The Legal Partners

You Can Trust

Accomplishments

Settlements And Verdicts

  • $2,000,000.00 – A plaintiff was catastrophically injured in an accident.
  • $500,000.00 – A plaintiff was permanently injured after a head on collision with a dump truck.
  • $500,000.00 – A plaintiff, a student, was permanently blinded in one eye.
  • $200,000.00 – Two-vehicle collision
  • $200,000.00 – Settlement after a plaintiff was injured when a car pulled out in front of the plaintiff causing a collision

Notable Cases

  • Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Fresenius Medical Corporation – Obtained favorable settlement for Fresenius, a multinational medical device manufacturer, in Kentucky and Louisiana against a billion-dollar demand
  • Successful defense of two Kentucky State policemen charged in separate malicious prosecution actions
  • Obtained a not guilty verdict at trial of former Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police
  • Successful defense of Kentucky State Senator at trial in United States District Court
  • Representation of Gerry Adams, former leader of the Sinn Féin political party in Ireland and abstentionist member of British Parliament
  • Obtained not guilty verdict on 108 counts for business owners charged in United States District Court
  • Commonwealth v. Bridgewater, 04-CR-00162 – Successfully litigated post-conviction relief on grounds of prior ineffective assistance of counsel, resulting in a significant reduction of a previously imposed 20-year prison sentence
  • Trial counsel in defense of Comair in the crash of Comair Flight 5191 in Lexington, Kentucky
  • Defense of Shane Ragland, a UK student charged with the sniper style slaying of a UK football player in Lexington. Obtained reversal of guilty verdict on appeal. Case was profiled on Dateline and the Investigation Discovery show City Confidential
  • Successful defense of numerous murder cases

Published Opinions

  • Sandoz Inc. v. Commonwealth of Kentucky ex rel. Conway – Reversal of a $16,000,000 judgment against Sandoz Inc. in average wholesale price and Medicare fraud litigation
  • McNally v. United States – Lead trial counsel in the case that was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. Successfully obtained reversal of criminal conviction during this appeal. Case was instrumental in changing the mail fraud law of the United States.
  • Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc. – Trial counsel in security fraud case. Favorable verdict was ultimately upheld by the United States Supreme Court.
  • Kentucky Retirement Systems v. Grant – Successfully obtained reversal of an unfavorable lower court decision attempting to apply equitable estoppel against a government agency
  • Winkler v. Com, 2008-CA-000554 – Represented criminal defendant in post-conviction request for relief with successful remand to the trial court
  • Carson v. Kentucky Retirement Systems, 2015-CA-000094 – Successfully petitioned the Kentucky Supreme Court to grant discretionary review of a lower court decision applying res judicata to a government agency

Awards And Recognitions

  • Bill Johnson
        • AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell*
        • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 1984 to present
        • Kentucky Bar Association Distinguished Lawyer Award – 2016
        • Kentucky Chief Justice Special Service Award – 2014
        • UK College of Law Hall of Fame – 2012
        • Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Special Recognition Award – 2008
        • Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Kentucky State University – 2004
        • Nelson Mandela Lifetime Achievement Award – 2001
        • War Horse Award – Southern Trial Lawyers Association – 1991
        • Recognized by Kentucky Legislature for an 11-year stretch of not losing a jury trial
        • AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell*

      Offices Held

      • Bill Johnson
        • Past President – Kentucky Bar Association – 2014
        • Past President – Kentucky Academy of Trial Attorneys, now Kentucky Justice Association
        • Past President – Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
        • Past President – Franklin County Bar Association
        • Past Chairman – House of Delegates – Kentucky Bar Association
        • Board of Bar Governors
        • Fellow – American College of Trial Lawyers
        • Fellow – International Association of Trial Attorneys

      Fellow – American Board of Criminal Lawyers

        • Fellow – Roscoe Pound Foundation
        • Member – Kentucky Criminal and Civil Rules Committee
      • Joseph Bowman
        • Past Secretary – Franklin County Bar Association
        • Past Treasurer – Franklin County Bar Association

      Contributions To Community

      • Eric Branco
        • Member – United Way of Franklin County Board
      • Joseph Bowman
        • Update author for Kentucky Civil Trial Practice
        • Former adjunct writing instructor for University of Kentucky College of Law

      *AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer-review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.