John Johnson

John P. Johnson, Jr. has a wide range of experience in commercial litigation matters, estate litigation, and eminent domain litigation, inclusive of involving contract disputes, partnership disputes, directors and officers liability, employment matters, landlord-tenant disputes, franchisor/franchisee disputes as well as class action litigation and legal malpractice actions.

John has successfully litigated and defended lawyers in more than 75 matters, including claims sounding in legal malpractice, defense of claims by non-clients against lawyers, as well as representation of lawyers in fee disputes with clients.

He currently serves as vice chair, office managing partner for Cozen O’Connor’s Cherry Hill office and is also chair of the firm’s Commercial Litigation Paralegals. As of September 1, 2016 the New Jersey Supreme Court appointed John as a member of the District 4 Ethics Committee that oversees attorney discipline.

John is the co-author of Certificate of Merit – A New Threshold Requirement in Professional Malpractice Actions and Legal Malpractice: Is the Standard for Establishing Liability in a Transactional Setting Different from the Standard Used in Establishing Liability in a Litigation Setting.

John received his Bachelor of Science from Widener University in Business Administration. John spent 18 years in the oil business with Shell Oil and Arco Petroleum Products managing the oil companies franchise locations and relationships with franchisees prior to joining the firm.

He earned his law degree, with highest honors, from The Rutgers School of Law, where he was a Dean Scholar. John received the New Jersey Bar Foundation Scholarship for his outstanding academic achievement.

EXPERIENCE :

• Recovered in excess of $5 million on behalf of one of the largest builders in the United States in a malpractice action against an AmLaw 100 law firm stemming from a transaction involving a country club and housing development in Florida.
• Won summary judgment in two major matters in which claims were asserted against law firms alleging both tort and assumpsit, with exposure in the millions.
• Represented 7-Eleven, Inc. in actions against various franchisees related to preliminary restraints and breach of contract issues resulting in monetary damages.
• Represented Am-Law Top 100 law firm in a suit alleging claims of legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, and interference with prospective contractual relationships, with exposure in excess in excess of $30 million.
• Represented Am-Law Top 100 law firm in a suit alleging claims of legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, and interference with prospective contractual relationships, with exposure in excess in excess of $30 million.
• Represented Rowan-Rutgers University Board of Governors in eminent domain actions.

EDUCATION :

• Rutgers University School of Law – Camden, J.D., 2001
• Widener University, B.S., 1982

BAR ADMISSIONS : New Jersey; Pennsylvania; New York

COURT ADMISSIONS :

• Commonwealth Court Of Pennsylvania
• Court Of Common Pleas – Bucks County
• Court Of Common Pleas – Chester County
• Court Of Common Pleas – Philadelphia County
• Court Of Common Pleas- Montgomery County
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court
• Superior Court of New Jersey
• U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

AFFILIATIONS :

• Member, New Jersey Supreme Court District 4 Ethics Committee