Kevin J. Johnson
ShareholderPhone: (952) 995-9500
Kevin's Assistant:
Download Kevin J. Johnson's biography (84K PDF)
Mr. Johnson has also represented airlines, charter operators, FBOs, and corporate aircraft lenders, owners and lessees. He began his legal career in-house at Northwest Airlines where he learned the airline industry from the inside including airline distribution (global distribution systems or GDSs), marketing, purchasing, maintenance and ground handling contracts, aircraft leasing and associated regulatory matters. As in-house counsel and in private practice, he has also been a trusted advisor to companies of all sizes in developing strategies for overcoming business and commercial law issues.
Named as a "Super Lawyer" by Minnesota's Law & Politics, twice in mergers and acquisitions and three times in aviation law, Kevin has also been recognized as one of the leading commercial aviation attorneys in the world and holds an "AV" Peer Review Rating through Martindale-Hubbell, ranking him at the highest levels of legal professional excellence. He has also been included in The International Who’s Who of Aviation Lawyers every year since 2008.
Education:
University of Minnesota Law School (JD cum laude 1989)University of Minnesota (BA summa cum laude 1986)
State Bar Admissions:
State of MinnesotaFederal Bar Admissions:
US District Court, District of MinnesotaUS Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
Professional Memberships and Associations:
International Society of Aircraft Trading (ISTAT)National Business Aircraft Association
Minnesota Business Aircraft Association
Minnesota State Bar Association, Business Law Section
Publications and Presentations:
"How to Buy a Business Jet," Forbes Aviator Blog, co-authored with Matthew Stibbe, July 2011 (Click here to view the post)
"Legal Tax Developments 2010: Opportunities and Pitfalls in Business Aviation," November 2010
"New FAA Aircraft Registration Rule Takes Effect," FMJ Aviation Advisor, October 2010
"Congress Told Us to Sell our Jet. Now What?" Business Law Institute, May 2009 (Minnesota Sate Bar Association Business Law Section)
"Getting Technical: Prepurchase Inspections" (With Deborah Bew Liu, Aircraft Acquisitions, Inc.), 16th Annual Aircraft Registry Forum, February 2009
"Computer Reservations System Participation: Is It Still Necessary for Smaller Carriers?," Forum on Air and Space Law, American Bar Association, Spring 1997
"When Disaster Strikes - Planning for Disaster Recovery," Presentation - Minnesota Technology Forum, 1997
"On the Road Again: Business Roadblocks and How to Avoid Them," Minnesota Business and Opportunities, December 1996
"Legal Issues in a Paperless Workplace" (co-author and presenter), Presentation - Minnesota Technology Forum, 1996
Published Cases and Key Transactions:
Knudsen vs. Northwest Airlines, Inc., 450 N.W.2d 131 (Minn. 1990)Evans vs. Northwest Airlines, Inc., 1993 WL 23589 (D. Minn. 1993)
Formation and restructuring of Worldspan, L.P., an airline computer reservation system (1990, 1993 and 1994)
DOT review of Australian Route Authority for Northwest Airlines (1991)
DOT computer reservation system (CRS) rulemaking (1991)
DOT Consent to Northwest Airlines, Inc./KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Open Skies antitrust immunity (1992)
Sale of Novus Marketing Inc. to Omnicom (2000)
Computer Associates/Legent Corporation Antitrust Settlement/Software License to BI Moyle Associates, Inc. (1997)
Practice Areas:
Aviation Finance and Leasing (U.S. and cross-border)Corporate Aviation Finance and Restructuring
Corporate Finance and Commercial Lending
Mergers and Acquisitions
General Corporate and Business Advising
Representation of Law Firms and other Professional Firms
The Rest of the Story:
Kevin and his wife Pam live with their cat and two dogs in a 1901 home near Victoria Crossing in St. Paul, where they have been supporting the local building trades for a number of years through their restoration efforts. Through hard-won experience, they’ve come to thoroughly understand the adage that renovating an old house is not just a project but a journey. Kevin also knows (in business and life) how to surround himself with successful people. Pam was a software engineer at Lockheed Martin, where she worked with military avionics until retiring in 2008. Their older daughter, Anne, is a singer in New York City, performing in the professional chorus of the Metropolitan Opera, and her husband, Louis, is a classical recording engineer and proprietor of L. Brown Recording, Inc. in midtown Manhattan. Their younger daughter, Melissa, is pursuing her doctorate in food science at the University of Minnesota, and her husband, Brian, is a research physicist at Lockheed Martin in photonics.