John "Sean" Johnson is a partner in Shutts & Bowen's Tampa office, where he is the Chairman of the Litigation Practice Group. Mr. Johnson's practice involves commercial litigation, employment contract enforcement and negotiation, securities litigation and investigation, class actions, commercial torts, product liability, professional negligence/liability and corporate litigation. Mr. Johnson has tried jury trials, bench trials - in state and federal courts - and arbitrations in a broad variety of commercial disputes including dealership contracts, replevins, securities, product liability, supply contracts, advertising contracts, trademarks and intellectual property, unfair competition, trade secrets, deceptive and unfair trade practices, fraud, restrictive covenants, shareholder disputes, corporate dissolutions, whistleblower actions, and matters under the Uniform Commercial Code.
With over 20 years of practice, Mr. Johnson served as defense counsel in the nationally publicized case Avnet v. Wyle Electronics, which was featured in the National Law Journal as one of the top 10 defense verdicts in the country in the year 2000. After a five-month trial in State Court, which was the longest civil jury trial in Hillsborough County history, jurors ruled in favor of the defendants, rejecting Avnet's $154 million tortious interference claim.
Mr. Johnson, an accomplished litigator, has earned an AV rating by Martindale Hubell. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors and Vice President of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.
Mr. Johnson was recently named to Florida Trend's Legal Elite in the litigation practice area.
Education
- University of South Carolina, J.D., cum laude, 1986
- University of South Carolina, B.A., 1982
Bar Admissions
- The Florida Bar
Affiliations
- Board of Directors, Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association
- Fellow, American Bar Association
- Hillsborough County Bar Association
- Member Relations Committee, Tampa Club
