William P. Johnson

 

William P. Johnson

Assistant Professor of Law
wjohnson@law.und.edu

 

William P. Johnson is an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of North Dakota School of Law, where he teaches contracts, commercial law, and international business transactions.  He completed his B.A. in German at the University of Minnesota and his J.D. at the University of Michigan Law School.  While in law school, Professor Johnson spent one semester studying international and comparative law at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

Following law school, Professor Johnson completed a judicial clerkship with the Honorable Justice Russell A. Anderson of the Minnesota Supreme Court, an experience Professor Johnson found incredibly enriching and meaningful. 

Upon completion of the judicial clerkship, he entered private practice with the law firm of Foley & Lardner LLP, where he spent six rewarding years practicing business law and focusing in particular on commercial matters, international business transactions, and international product distribution.  A highlight of his practice experience involved serving as lead U.S. counsel to the supplier for a large hydroelectric power project in Guatemala, a project that was recognized by LatinFinance Magazine as “Best Power/Energy Deal 2007” and by Project Finance Magazine as “Latin American Renewables Deal of the Year 2007”. Professor Johnson remains engaged with the practice community through his active involvement with the American Bar Association Section of International Law (ABA International). He currently serves as Co-Chair of the International Commercial Transactions, Franchising and Distribution Committee and as Vice-Chair of the International Legal Education and Specialist Certification Committee of ABA International. He is also a member of the leadership team of the Section’s Latin America and Caribbean Committee.

Professor Johnson’s scholarship interests are generally focused on commercial law and international and comparative law. In particular, he researches and writes about challenges and issues relating to laws governing international business transactions or arising from the relationship between domestic U.S. law, on the one hand, and international and foreign law, on the other, and he has written extensively about the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, or CISG. Professor Johnson is especially fascinated by the unique challenges presented by cross-border commercial relationships, and is interested in finding solutions that address those challenges.

 

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE

University of North Dakota School of Law
Assistant Professor (August 2008 - present)

University of Michigan Law School
Participant, Second Colloquium on Challenges in International Refugee Law (March 2001)
Research Assistant, Professor James C. Hathaway (October 1999 – May 2000)

PUBLICATIONS

Journal Articles

Turkey’s Accession to the CISG: The Significance for Turkey and for Sales Transactions with U.S. Contracting Parties, 8 Ankara L. Rev. (forthcoming Summer 2011) (Turk.) (peer-reviewed)

Controvérsia no Horizonte: Contratação para Resolução Eficaz de Disputas em Transações Comerciais Internacionais. Uma Perspectiva Norte-Americana [The Dispute on the Horizon: Contracting for Effective Dispute Resolution in International Business Transactions. A U.S. Perspective], 86 Revista de Direito do Tribunal de Justiça do Estado do Rio de Janeiro 40 (Alexandre Freitas Câmara & Antonio Carlos Esteves Torres trans. 2011) (Braz.)

Understanding Exclusion of the CISG: A New Paradigm of Determining Party Intent, 59 Buff. L. Rev. 213 (2011)

Persecution in the Fog of War: The House of Lords’ Decision in Adan , 23 Mich. J. Int'l Law 247 (2002) (with Michael Kagan)

Shorter Works

U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, in International Commercial Transactions, Franchising, and Distribution, 44 Int’l Law. 229, 238-41 (2010)

Competition Law and Distribution in East Asia, Franchising Business & Law Alert, May 2007, at 1

Selecting Foreign Sales Intermediaries, Corporate Counsel, October 2003, at A4 (with Timothy J. Sheehan)

Works in Progress

No Nexus Required: Respecting Choice of New York Law in International Business Contracts (draft in progress)

Using Usage under the CISG (draft in progress)

Distribution Agreements as “Contracts of Sale of Goods” under the CISG: A Comparative Analysis (draft in progress)

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS

Program Co-Chair & Moderator, Pathways to the International Legal Academy and What You Find There: The Various Roles of Law Professors and Legal Academics, ABA Section of International Law 2011 Fall Meeting, Dublin, Ireland (October 11, 2011) (accepted program)

Program Co-Chair & Commentator, Educating the Future Transnational Lawyer: European Approaches and Innovations (Program Co-Chair)
American Bar Association Section of International Law 2010 Fall Meeting
Paris, France (November 2, 2010)

Conference Presentation, Understanding Exclusion of the CISG: A New Paradigm of Determining Party Intent
Central States Law Schools Association 2010 Annual Conference
Grand Forks, North Dakota (September 25, 2010)

Conference Presentation, Planning for Effective Dispute Resolution in International Business Transactions – A U.S. Perspective
Inter-American Bar Association XLVIth Conference
June 2010, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Panelist, Business and Finance in Today’s Economy and the Effects on and Reactions of Law Firms (Panelist)
Centro de Estudos das Sociedades de Advogados (CESA)
São Paulo, Brazil (April 27, 2009)

CLE Presentation, Selling Goods in the European Union: Managing Distribution Networks
State Bar Association of North Dakota/UND School of Law Homecoming CLE
Grand Forks, North Dakota (October 17, 2008)

CLE Presentation, Using Agents and Distributors Abroad
Foley & Lardner LLP 16th Annual Law of Product Distribution & Franchise Seminar
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (May 1, 2007)

CLE Presentation, The Emerging Role of Competition Laws as Applied to Distribution Arrangements in East Asia
Foley & Lardner LLP 15th Annual Law of Product Distribution & Franchise Seminar
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (April 25, 2006)

CLE Presentation, European Union Environmental Directives: The RoHS Directive
Foley & Lardner LLP CLE Presentation
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (March 2006)

CLE Presentation, Key Aspects of Product Distribution in Europe
14th Annual Law of Product Distribution & Franchise Seminar
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (April 13, 2005)

Presentation, Top Ten Legal Developments of 2002 in the European Union
Wisconsin World Trade Center's Regional Business Climate Update on the European Union
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (February 14, 2003) (with Timothy J. Sheehan)

BAR ADMISSIONS & PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

Admitted to Practice:
State of Wisconsin (Inactive)
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

Memberships:

American Bar Association (ABA)

ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar

ABA Section of International Law

• International Commercial Transactions, Franchising and Distribution Committee, Co-Chair (2010-present)
• International Legal Education and Specialist Certification Committee, Vice-Chair (2009-present)
• Latin America and Caribbean Committee, Steering Group (2009-present)
• Section of International Law Liaison to the Organization of American States (OAS) (2009-2010)


State Bar of Wisconsin

Inter-American Bar Association (IABA) / Federación Interamericana de Abogados (FIA)

FOREIGN LANGUAGES

German (fluent), Italian (proficient), Spanish (basic), Russian (elementary)