Kristen Johnson

Pro Bono Counsel
Full contact info

About Kristen

Kristen works with the firm’s pro bono team to develop and manage Cooley’s pro bono practice, with a particular emphasis on racial justice. Kristen’s practice is focused primarily on litigation in trial and appellate courts. She has extensive experience litigating racial discrimination claims concerning voting rights, economic justice, criminal justice and educational equity.

Prior to joining Cooley, Kristen was assistant counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. At LDF, Kristen’s portfolio included civil rights advocacy (litigation, policy and public education) on behalf of Black communities across the US. Before joining LDF, Kristen was a litigation associate in the New York office of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, where she earned the prestigious Fried Frank/LDF Fellowship.

After graduating from UCLA School of Law with specializations in critical race theory and public interest law & policy, Kristen served as a law clerk to the late Judge Harry Pregerson of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. During law school, she was the first Black person elected to serve as editor in chief of the UCLA Law Review (Vol. 60).

Education

UCLA School of Law
JD, 2013

Harvard School of Public Health
MS, 2008, Health Policy and Management

Eastern Nazarene College
BS, 2005, Biology

Court admissions

US District Court for the Southern District of New York

US District Court for the Eastern District of New York

US District Court for the Northern District of New York

US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

US Supreme Court

Memberships and affiliations

Association of Pro Bono Counsel

American Bar Association (ABA)

National Association of Women Lawyers

New York City Bar Association