Meet erious johnson

Erious Johnson is the Principal and Owner of the law firm HARMON JOHNSON LLC. He focuses his practice on all forms of discrimination, civil rights violations and criminal defense. As an attorney, Erious has seen and done it all. He graduated with Honors from Howard University School of Law. He then started his legal career in “Big Law,” at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, where he litigated employment and corporate securities matters. After that, Erious worked for the City of New York, where fought and won numerous trials, involving civil rights violations and severe personal injuries. After drafting several hundred judicial opinions as a Principal Law Clerk for a New York State Supreme Court Justice, Erious moved to Oregon. Once here, he became the first Director of Civil Rights for the Oregon Attorney General. He used this position to fight for the civil rights of Oregon’s most vulnerable populations, including the elderly, immigrants and the LGBTQ community. Erious has a passion for teaching. He was an adjunct professor at Monroe College, and a high school and college trial advocacy Coach. He has also taught trial skills to attorneys from across the country as a National Attorney General Training and Research Institute (NAGTRI) faculty member. He is also a frequent volunteer with Financial Beginnings, where he teaches financial literacy to students and parents. And the Classroom Law Project, where he judges high school debates and mock trials.

Erious Johnson in Action

In addition to his litigation and trial experience, Erious is also an accomplished Policy Analyst. Having drafted and testified on HB 3216, which, “[c]reates [the] civil cause of action against person who knowingly summons police officer for reason other than suspected criminal activity with intent to cause specified harm.” This Bill was passed during the 2019 Legislative Session and signed into law by Gov. Kate Brown on June 17, 2019.

As the Director of Civil Rights for the Oregon Attorney General, he supported the Task Force to End Racial Profiling created by HB 2002, which “[d]irect[ed] law enforcement agencies to adopt written policies and procedures prohibiting profiling by January 1, 2016. This task force eventually drafted and had passed HB 2355, further “[d]irect[ed] Oregon Criminal Justice Commission to develop method for recording data concerning officer-initiated pedestrian and traffic stops.