Stoll Berne attorney Emily Johnson received the Oregon Trial Lawyer Association’s (“OTLA”) New Lawyer of the Year Award at the annual convention in August 2024.
Emily’s involvement in OTLA and her work representing victims of the 2020 Oregon Labor Day Fires against Berkshire Hathaway’s PacifiCorp contributed to her selection for this award. Emily is an OTLA board member and is involved in several sections and committees, including the New Lawyer Section, Membership Committee, Legislative Committee, and Publications Committee. She is an alumni of OTLA’s leadership academy.
Emily is an associate in the firm’s litigation group where she focuses on complex litigation matters. She was an integral part of the James v. PacifiCorp trial team, representing victims of the 2020 Oregon Labor Day fires against PacifiCorp, in which the jury found in favor of the class after a two-month trial, finding that PacifiCorp acted negligently, grossly negligently, recklessly and willfully against the entire class, which PacifiCorp estimated included 5,000 people. She is part of the trial team in the ongoing damages trials in James v. PacifiCorp, where to date, three juries have returned verdicts, totaling $220 million for 36 plaintiffs. Emily was also a key member of the team representing the State of Oregon in litigation against Monsanto for damages to the state’s public trust resources from PCB contamination, obtaining the largest environmental settlement in Oregon History, and she was a member of the team representing the City of Seattle against Monsanto, which recently obtained a historic settlement against for PCB contamination to the Lower Duwamish Waterway. Emily is currently a member of the teams representing State of Delaware and the State of Maryland in PCB litigation against Monsanto.
