DALLAS – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – Former Dallas City Attorney Madeleine Johnson has joined the law firm of Fish & Richardson P.C. as a firm principal in Dallas.
Tom Melsheimer, managing principal of Fish & Richardson’s Dallas office, says the addition of Ms. Johnson is a coup for the firm.
“Based on ability and accomplishments alone, Madeleine could have returned to private practice at any firm in the country,” says Mr. Melsheimer. “We are proud that she is joining Fish & Richardson, and everyone on our team is excited about the opportunity to work with her.”
At Fish & Richardson, Ms. Johnson primarily will practice commercial litigation, as well as handling matters involving white-collar defense and governmental investigations.
Ms. Johnson has served as top attorney for the City of Dallas since 1999. Prior to working for the city, she spent five years as a federal prosecutor for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas. Her work at the U.S. Attorney’s Office was preceded by her serving as a Division Chief (Opinion Division) for the Texas Attorney General’s Office from 1991 to 1994.
While at the City of Dallas, Ms. Johnson gained national attention for her tough stance against Ford Motor Co. over the company’s Crown Victoria police vehicles. Although Ford officials initially denied any problems, Ms. Johnson helped show how the cars were susceptible to fires in rear-end collisions. Ford went on to provide fire-prevention packages on new models.
Johnson is the latest local legal luminary to join Fish & Richardson in Dallas. Since Mr. Melsheimer, a former federal prosecutor, helped establish the Dallas office in 2000, the firm has added Paul Coggins, the former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas; Matt Yarbrough, former assistant U.S. Attorney; and Bill Mateja, former Senior Counsel to the Deputy U.S. Attorney General.
Founded in 1878, Fish & Richardson is one of the largest law firms in the U.S. practicing exclusively in the areas of intellectual property, litigation, and corporate law. The firm has more than 350 attorneys and technology specialists in nine offices nationwide. Fish & Richardson has long represented great innovators and entrepreneurs, including pioneering inventors such as Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and the Wright Brothers. Fish & Richardson handles more patent litigation than any other law firm in the U.S. (IP Law & Business July 2005). It is the top firm in patent cases at the International Trade Commission and rates among the top U.S. firms in patents and trademarks obtained.
