Theresa E. Johnson
Theresa E. Johnson is a senior associate attorney with Abrams Coate LLP. Her legal practice focuses primarily on entertainment litigation, with an emphasis on contractual, intellectual property, and general business matters. Ms. Johnson has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of matters in California and federal courts, both at the trial court level and in appellate proceedings, as well as in domestic and international arbitrations. Her expertise includes all aspects of litigation including law and motion, discovery, court appearances, depositions, mediations, pre-trial proceedings, legal research and writing, settlements, and assignments, and she is admitted to practice before all Courts of the State of California, the United States District Courts for the Central and Southern Districts of California, and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal. During her tenure with the firm, Ms. Johnson has handled numerous high profile matters and successfully prosecuted and defended multi-million dollar claims ranging from complex contractual film accounting disputes, to fraud and alter ego determinations, to copyright and trademark actions, among others. Ms. Johnson’s practice also extends to transactional matters, including drafting and negotiating a wide range of entertainment and production deals primarily for production and distribution companies, including actor, producer, editor, location, rental, and release agreements for feature films, as well as providing general entertainment counsel on issues such as script clearance, insurance matters, participations and accountings, and potential litigation concerns relating to other film, television, and music projects. She also speaks Spanish as a second language.
Ms. Johnson graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 2004. While completing her undergraduate degree in three years, she was a member of the College Honors Program and the Outstanding Student Honors Society, and participated in numerous campus activities from chairing the Student Housing Government to leading the UCLA Radio Station as Promotions Director and host of the station’s #1 weekly radio show. In 2007, she obtained her Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Diego School of Law, and was admitted to the California Bar that same year. During law school, she served as Vice President of the Sports and Entertainment Law Society in charge of the entertainment section, representative for the Business Law Society, and a member of the Student Bar Association. She was also the recipient of the Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Services, a semi-finalist in the Association of Trial Lawyers of America Mock Trial Competition, and a student abroad of Oxford University at the Institute on International and Comparative Law.