Vincent R. Johnson

Professor of Law
B.A., 1975; LL.D., 1991, St. Vincent College (Pa.)
J.D., 1978, University of Notre Dame
LL.M., 1979, Yale University

Before St. Mary’s

After completing his studies at Yale Law School, Professor Johnson served as a Law Clerk to the Hon. Bernard S. Meyer of the New York Court of Appeals and the Hon. Thomas E. Fairchild, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Highlights:

Recipient, Administration of Justice Award, presented at the Supreme Court of the United States in 2006, by the Supreme Court Fellows Alumni Association “in recognition of many contributions to the understanding of the American legal system through a distinguished career teaching law.”

Recipient, Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, a national award presented by the Boy Scouts of America for distinguished service to profession and community, May 2008.

Visiting Professor of Law, George Washington University, 2008
Visiting Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame, 2005-2006, Spring 2009
Visiting Professor of Law, University of Belgrade, Serbia, December 2008
Honoree, San Antonio's Top Professors, 2006 (Scene in SA Monthly magazine)
International Scholar, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Ukraine, 2006-2007 (Open Society Institute, Non-Resident Academic Fellowship Program)
Lecturer on Legal Ethics and Government Ethics, Republic of Moldova, ABA Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (CEELI), June 2005
Fulbright Senior Scholar, University of Bucharest, Romania, Spring 2005
Lecturer on Legal and Judicial Ethics, American Bar Association Asia Law Initiative, Mongolia Legal Reform Program, 2004 [Materials]
Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, St. Mary's University School of Law, 2002-2005
Associate Dean for Administration, St. Mary's University School of Law, 2001-2002
Visiting Professor, Shandong University, China, May to June 2001
Reporter, Standards on State Judicial Retirement (adopted by the American Bar Association House of Delegates), 1999-2001
Visiting Professor, St. Petersburg State University, Russia, November to December 1999
Fulbright Senior Scholar, Renmin (People’s) University, Beijing, China, February to June 1998
Judicial Fellow at the Supreme Court of the United States, 1988-89

Specialties:

Professor Johnson joined the St. Mary's faculty in 1982. He teaches and writes principally in the areas of:

Tort Law
Legal Ethics
Remedies
Legal Malpractice

Publications:

Professor Johnson's books include :

Legal Malpractice Law: Problems and Prevention (Thomson West 2008) with Susan Saab Fortney.
A Concise Restatement of the Law Governing Lawyers (ALI 2007) co-edited with Fortney.
Studies in American Tort Law (Carolina Academic Press, 1994, 1999, 2005, 2009), with Alan Gunn.
Teaching Torts (Carolina Academic Press, 1995, 1999, 2005, 2009), with Gunn.
Mastering Torts (Carolina Academic Press, 1994, 1999, 2005, 2009). Mastering Torts was published in Beijing by China Renmin University Press under the title American Tort Law (2004) in two versions, one in Chinese and the other in English with Chinese keywords. [Preface] (A third translation of the 2005 edition was published in Taipei by Wu-Nan Books Inc. in 2006)

Professor Johnson's articles have been cited, quoted and discussed in more than 120 law reviews. Recent articles include:

The Boundary-Line Function of the Economic Loss Rule, 66 Washington & Lee Law Review 523-85 (2009)
The Unlawful Conduct Defense in Legal Malpractice Law, 77 UMKC Law Review 43-83 (2008)
Corruption in Education: A Global Legal Challenge, 48 Santa Clara Law Review 1-77 (2008)
Regulating Lobbyists: Law, Ethics, and Public Policy, 16 Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy 1-61 (2007)
Standardized Tests, Erroneous Scores, and Tort Liability, 38 Rutgers Law Journal 655-718 (2007)
Rehnquist, Innsbruck, and St. Mary's University, 38 St. Mary's Law Journal 1-45 (2006)
Americans Abroad: International Education Programs and Tort Liability, 32 Journal of College and University Law 309-59 (2006) (peer-reviewed)
The Tort Duty of Parents to Protect Minor Children, 51 Villanova Law Review 311-36 (2006) (with Claire G. Hargrove)
Ethics in Government at the Local Level, 36 Seton Hall Law Review 715-779 (2006)
Book Review: Chinese Law on SARS by Chenglin Liu, 7 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal 32-36 (2006)
Cybersecurity, Identity Theft, and the Limits of Tort Liability, 57 South Carolina Law Review 255-311 (2005) (lead article)
Fighting Epidemics with Information and Laws: The Case of SARS in China, 24 Penn State International Law Review 157-176 (2005) (with Brian T. Bagley)
Justice Tom C. Clark’s Legacy in the Field of Legal Ethics, 29 Journal of the Legal Profession 33-70 (2005) (University of Alabama)
Misrepresentation by Lawyers about Credentials or Experience, 57 Oklahoma Law Review 529 (2004) (with Shawn Lovorn)
Transferred Intent in American Tort Law, 87 Marquette Law Review 903-38 (2004)
“Absolute and Perfect Candor” to Clients, 34 St. Mary’s Law Journal 737-93 (2003).
Preface, 1 Chinese Review of Common Law 1-2 (2003) (invited publication; inaugural volume).
The Ethical Foundations of American Judicial Independence, 29 Fordham Urban Law Review 1007-28 (2002).
Tort Law in America at the Beginning of the 21st Century, 1 Renmin University of China Law Review 237-64 (2000) (invited publication)
The Virtues and Limits of Codes in Legal Ethics, 14 Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics, and Public Policy 25-47 (2000)
Chinese Law and American Legal Education, 31 St. Mary’s L.J. 1-5 (1999) (symposium preface)
America’s Preoccupation with Ethics in Government, 30 St. Mary’s L.J. 717-58 (1999).
The Ethics of Communicating with Putative Class Members, 17 Review of Litigation 497-524 (1998).
Ethical Campaigning for the Judiciary, 29 Texas Tech Law Review 811-49 (1998) (University of Texas).

Organizations, Activities, and Listings:

Member, American Law Institute
Member, Aegean/Black Sea Peer Review Committee, Council for the International Exchange of Scholars, 2005-2008
Member, Advisory Board, Chinese Review of Common Law (edited in the UK and published in the PRC) (2002-2005)
Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Carolina Academic Press (1995-present)
Commissioner, Judicial Fellows Commission (1993-99)
1997-1999, Chair, Mayor of San Antonio's Taskforce on Ethics in Government (the work of which led to the adoption of a new ethics code governing the city's 11,000 officials and employees)
1989-2001, Director of the St. Mary's University Institute on World Legal Problems, a summer program on international and comparative law conducted annually at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. Participants included five Justices of the United States Supreme Court, students from 90 American law schools and more than 40 visiting professors from Austria, China, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Russia and the United States.
San Antonio Bar Foundation
Texas Bar Foundation
State Bar of Texas
San Antonio Bar Association
American Bar Association
Fulbright Association
Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers