William P. JohnsonAssistant Professor of Law 
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
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCEUniversity of North Dakota School of Law University of Michigan Law School PUBLICATIONSCompetition 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 PRESENTATIONSSelling Goods in the European Union: Managing Distribution Networks Using Agents and Distributors Abroad The Emerging Role of Competition Laws as Applied to Distribution Arrangements in East Asia European Union Environmental Directives: The RoHS Directive Key Aspects of Product Distribution in Europe Top Ten Legal Developments of 2002 in the European Union BAR ADMISSIONS & PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPSAdmitted to Practice: Memberships:
Wisconsin Bar Association FOREIGN LANGUAGESGerman (fluent), Italian (proficient), Spanish (basic), Russian (elementary) |
