Richard Johnston is a partner in the firm's Litigation/Controversy Department, where he is a member of the Business Trial Group and the International Arbitration Practice Group. He is also a member of the Regulatory and Government Affairs Department and its Environmental Practice Group. He joined the firm in 1977.
Practice
Mr. Johnston's practice focuses on litigation and arbitration of complex business disputes, both domestic and international. He has represented a broad range of companies in the venture capital, software, internet, health care and other industries, as well as agencies of foreign governments. Mr. Johnston also has been involved in numerous pro bono legal activities at the international, national and local levels.
Recent Highlights
- Representation of venture capital company in lawsuits and arbitration over financing of multiple biofuels plants
- Representation of international internet retailer in national consumer class action and state investigations
- Representation of Chrysler Motors in multiple arbitrations over termination of dealerships in bankruptcy
- Representation of a national medical claims processing company in related arbitrations and litigation over acquisition of a subsidiary
- Representation of a national internet-based company in multiple class action suits pursuant to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act
- Representation of a national software company in multiple lawsuits and arbitrations involving systems for health care institutions
- Representation of a medical device manufacturer in international arbitration in London involving acquisition of over a dozen companies
Professional Activities
Mr. Johnston is a member of the International Bar Association (IBA), the American Bar Association (ABA), the Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA) and the Boston Bar Association (BBA). He is a United States delegate to the IBA's Litigation Section Executive Committee and has moderated and/or spoken on several panels on international litigation at IBA conferences. Mr. Johnston is a member of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Commission on Arbitration and a regional chair of the ICC's United States National Arbitration Committee. He has served as a member of an ICC task force on E-commerce jurisdiction, as chairman of the BBA's International Arbitration Committee, as a member of the MBA's Equal Access to Justice Committee, and as a former member of an international human rights law group election monitoring team in Nepal in 1991.
Honors and Awards
- Selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 editions of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of international arbitration
- Recognized in the 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 editions of Boston Magazine as a "New England Super Lawyer" (formerly "Massachusetts Super Lawyer") in business litigation
- Recipient of the Massachusetts Bar Foundation Great Friend of Justice Award in 2004, the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation Award in 2004, the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation Herbert F. Kleinman Award in 2003 and the Southeastern Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation Pro Bono Publico Award in 2003 - for successful defense of Interest on Lawyer Trust Account Programs in Texas and Massachusetts against Constitutional challenges
- Recipient of the Reginald Heber Smith Award in 2010 for pro bono contributions at WilmerHale
Speaking Engagements
- Panelist, "International Law," Boston College Law School, Boston, Massachusetts (March 31, 2011)
- Panelist, "Mental Health Issues in the Justice System," Cambridge, Massachusetts (March 17, 2011)
- Panelist, "Defending the (Alleged) Devil," International Bar Association, Vancouver, Canada (October 5, 2010)
- Moderator, "Current Challenges in International Arbitration," 2009 International Arbitration Conference at Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts (April 4, 2009)
- Presentation on Alternative Dispute Resolution Provisions in Biopharm Agreements, Biotechnology Industry Organization General Counsels' Committee Meeting, Cambridge, Massachusetts (October 3, 2008)
- “Perspectives on International Law,” Harvard University International Relations Council Conference, Cambridge, Massachusetts (February 16, 2008)
- “International Arbitration Issues," Boston Bar Association, Boston, Massachusetts (July 20, 2007)
- "Can Mediation Resolve North American Business Disputes?" ICDR – CANACO North America Dispute Resolution Series, Mexico City, Mexico (June 12, 2007)
- "Selecting Arbitrators in International Arbitrations," Pacific Rim Advisory Council, Bogota, Colombia (March 21, 2007)
- "Money Laundering Legislation in the United States," Pacific Rim Advisory Council, Bogota, Colombia (March 20, 2007)
- "Choice of Law, Forum Selection and Dispute Resolution in Licensing Agreements," Licensing Executive Society, Boston, Massachusetts (November 2006)
- "Key Strategic Considerations in Transnational Litigation," New York, New York (November 9, 2006)
- Moderator, Panel on "Mediation in International Disputes," International Bar Association, Chicago, Illinois (September 2006)
- "The Use and Abuse of Discovery in International Discovery," International Chamber of Commerce, Chatham, Massachusetts (September 20-21, 2004)
- Moderator, Panel on "Presenting Damages Through Expert Testimony in International Litigation," International Bar Association, San Francisco, California (September 2003)
- "Resolving International Business Disputes – Alternative Strategies," Boston University School of Law/American Corporate Counsel Association/Hale and Dorr Forum, Boston, Massachusetts (June 11, 2003)
- Moderator, Panel on "Representing Foreign Clients in Mexican Litigation" International Bar Association, Cancun, Mexico (October 2001)
