Mr. Johnson has over 35 years of experience as a practicing lawyer and investment banker. As an experienced business lawyer, he has extensive experience representing both public and private clients in merger and acquisition transactions, divestitures, corporate governance, regulatory matters and strategic planning initiatives. Although he has represented clients in many industries, Mr. Johnson has extensive experience in working with hospitals, health systems and other healthcare providers, as well service and technology providers to the healthcare industry.
Early in his career, Mr. Johnson also represented lending institutions and developers in connection with the development and financing of real estate projects throughout the United States and the Caribbean. Before joining Frederic Dorwart, Lawyers PLLC, Mr. Johnson was a Managing Director of Corporate Finance at Hilltop Securities, Inc. (formerly known as FirstSouthwest Company), where he advised middle market companies in connection with raising growth capital, recapitalizations and mergers and acquisitions, with a particular focus on companies in the healthcare industry. Mr. Johnson began his career in Houston Texas as a lawyer with a predecessor to Locke Lord, which at that time had approximately 13 lawyers, but through in a series of mergers has now grown to more than 1000 lawyers worldwide. In 1990, Mr. Johnson joined Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as a partner, advising clients in connection with public offerings, private placements, joint ventures, private equity investments, restructurings, mergers, acquisitions and other financings and transactions.
Throughout his career Mr. Johnson has advised clients on a wide variety of matters including acting as outside counsel and lead lawyer for a NYSE traded healthcare provider commencing at the time the company had less than thirty million dollars in revenue until the company was taken private after completing more than 50 acquisitions and an initial public offering; acting as general counsel to the settlement trust created in connection with that company’s bankruptcy proceedings, which ultimately settled thousands of bodily injury and property damage claims; counsel for a Texas-based family office in connection with organizing raising and deploying several large real estate investment funds totaling more than several billion dollars; lead counsel for an ownership group in connection with the acquisition of a NBA team and an ownership interest in the team’s arena; and counsel to a publicly traded hospital company on numerous acquisitions, joint ventures and dispositions involving more than several billion dollars.
Undergraduate:
University of Nebraska, B.A., Economics, 1968
Graduate:
University of Southern California, M.H.A., 2015
Law:
University of Nebraska, J.D., 1974; With distinction; Executive editor of the Nebraska Law Review and Order of the Coif;
Oklahoma
Board of Trustees of the Dallas Theater Center
President of Hope College (Dallas’ oldest and largest adoption agency)
Member of the Board of Trustees of Hope Cottage Endowment
Vikki Vessels
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