William P. Johnson

Assistant Professor of Law
wjohnson@law.und.edu

William P. Johnsonaon

William P. Johnson is an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of North Dakota School of Law, where he teaches in the areas of contracts, commercial law, and international business transactions.  He completed his B.A. in German and Russian at the University of Minnesota and his J.D. at the University of Michigan Law School.  While in law school, Professor Johnson spent one semester studying international and comparative law at Universiteit Leiden in the Netherlands.

Following law school, Professor Johnson completed a judicial clerkship with the Honorable Justice Russell A. Anderson of the Minnesota Supreme Court, an experience Professor Johnson found incredibly enriching and full of meaning. 

Upon completion of the judicial clerkship, he entered private practice with the law firm of Foley & Lardner LLP, where he spent six rewarding years practicing business law and focusing in particular on commercial matters, international business transactions, and international product distribution.  A highlight of his practice experience involved serving as lead U.S. counsel to the supplier for a large hydroelectric power project in Guatemala, a project that was recognized by LatinFinance Magazine as “Best Power/Energy Deal 2007” and by Project Finance Magazine as “Latin American Renewables Deal of the Year 2007”.

Professor Johnson’s scholarship interests lie primarily in the areas of international law and comparative law.  His research and writing have focused in particular on the intersection between international human rights obligations and U.S. constitutional law.  He has also recently written and presented on the relationship between international distribution systems and local competition law.

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
PUBLICATIONS
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS
BAR ADMISSIONS & PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
FOREIGN LANGUAGES

 

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE

University of North Dakota School of Law
Assistant Professor (August 2008 - present)

University of Michigan Law School
Participant, Second Colloquium on Challenges in International Refugee Law (March 2001)
Research Assistant, Professor James C. Hathaway (October 1999 – May 2000)

PUBLICATIONS

Competition Law and Distribution in East Asia, Franchising Business & Law Alert, May 2007, at 1

Selecting Foreign Sales Intermediaries, Corporate Counsel, October 2003, at A4 (with Timothy J. Sheehan)

Persecution in the Fog of War: The House of Lords’ Decision in Adan, 23 Mich. J. Int'l Law 247 (2001) (with Michael Kagan)

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS

Selling Goods in the European Union: Managing Distribution Networks
SBAND/UND School of Law Homecoming CLE
October 2008, Grand Forks, ND

Using Agents and Distributors Abroad
Foley & Lardner LLP 16th Annual Law of Product Distribution & Franchise Seminar
May 2007, Milwaukee, WI

The Emerging Role of Competition Laws as Applied to Distribution Arrangements in East Asia
Foley & Lardner LLP 15th Annual Law of Product Distribution & Franchise Seminar
April 2006, Milwaukee, WI

European Union Environmental Directives: The RoHS Directive
CLE Presentation
March 2006, Milwaukee, WI

Key Aspects of Product Distribution in Europe
Foley & Lardner LLP 14th Annual Law of Product Distribution & Franchise Seminar
May 2005, Milwaukee, WI

Top Ten Legal Developments of 2002 in the European Union
Wisconsin World Trade Center's Regional Business Climate Update on the European Union
February 2003, Milwaukee, WI (with Timothy J. Sheehan)

BAR ADMISSIONS & PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

Admitted to Practice:
State of Wisconsin
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

Memberships:
American Bar Association
ABA Section of International Law

  • Latin America and Caribbean Committee
  • International Commercial Transactions, Franchising and Distribution Committee
  • Europe Committee

Wisconsin Bar Association
Milwaukee County Bar Association

FOREIGN LANGUAGES

German (fluent), Italian (proficient), Spanish (basic), Russian (elementary)