputes, business torts, statutory interpretation issues, and emergency injunctive proceedings.

• Constitutional & Administrative Litigation
  • Advises hemp-industry stakeholders in legislative, regulatory, and constitutional disputes arising from the implementation and enforcement of Texas hemp laws, including successful ultra vires challenges to agency rulemaking authority.
  • Represents governmental entities and private clients in constitutional litigation involving First Amendment protections, governmental action, defamation claims, and speech-related immunity issues, including matters arising under the Texas Citizens Participation Act.
• Election Law, Ethics & Political Regulation
  • Served as Executive Director and General Counsel of the Texas Ethics Commission, advising agency leadership on constitutional, statutory, and administrative-law issues involving campaign finance, lobbying, ethics, and political advertising laws, while overseeing rulemaking, enforcement, legislative engagement, and litigation strategy.
  • Advised the Texas Ethics Commission in constitutional and administrative litigation involving campaign finance regulation, governmental authority, First Amendment protections, and separation-of-powers issues.
  • Advises political committees in matters involving Texas campaign finance and ethics laws, including governmental investigations, enforcement authority, and related constitutional issues.
• Government Contracts and Public Information
  • Represents contractors in procurement protests and disputes involving state procurement processes, statutory compliance, evaluation procedures, and agency procurement authority.
  • Advises clients in matters arising under the Texas Public Information Act, including efforts to protect proprietary and trade-secret information from public disclosure and investigations into alleged misuse of governmental processes and public authority.
• Additional Complex Litigation Experience
  • Has represented clients in complex commercial, healthcare, and intellectual-property litigation involving contractual disputes, business torts, technology-related claims, statutory interpretation issues, and emergency injunctive proceedings.

• 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, “Election Litigation: A Recap of 2024 & Looking Forward,” University of Texas School of Law, Review of Litigation Symposium, March 7, 2026
• Speaker, “Election Compliance,” Professional Advocacy Association of Texas, December 3, 2025
• Speaker, “Lobby 101 Webinar,” Professional Advocacy Association of Texas, October 1, 2025
• Speaker, “Recent Developments in Texas Ethics and Political Regulation,” Professional Advocacy Association of Texas, 2022-204
• 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

• Long Center for the Performing Arts
  • Member of the Board of Trustees, 2021-present
  • Vice Chair, Governance Committee, 2025-present