Margaret Johnson is a partner in Foley Mansfield’s Los Angeles office. She is a litigator, a legal strategist, and Chair of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group.

In addition to her work as a litigator, Margaret has served as lead counsel for brief writing and oral argument on complex issues before state and federal trial and appellate courts. Her experience in diverse areas of the law including mass torts, product liability, commercial litigation, real estate, employment, professional liability, and public entity defense, among others, makes Margaret uniquely qualified to bring a multi-faceted perspective to “high stakes” cases from pre-litigation through the conclusion of the appellate process.

Margaret’s ability to effectively negotiate with opposing and contrasting positions while advocating for her client’s interests was integral to her work as Defense Liaison Counsel for Judicial Council Coordinated proceedings filed in the Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties, assisting the Coordination Trial Judge in the development of case management orders governing all proceedings from case filings to discovery and trial.

Margaret’s published appellate victories in which she served as lead appellate counsel include the following:

• Shapell v. Chico’s FAS, Inc. (2022) 85 Cal.App.5th 198 in which the Court of Appeal reaffirmed the ethical and statutory obligation imposed on attorneys to warn opposing counsel of their intent to seek a default judgment and allow opposing counsel a reasonable opportunity to file a responsible pleading.
• Strouse v. Webcor Construction, L.P. (2019) 34 Cal.App.5th 703 in which the Court of Appeal affirmed $2.6M judgment on complaint following jury trial finding general contractor was 100% negligent and (client) subcontractor/employer was not negligent. The “no liability” finding provided the foundation for the client’s six figure award for attorneys’ fees and costs it incurred defending against the latter’s general contractor’s indemnity claim, which the appellate court also affirmed.
• City of Pasadena v. Superior Court (Reyes-Jauregui) (2017) 12 Cal.App.5th 1340 in which the Court of Appeal defined California law governing the deadline for presenting government tort claims arising from asbestos exposure. Specifically, the appellate court held under Government Code section 901, “the date upon which the cause of action would be deemed to have accrued within the meaning of the [applicable] statute of limitations” is the date on which a plaintiff discovers or should reasonably have discovered that she had suffered a compensable injury” — not when the plaintiff suffers “disability” as defined by Code of Civil Procedure section 340.2 (the statute of limitations for asbestos injury actions). (Id. at 1343-44.)
• CertainTeed v. Superior Court (Hart) (2014) 222 Cal.App.4th 1053 – a 70+ defendant complex product liability preference action – a successful statutory interpretation writ campaign reversing the trial court’s order and confirming that trial courts have the discretion to and “shall allow additional time, beyond any limits imposed by [Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.290] if needed to fairly examine the deponent.”

Margaret has also served as lead counsel for brief writing and oral argument on key issues at both the trial court and appellate levels in numerous cases involving more than 100 parties. Her ability to effectively negotiate with opposing and contrasting positions while advocating for her clients’ interests was integral to her work as Defense Liaison Counsel for Judicial Council Coordinated proceedings filed in the Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties, assisting the Coordination Trial Judge in the development of case management orders governing all proceedings from case filings to discovery and trial.

In addition to her trial and appellate courtroom experience, Margaret has provided consulting services on California litigation and appellate practice for Thomson Reuters, the world’s largest publisher of legal reference materials.