Worker rights attorney and U.S. Air Force veteran Melissa Johnson has been elected President of the San Diego County Bar Association for 2023.
Johnson is a partner at Johnson Heeder LLP, where she represents workers in employment-related matters. Before joining Johnson Heeder LLP, she was a partner at a general business firm where she handled a variety of business-related matters, employment litigation, and wage and hour litigation.
Prior to being elected President of the SDCBA, Johnson served as the organization’s President-elect, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. She has also previously chaired the association’s Labor and Employment Executive Committee.
“I have lived with injustice, and those experiences have shaped and motivated me,” Johnson said. “I became a plaintiffs attorney to give a voice to the marginalized and to fight for equality, and the San Diego County Bar Association has been an invaluable resource to me as I’ve built my practice.”
“It has been an honor to serve on the Board of Directors for the past 4 years, and I look forward with great pride, gratitude and humility to the privilege of leading this incredible organization in 2023, its 124th year,” Johnson added. “This will be a year of evolution for the SDCBA, and I am thrilled to work alongside a stellar team of Directors, volunteers and staff.”
In addition to her service to the SDCBA, Johnson serves on the Executive Board of the California Employment Lawyer’s Association (CELA), the pre-eminent bar association for California plaintiffs employment attorneys.
The San Diego County Bar Association, founded in 1899, is the region’s largest law-related organization. Its mission is to connect lawyers — and support their success and fulfillment.