Michele D. Johnson
Law Firm Partner
Latham & Watkins, LLP
Costa Mesa, CA USA
“Know yourself. Spend time thinking and understanding what motivates you. It takes a while to know yourself.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationMichele D. Johnson
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
Being home schooled in high school taught me to be a self-starter.
Other than babysitting, my first job was at Taco Bell. Big milestone.
I went to community college, and did well enough to earn a transfer scholarship to ASU.
While at ASU, I signed up for the LSAT on whim, to see how I would do.
I was accepted to Georgetown University Law Center, and during my first year almost concluded that law school was not for me. By my third year, I had been hired by Latham & Watkins.
There, I experienced first arguments, first jury trial, making partner, being appointed Litigation Department Chair and then Office Managing Partner, and being elected to the Executive Committee.
And the biggest milestone of them all: having my daughter, who is now 10 and a wonderful person.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Career
Law Firm Partner
I represent companies, boards of directors, and executives in securities and complex commercial litigation.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Business
Law
Problem Solving
Day to Day
A great day would be a win for a client, perhaps on a motion to dismiss a lawsuit in its early stages, or a motion for judgment on the law without having to go to trial, or a win at trial from the jury or the judge. But more typically, the day will involve conference calls with my teams or with other counsel, negotiating with the opposing party’s counsel, editing briefs and letters and memos, defending or taking a deposition, or working with a fact witness or an expert witness.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for high school students
The most important tangible step is to apply yourself to the best of your abilities and achieve top grades and scores. But in addition, try to listen to yourself. For many years I listened to the advice of everyone around me, and didn’t take enough time to look inside and investigate what it was that I truly wanted. Try to do that from a young age.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Society in General:
"Most of the discouragement I experienced centered around gender roles."
