Advanced Trial Skills: Using Trial Themes

Ms. Johns is a civil trial lawyer who has tried more than one hundred cases to verdict. She is the managing partner for Hillary Johns, Trial Lawyer which maintains offices in Beverly Hills, the Bay Area and Manhattan. She graduated from Occidental College in 1990 and Golden Gate University School of Law in 1993 where she graduated with Dean’s List and class honors. She is licensed to practice law in California, the California Southern, Central and Northern U.S. Federal District Courts, the District of Columbia, Montana, and New York. She is fluent in Spanish and trained in German and French.

Ms. Johns practices in the areas of civil litigation, business law, torts, employment law and entertainment law. She is an AV rated attorney with Martindale-Hubbell. Ms. Johns is a native Southern Californian. She writes regularly for a nationally recognized publishing company as well as individual law firms about various areas of civil law. Ms. Johns gives instruction about current employment law developments, as well as compliance assessments and training to companies to ensure their compliance with California and New York guidelines. Ms. Johns is a member of the Legal Network for Gender Equity. She works with the American Bar Association to provide legal services to military personnel. Ms. Johns has also served as a pro bono attorney and volunteer for local, statewide and national domestic violence = organizations. She is a past alumni committee chair and current student mentor with Occidental College. She is a member of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, and the New York County Lawyers Association, as well as the Cascade County Bar Association.

Elisabeth Frater is a Partner at Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP. She has over 30 years of litigation experience and has conducted complex internal investigations for over a dozen years. She represents both public and private-sector clients including cities, counties, private and public universities, state agencies and Fortune 5 companies in employment law and litigation, business litigation, administrative law, civil rights matters and criminal law. As a trial lawyer, she has successfully represented individuals, businesses, public officials and local and state governmental entities in more than 130 jury trials throughout California.

As certificate-holder from the Association of Workplace Investigators, Elisabeth is in demand as an investigator. She is accomplished at handling investigations in areas including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, disability discrimination, fraud, and workplace violence, and is skilled at handling high-profile cases involving public officials and law enforcement.