Shawn A. Johnson is a civil trial and appellate lawyer who uses his professional backgrounds in accounting, technology, and law to get results for his clients.
He has handled a wide range of business litigation, including claims for breach of fiduciary duty, trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, and violation of non-compete agreements. He has handled numerous disputes among partners, shareholders, and members of companies, which often end in owner buyouts. His cases have arisen in oil and gas, energy, healthcare, hospitality, and construction. He has also succeeded in other difficult areas — invoking and defeating challenges to personal jurisdiction, obtaining writs of mandamus and injunctions, representing students with claims against private schools, and representing judges in election contests.
Numbers first
Shawn routinely draws on his prior career in public accounting. He earned an M.S. in Management Information Systems and a B.B.A. in Accounting from Texas A&M University and became a licensed Certified Public Accountant shortly afterward. He then spent three years at Deloitte & Touche, working primarily as a cyber security consultant on enterprise-transforming system implementations for some of the largest companies in the world.
That background is not a line on a resume. In a fiduciary-duty or partnership case, the fight is usually about where money went and who authorized it. Shawn reconstructs distributions and transfers from the underlying records rather than waiting on an expert to summarize them, which shortens the path to the documents that matter and sharpens the cross-examination of the other side’s damages model.
Appellate practice
Shawn earned his J.D. summa cum laude from Texas A&M University School of Law, graduating first in his class, and served as Managing Editor of the Texas A&M Law Review. He clerked for Justice Paul W. Green of the Supreme Court of Texas and interned for Justice Debra H. Lehrmann of the Supreme Court of Texas, Judge Sim Lake of the Southern District of Texas, and Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton of the Northern District of Texas. After his clerkship he spent four years as an associate at Burford Perry, LLP before opening his own firm.
He has obtained client victories at every level of the judicial system — the Supreme Court of Texas, the Supreme Court of Nevada, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and numerous intermediate appellate courts — and successfully defended against a petition for writ of certiorari as lead counsel in the Supreme Court of the United States. He treats error preservation as trial work, not post-judgment work.
Credentials
Education
Texas A&M University School of Law, Fort Worth, Texas
J.D., summa cum laude, May 2016 — first in class
Managing Editor, Volume 3, Texas A&M Law Review
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
M.S., Management Information Systems, 2010
B.B.A., Accounting, 2010
Bar admissions & certifications
- State Bar of Texas, 2016
- Supreme Court of the United States, 2021
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2022
- United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, 2017
- United States District Court, Northern District of Texas, 2022
- United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas, 2026
- Certified Public Accountant, State of Texas, July 2011 (Active — Not Practicing)
Publications & presentations
- Rare Earth: Original Mandamus Jurisdiction in the Texas Supreme Court, State Bar of Texas, Texas Supreme Court History & Current Practice (2021) (author).
- Post-Judgment Discovery and TUFTA: How to Get Paid, State Bar of Texas, Advanced Evidence and Discovery Course (2020) (author and presenter).
- “Make Whole”: The Need for Gross-Ups in Employment Discrimination Cases, 17 Hous. Bus. & Tax L.J. 31 (2016).
- A Law and Economics Approach to Privacy Policy Misstatements, 18 Colum. Sci. & Tech. L. Rev. 79 (2016).
- Note, Brookshire Brothers v. Aldridge: Making the Spoliation Instruction a Litigation Unicorn, 3 Tex. A&M L. Rev. 445 (2015).
Professional experience
- Schaffer Kennedy Johnson, Houston — 5/2023 to present
- SAJ Law PLLC, Houston — 1/2022 to present
- Burford Perry, LLP, Houston — Associate, 9/2017–12/2021
- Supreme Court of Texas — Law Clerk to Justice Paul W. Green, 9/2016–8/2017
- U.S. District Court, S.D. Tex. — Judicial Intern to Judge Simeon Lake, 2015
- U.S. District Court, N.D. Tex. — Judicial Intern to Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton, 2015
- Supreme Court of Texas — Judicial Intern to Justice Debra H. Lehrmann, 2014
- The Buzbee Law Firm, Houston — Summer Law Clerk, 2014
Professional associations
- State Bar of Texas — Litigation Section; Appellate Section
- Houston Bar Association — Litigation Section
- Houston Young Lawyers Association
- Texas Aggie Bar Association
Representative results
$157 million jury verdict; judgment for more than $55 million to the client
Complex breach of fiduciary duty and unfair competition case, resulting in a judgment for a direct award of derivative damages to the client of more than $55 million.
Laura Elizabeth Yosowitz v. Martin Lee Kay et al., No. 2018-37750, 334th District Court, Harris County, Texas (Feb. 21, 2023).
Disqualification of opposing counsel upheld by the Supreme Court of Texas
Obtained disqualification of opposing counsel and his law firm based on a side-switching legal assistant, upheld on mandamus review by the Fourteenth Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Texas.
In re Zaidi, 732 S.W.3d 525 (Tex. 2026) (orig. proceeding); Apex Katy Physicians, LLC v. Zaidi, No. 2009-02578, 61st District Court, Harris County, Texas (July 20, 2023).
$2.2 million judgment reversed; take-nothing judgment rendered
Reversal and rendition for a pastor in a suit alleging transmission of a sexually transmitted disease, establishing that expert testimony is required to prove causation in disease-transmission cases, after defeating the plaintiff’s post-judgment turnover and receivership motion.
West v. D.C., 718 S.W.3d 331 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] June 26, 2025, pet. filed).
