MARC A. JOHNSTON

Community Involvement

From 2006 to 2009, Marc was the founder and head coach of the Reed College Mock Trial Program, where he taught and shared litigation skills with college students. After starting the program, Mr. Johnston led the team to a national competition, where it received an honorable mention in only the second year of the program’s existence.

Marc is a board member of the Oregon New Lawyer Division, where he represents more than one-third of the attorneys in the state. Johnston Law Firm, P.C. is also proud of its work on the board of the Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP), which assists lower income attorneys to continue their work in public service sectors.

Attorney Johnston also works on the Oregon State Bar Mentor Task Force, which is preparing to implement an extensive and broad-ranging attorney mentor program in Oregon.

Additionally, he chairs the Sports Committee for the Portland Chapter of the Gonzaga Alumni Program in Portland.

These and many other affiliations keep our firm active in the community, helping others pursue opportunities and remain engaged.

Education

Mr. Johnston graduated, cum laude, from the Gonzaga University School of Law, where he participated in the following activities and received the following honors:

• Executive Editor
  Gonzaga Journal of International Law
• National Legal Writing Competition Winner (unanimous selection)
  Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section of ABA
• Presented
  Moot Court Oral Arguments in front of Washington Supreme Court (twice), Montana and Washington Federal District Courts, and Washington State Court of Appeals (twice)
• Member
  National Moot Court Team
  2003-05 (Trained by current WA Supreme Court Justice)
• National Student Director of the
  ABA’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition (NAAC)
• Council
  Gonzaga Moot Court Honor 2003-05

Published Works

• Focus Groups: Same Concept, Different Approach. Trial Lawyer (Fall, 2020)
• A Creative & Humanistic Strategy for Defeating Intolerable ERISA Liens. Trial Lawyer (Summer, 2019)
• Case Note, Bailey v. Lewis Farms: Cause of Action Against Prior Owner of Automobile for Failure to Maintain. Marc Johnston (October, 2007)
• The Supreme Court’s New Take on Punitive Damages in State Farm v. Cambell: Criticism and Strategies for Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Navigating the New Rules, Marc A. Johnston, 39 TORT TRIAL AND INSURANCE PRACTICE L.J., 1093 (2004) (winner of Tort Trial Insurance Practice Section national writing competition)
• The Illusion of Insurance, Client Briefing and Newsletter, Parsons Farnell & Grein, (Summer 2006).

Representative Cases

• $1.5 Million
  Motorcycle crash.
• $1.4 Million
  Mother hit by distracted driver who ran a stop sign.
• $1.3 Million
  Pedestrian hit by drunk driver.
• $1 Million
  Heart patient died during surgery due to hospital power failure.
• Confidential 7 Figure Settlement
  Failure to diagnose a stroke – emergency room negligence.
• $850,000
  Motorist injured by negligent 18-wheel truck driver.
• $750,000
  Bicyclist hit by box truck.

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Oregon LRAP
  (Law School Loan Repayment Assistance Program),
  Representative, 2010 – Present
• Oregon State Bar Mentoring Taskforce,
  2010 – Present
• Oregon New Lawyers Division,
  Board Member, 2009 – Present
• Oregon Trial Lawyers Association,
  Member, 2009 – Present
• Gonzaga Alumni Committee,
  Sports Director of Portland Chapter, 2006 – Present
• Oregon New Lawyers Division
  Member Services Committee Chair, 2006-2009
  Board Member, 2009-present
• American Bar Association, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section and Business Law Section, 2003-present
• Reed College Mock Trial Program,
  Head Coach 2006-2009