Dennis J. Johnson

Mr. Johnson is a 1980 magna cum laude graduate of Vermont Law School. Mr. Johnson graduated first in his class and was thereby awarded the Learned Hand Award for Academic Excellence. Mr. Johnson received thirteen American Jurisprudence Awards for obtaining the highest grade in, among others, the following courses: Administrative Law, Agency and Partnership, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Procedure, Estates, Evidence and Property. While a student, Mr. Johnson served as a staff member on the Vermont Law Review and, during his senior year, as an editor and business manager.

Following his graduation from law school, Mr. Johnson joined the enforcement division of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") in Washington, D.C. As a staff attorney, Mr. Johnson worked on investigations of federal securities law violations involving market manipulations, unregistered distributions, trading on material non-public information, proxy solicitation violations and the filing of false registration statements. Mr. Johnson was one of the lead attorneys in SEC v. Universal Energy Corp., et al., No. 84-0643 (D.D.C.) and four related administrative proceedings in which a total of sixteen defendants (including two securities brokerage firms and three registered representatives) were enjoined or sanctioned for violations of numerous sections of the federal securities laws including those pertaining to an unregistered distribution of stock, market manipulation and misappropriation of company assets.

In early 1985, Mr. Johnson became an associate with the firm of Meredith & Cohen, P.C., where he participated actively in the prosecution of various derivative and class action securities fraud actions including In re: Coleco Sec. Litig., No. 83-CV-9199 (S.D.N.Y.); Greenstein v. AIA Indust., Inc., No. 84-4691 (E.D. Pa.) and Robinson v. Allegheny Beverage Corp., No. M-86-2309 (D. Md.). In the Allegheny case, as lead counsel, Mr. Johnson was instrumental in obtaining a settlement of $6.9 million on behalf of the class.

From January 1988 through December 1993, Mr. Johnson was Of Counsel to the firm of Zlotnick & Thomas. While affiliated with that firm, Mr. Johnson dedicated his practice to litigating securities fraud and breach of fiduciary duty cases. While with Zlotnick & Thomas, Mr. Johnson was one of three co-lead counsel in In re: Surgical Laser Tech. Sec. Litig.,No. 91-CV-2478 (E.D. Pa.), in which a $5.5 million settlement was obtained; one of two lead counsel in Lyons v. Calderone, No. 89-4631 (D.N.J.), in which a settlement of $3.0 million was reached; co-lead counsel in a class action styled Goldstein v. Advest, No. H-88-262 (PCD) (D. Conn.), in which a settlement of $1.725 million was reached; and lead counsel in Appleton v. Veenstra, No. 89-1352 (MGC) (S.D.N.Y.) in which a settlement of $775,000 was reached. In Lines v. Marble Bank, No. 90-167 (D. Vt.), a case in which Mr. Johnson was co-lead counsel and in which a $2 million settlement was obtained, the Court stated:

The firms acting as lead counsel in this case present detailed resumes. They specialize in securities class actions and have shown outstanding ability to efficiently and successfully prosecute major litigation on a national scale. Their expertise no doubt contributed to the speedy and successful resolution of this case.

Although not serving as lead counsel, Mr. Johnson actively participated in the discovery program conducted in In re: United States Telecommunication Inc. Sec. Litig., No. 90-2251-0 (D. Kan.) in which a $25 million settlement was achieved.

Mr. Johnson is involved in all fields of the firm's practice and is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia (inactive), the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the State of Vermont, the U.S. District Court for Vermont, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Second, Eighth and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court of the United States. Additionally, Mr. Johnson serves on the Family Advisory Committee for the Baird Center for Children and Families, Chittenden County's agency overseeing mental health services for children and families.