Petition for writ of certiorari defeated in the Supreme Court of the United States
Successfully defended, as lead counsel, against certiorari review of the Nevada Supreme Court’s finding of personal jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant.
Ralph Lewis v. Power Research, Inc., No. 21-494 (U.S. Mar. 7, 2022).
$7 million arbitration award; take-nothing award on all counterclaims
Direct award to the clients on breach of fiduciary duty claims against company managers and officers after a nine-day arbitration.
Salim v. Cochinwala, AAA Case No. 01-19-0003-9665 (Nov. 22, 2021).
Favorable arbitration award before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre
Breach of contract and breach of warranty claims against an international pharmaceutical company and its Texas representatives.
Texas Minerals & Chemicals LLC v. India Glycols Limited, No. ARB093/23/BRP (July 19, 2024).
Unanimous jury verdict in a suit to quiet title, as solo lead counsel
Pena v. Benavidez, No. 1113772, Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 2 (Jan. 22, 2020).
Bench-trial judgment enforcing a setback restriction against a developer
Overcame challenges to standing, restriction interpretation and applicability, and defenses of waiver and abandonment.
Havel Family Investments, L.L.C. v. Sims, No. 19-CV-1751, 56th District Court, Galveston County, Texas (Aug. 12, 2020).
Counterclaims dismissed; approximately $362,000 summary judgment for the plaintiff
Suit for breach of a promissory note against the purchaser of a business and its owner-guarantor.
Supplement Technologies, LLC v. Campanella Holdings, LLC, No. 2023-28858, 127th District Court, Harris County, Texas (June 27, 2024).
Fifth Circuit reversal of summary judgment; favorable settlement obtained
FMLA retaliation claims against a municipality.
Murillo v. City of Granbury, No. 22-11163, 2023 WL 6393191 (5th Cir. Oct. 2, 2023) (per curiam).
Defamation claims dismissed; fees and costs awarded
Dismissal of a congressional candidate’s defamation claims against his opponent.
Moore v. Reed, No. 14-20-00463-CV, 2022 WL 1180116 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Apr. 21, 2022, no pet.).
Special appearances reversed as lead appellate counsel; petition for review defeated
Reversal of orders granting special appearances of defendants residing or incorporated in California, Nevada, and Greece (2020), and successful defense of the petition for review (2021).
Power Research Inc. v. Lewis, No. 14-19-00012-CV, 2020 WL 5200913 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Sept. 1, 2020).
Petition for writ of prohibition defended in the Supreme Court of Nevada
Defended against a petition seeking reversal of an order denying a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction.
Lewis v. Second Judicial Dist. Court, 478 P.3d 872 (Nev. Apr. 5, 2021).
Fiduciary-duty and trade-secret claims resolved; dismissed with prejudice
Claims against a former office manager and her start-up company in a suit seeking injunctive relief.
Maintenance of Way Equipment Services, LLC v. Garcia, No. 24-DCV-321736, 434th District Court, Fort Bend County, Texas (Nov. 26, 2024).
Injunction barring a competitor formed by former officers from contacting customers
Power Research, Inc. v. Newport Fuel Solutions, Inc., No. CV18-02401, Second Judicial District Court, Washoe County, Nevada (Mar. 11, 2019).
All claims dismissed against an internationally known recording artist and his label
Suit alleging vicarious liability and negligent hiring for a sexual assault allegedly committed by the artist’s bodyguard.
Brown v. Raimi, No. 2025-39188, 189th District Court, Harris County, Texas (Mar. 20, 2026).
Negligence and vicarious liability claims dismissed for an online entertainment group
Claims arising from an alleged assault at a fan-convention after-party.
Doe v. Kerley, No. D-1-GN-24-005617, 98th District Court, Travis County, Texas (Aug. 18, 2025).
Take-nothing summary judgment for a professional boxer
Negligence, assault, and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims arising from an altercation at a house party.
Reyes v. Charlo, No. 22-DCV-293677, 434th District Court, Fort Bend County, Texas (Feb. 10, 2025).
Take-nothing summary judgment on sexual assault claims against a company
Jones v. Arias, No. 2018-21247, 190th District Court, Harris County, Texas (Oct. 21, 2019).
Opposing spouse’s tort and personal-injury claims struck and dismissed with prejudice
Rulings in a divorce proceeding leading to a mediated settlement agreement on terms favorable to the client.
In re Marriage of Rydin, No. 24-DCV-320377, 387th District Court, Fort Bend County, Texas (Apr. 14, 2026).
Favorable settlement of UCC, warranty, and fraud claims against a manufacturer
Claims arising from delivery of nonconforming product.
Beauty Elite Group, Inc. v. Above Aerosol Labs, No. 2025-80806, 55th District Court, Harris County, Texas (July 16, 2026).
Injunction ordering a political party to place a judge’s name on the primary ballot
Obtained the injunction and defeated challenges in the Fourteenth Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Texas.
Powell v. Schechter, No. 2019-88409, 234th District Court, Harris County, Texas (Jan. 8, 2020).
Fee award and expedited dismissal of claims against an estate, defended in the Supreme Court of Texas
Claims by a decedent’s ex-wife alleging fraudulent concealment of assets during the couple’s divorce.
Collins v. Collins, No. 01-17-00817-CV, 2018 WL 1320841 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Mar. 15, 2018).
Trial court judgment defended on appeal
Sportscapers Constr., Inc. v. Mitchell, No. 01-17-00432-CV, 2018 WL 3651620 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 2, 2018).
Each matter depends on its own facts and law. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any other matter.