About

A Leading Plaintiff's Attorney In The Legal Malpractice Field

Since 1990, attorney Richard Gibbs Johnson has been a leading practitioner in the area of plaintiffs’ legal malpractice and related legal ethics and professional responsibility issues. Most sports agents are attorneys, and sports agent malpractice was added to the focus around 2010.

Mr. Johnson stands leagues apart from other Ohio attorneys in devoting his practice exclusively to this niche area, and he is the only Ohio attorney who limits his practice to this area.

Mr. Johnson is only admitted to practice law in Ohio, but by associating with local counsel, he can represent clients nationwide.

Mr. Johnson represents clients that have suffered serious financial losses due to negligent, reckless, intentional, fraudulent, or unethical conduct on the part of their lawyers or sports agents.

Mr. Johnson holds a master’s degree in business administration as well as a Juris doctorate, giving him unique insight into the business considerations surrounding high-value claims against professionals.

Businesses, individuals, professionals, and sports stars turn to Mr. Johnson for his experience, guidance, and representation in major damage claims against their former lawyers or sports agents.

Mr. Johnson is very selective in the cases he accepts: Prospective clients must have minimum economic damages of $1,000,000 for consideration, and prospective clients are typically charged a substantial initial review fee, which may be waived for significant claims. Cases may be taken on a contingent, flat fee, hourly, or blended rate, depending upon the nature and value of the claim. Typically, bankruptcy, criminal, domestic relations, and legal malpractice cases are handled on an hourly basis only; however, exceptions may apply in very limited circumstances.

Mr. Johnson began his legal career over three decades ago. Since then, he has earned a highly respected reputation for his success in handling complex legal malpractice and sports agent malpractice cases. He earned the largest settlement in the history of the Major League Baseball Players Association Grievance Arbitration on behalf of a professional baseball player against his lawyers and sports agents. Mr. Johnson is a member of the Million and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, reflecting his outstanding track record of settlements and verdicts in legal malpractice cases.

Throughout his career, Mr. Johnson has been actively involved in various professional ethics organizations, including the American Bar Association’s Center for Professional Responsibility and the Ohio State Bar Association’s Legal Ethics and Professional Conduct Committee. He is one of only a handful of attorneys in Ohio elected to the American Law Institute, arguably the most selective and important legal organization in this country.

In general, in Ohio, you have one (1) year from the date of occurrence to bring your legal malpractice claims, that period is tolled by the lawyer’s continued legal employment on the same matter, and if you do not discover the legal malpractice during the representation, then you have one (1) year from the date that you and/or the reasonable person would/should have discovered the same. In addition, there are other tolling provisions as well as other considerations that may affect the determination of this date. As such, please keep in mind that the determination of this date is an art, not a science, and if you believe that you have valid claims to assert, you should retain an attorney immediately.

As of 2021, Ohio adopted a statute of repose that would bar claims not brought within four or five years of the lawyer’s act, error, or omission, nobody knows if it’s constitutional, whether it’s prospective or retrospective, or how it will be interpreted by courts. Minors will still have until their age of maturity to bring claims. What this new law, advocated for by the Ohio State Bar Association, does is to cut-off claims that could not yet be discovered, but that the underlying basis is more than four or five years ago. But what happens, for instance, if you’re not damaged until twenty years later, and damage is an element of a legal malpractice claim? Since it is brand new, other than pointing it out as a hurdle, that is about all I can say about it at this time.

If you cannot afford to retain me, you might consult your local legal aid society, your local or state public defender, the ACLU, any other legal clinics within your area, or the local bar associations for referrals to other lawyers. Please note that in regard to fee disputes, most bar associations have arbitration programs for the same that are free to you.