Courses Taught

Aviation Law & Aviation Dispute Resolution (LEGAL)

Personal Website

www.raymondpauljohnson.com

Raymond Paul Johnson

Legal Experience

Lead Counsel in complex trials nationwide including landmark aviation and vehicle defect verdicts; has litigated hundreds of civil cases; admitted "pro hac vice" in more than 15 states; member of bars in California, Federal Courts (in CA, FL and WI), Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and United States Supreme Court. Concentration in aviation law; product liability; automotive defect, testing and failure mode determinations; forensic investigations; facility and transportation designs; entertainment-industry disputes; commercial litigation; and government/private contract negotiations. Has supervised and conducted extensive crash testing of vehicles and vehicle components (static and dynamic) for design validations, root-cause analyses, evidentiary purposes and trial. Legal consultant to CNN, NBC News, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, New York Times and others. Certified as Mediator by Pepperdine University School of Law/Strauss Institute for Dispute Resolution/February 2019. Designated “Super Lawyer” by Los Angeles Magazine every year from 2006 to present. Principal Attorney/President of Raymond Paul Johnson, A Law Corporation of Manhattan Beach, California. AV Preeminent/Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review.

Engineering Accomplishments

Former DOD Chairman of Space Shuttle/Inertial Upper Stage DOD/NASA Working Groups of 200 engineers in areas of structures, propulsion, avionics and launch control. Principal Author/Negotiator of NASA/DOD Memorandum of Agreement on Space Shuttle System Development and Integration. Focus on mission and launch operations, developmental testing, and failure mode analyses. Responsible for “ground up” designs – Request for Proposal evaluations, Preliminary Design Reviews, Test Program development, and System and Critical Design Reviews. Awarded National Meritorious Service Medal for Achievements on Space Shuttle Program.

Aviation Experience

Former USAF Fighter Pilot; Functional Test Pilot; Flight Test Section Chief; Jet Instructor Pilot; Combat Pilot; CIA Paramilitary Pilot and Aviation Safety Officer. Flew supersonic (Mach 2) and extensive subsonic missions (as reconnaissance pilot in war zones). Established and operated paramilitary forward operating base for Central Intelligence Agency. Awarded Distinguished Flying Cross and five Air Medals among other combat decorations. Over 2,000 flight hours. Commercial Pilot’s License.

Authored Works

• Principal co-author of Defective Product: Evidence to Verdict/Juris Publishing/New York/1994-2003.
• Author of over 50 articles published in law-related magazines nationwide.
• Author of AIAA Technical Paper, Time-Optimal Rendezvous.
• Author of soon-to-be-released legal thriller The Raven Society.

Associations

Mystery Writers of America; Western Trial Lawyers Association, former President/Board of Directors; American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Senior Member; American Legion, Life Member.

Education

• New York University, Bachelor of Science (Aeronautics and Astronautics)
• Air Force Institute of Technology, Master of Science (Astronautics)
• College of William and Mary, Doctor of Jurisprudence.

Hobbies

Writing, travel, flying, boating and sportscars.