- "Drafting International Arbitration Clauses," Boston Bar Association, International Transactions Committee, Boston, Massachusetts (March 2001)
- "Jurisdiction, Choice of Law and Dispute Resolution in E-Commerce Worldwide: Unique Aspects of Conducting International E-Business," Boston Bar Association/Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Boston, Massachusetts (November 2000)
- "Choice of Law, Jurisdiction, and Dispute Resolution in International E-Commerce," Boston Bar Association, International Arbitration Committee Boston, Massachusetts (January 2000)
- "Update on U.S. E-Commerce: Speed Bumps or Shortcuts on the Information Superhighway?," U.S.-European Law Firm Network Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts (October 1999)
- Moderator, Panel on "The Arbitration Tribunal Process for Swiss Holocaust Bank Accounts," Boston Bar Association, Boston, Massachusetts (October 1999)
- "Grounding the FAA: Judicial Review of International Arbitration: Lapine v. Kyocera," Richmond Journal of Global Law and Business On-line Symposium (April 1999)
- "International Arbitration Issues," Boston Bar Association Seminar on New Developments in International Law and Business, Boston, Massachusetts (March 17, 1999)
- "Government Investigations in the Face of the Global Economic Crisis," PricewaterhouseCoopers General Counsel Forum, Boston, Massachusetts (January 20, 1999)
- "Issues in Drafting Arbitration Clauses in International Contracts," Joint Seminar on International Arbitration and The Role of the International Chamber of Commerce, Hale and Dorr LLP/United States Council on International Business/Boston Bar Association, Boston, Massachusetts (November 3, 1998)
- "International Arbitration," Third Annual Midwest International Law Forum, American Bar Association Scottsdale, Arizona (November 10-12, 1996)
- "Alternatives to Litigation in Complex American Environmental Cases," Sixth International Conference of the Israel Society for Ecology and Environmental Quality Sciences, Jerusalem, Israel (June 30 - July 4, 1996)
- "Phaseout of Ozone Depleting Substances: The Montreal Protocol and Beyond," Inter-American Bar Association Conference, Santiago, Chile (April 19-24, 1993)
Publications
Mr. Johnston's publications include:
- Gary Born, Johnston, Richard A., et al, "Investment Treaty Arbitration: ICSID Amends Investor-State Arbitration Rules," WilmerHale Email Alert (2006).
- Johnston, Richard A., and Kate Sexton, "Dispositive Motions in International Arbitration," International Chamber of Commerce UK Members Handbook (2003).
- Johnston, Richard A., and Mark Goldschmidt, "Attorneys' Fees Are Not a Recoverable 'Loss' Under the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods," International Law News (2003).
- Johnston, Richard A, and Robert S. Bisal, "Spammers Face Increasing Legal Obstacles," Hale and Dorr LLP E-Alert (2003).
- Johnston, Richard A., and Dimitri Racklin, "Arbitrator's Decision Stands Despite Manifest Disregard for Law," Hale and Dorr LLP E-Alert (2002).
- Johnston, Richard A., "New EU Regulation Widens Exposure of Online Sellers to Consumer Litigation throughout EU," Hale and Dorr LLP E-Alert (2001).
- Johnston, Richard A., and Joe Sepulchre, "Will Making it Easier for Consumers to Sue Help or Hurt E-commerce in the European Union?" Hale and Dorr LLP E-Alert (2001).
- Johnston, Richard A., "Grounding the FAA: Judicial Review of International Arbitration in Lapine v. Kyocera," Richmond Journal of Global Law and Business on-Line Symposium (1999).
- Johnston, Richard A., "Kleppe v. Sierra Club: An Environmental Planning Catch 22?" 1 Harv. Environ. L. Rev. (1976).
Teaching Experience
- Faculty member Harvard Law School Trial Advocacy Program 1995-2010
- Litigation/Lecturer Supervisor and Liaison, Hale and Dorr Legal Services Center at Harvard Law School 1993-2010
- Guest lecturer on jury trials in the United States, School of Law, Notre Dame University, Namur, Belgium, 2010
- Guest lecturer on the role of psychology in the American legal system, Middlebury College, 2005
Other Educational Involvement
Mr. Johnston is a member of the advisory board of the College of Arts and Sciences at The George Washington University. He also is a trustee of the Boston Green Academy, a charter high school in the City of Boston focusing on at-risk inner-city youth.
Community Involvement
Mr. Johnston is actively involved in community and local affairs. He is president of the Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts, a consortium of Cape Cod land trusts; president of the Dennis Conservation Trust, one of Compact's member trusts; a director of the Cape Cod Land Fund; a former co-chairman of the North Area Task Force, a community organization that oversaw a massive federally-funded highway project in Boston; a former director of the Friends of City Square Park, a catalyst for the creation of a neighborhood park in Boston; a former member of the Charles River Bridge Design Review Committee, a committee appointed by the governor to oversee the design of the Zakim Bridge as part of the federal "Big Dig" highway project in Boston; and a former board member of a capital campaign for the Charlestown Boys and Girls Club that raised funds for the renovations of a neighborhood club.
Projects in Africa
Mr. Johnston is the president of Focus on Tanzanian Communities. (formerly Friends of Tanzanian Schools, Inc.), which funds schools and other community-empowerment projects in East Africa. He is helping to represent a tribe in East Africa in efforts to secure land or other compensation for the loss of its ancestral homeland to the government for creation of a national park. On behalf of an American nonprofit organization, Mr. Johnston also negotiated with the Government of Sierra Leone for the creation of a business enterprise zone to help develop manufacturing capability in the country. He has advised an American non-profit organization with respect to litigation and governance issues involving Mozambique.
