Current Role
  • Partner & previous Management Committee Member, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP
  • Ms. Johnson leads multidistrict and complex civil litigation involving multiple defendants, complex regulatory regimes, cross-discipline expert work and highly technical fact patterns.
  • She focuses on combating fraud and pricing abuse in the pharmaceutical industry.
Current Cases
  • In In re Lantus Direct Purchaser Antitrust Litigation, 18-cv-2086, D. Mass. (Boal, J., Sorokin, J.), Ms. Johnson is involved in the firm’s work combating criminally high insulin prices. The First Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court’s dismissal of antitrust litigation premised on wrongfully listing patents covering insulin injector pens in the FDA’s Orange Book. Ms. Johnson directs day-to-day litigation efforts among plaintiffs in the lead up to the January 2027 trial. 
  • In In re MOVEit Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, 1:23-md-03083, D. Mass. (Burroughs, J., Levenson, J.), Ms. Johnson serves as court-appointed liaison and coordinating counsel in what is believed to be the largest data breach MDL in history. The litigation team is pursuing claims against Progress Software and over 100 other defendants for the 2023 MOVEit data breach which compromised the sensitive personal information of an estimated 65 million people.
  • In In re Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation, 2:16-md-02724, E.D. Pa., Ms. Johnson is a member of the direct purchaser class litigation team.
  • In In re Revlimid ＆ Thalomid Purchaser Antitrust Litigation, 2:19-cv-07532, D.N.J. (Farbiaz, J.), Ms. Johnson, as counsel for a large health plan, helps direct discovery and pretrial matters for the plaintiffs in this reverse-payment antitrust litigation. 
Recent Success
  • In In re Amitiza Antitrust Litigation, 21-cv-11057, D. Mass., (Joun, J.) Ms. Johnson served as a member of the trial team that secured a $474.89 million antitrust jury verdict (automatically trebled to $1.4 billion) for the direct purchaser class, against Takeda Pharmaceuticals for unlawfully extending its monopoly on Amitiza by blocking lower-cost generic competitors from entering the market. This is the first plaintiffs’ verdict in a “reverse payment” or “pay-for-delay” case.
  • In Government Employees Health Association v. Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd. et al., 1:18-cv-3560, D. Md. (Russell, C.J.), Ms. Johnson was a member of the litigation team that secured a $65 million settlement, pending final court approval. The litigation included allegations that the brand company defendant delayed competition by withholding samples required to obtain FDA approval.
  • In In re Suboxone (Buprenorphine Hydrochloride and Naloxone) Antitrust Litigation, 23-md-2445, E.D. Pa. (Goldberg, J.), Ms. Johnson’s role as a key part of the trial team helped secure a settlement valued at $385 million on behalf of direct purchasers in this decade-long product switch antitrust litigation.
  • In In re Zetia Antitrust Litigation, 2:18-md-2836, E.D. Va. (Smith, J., Miller, J.), Ms. Johnson served as court-appointed co-lead counsel for direct purchasers in this reverse-payment antitrust litigation. She conducted the examination of a key expert during a pre-trial evidentiary hearing. The court ruled in the plaintiffs’ favor and the defendants settled on the courthouse steps minutes before jury empanelment began.
  • In In re: Ranbaxy Generic Drug Application Antitrust Litigation, 1:19-md-02878, D. Mass. (Gorton, J., Kelley, J.), Ms. Johnson served as court-appointed co-lead counsel in RICO and antitrust litigation against generic manufacturers Ranbaxy and Sun. She successfully argued against summary judgment and helped negotiate a proposed global $485 million settlement on the eve of trial ($340 million for the direct purchaser classes), the second largest U.S. antitrust settlement of 2022, per a 2022 Antitrust Annual Report. The litigation alleged Ranbaxy fraudulently obtained a series of 180-day exclusivities that blocked generic versions of Diovan, Nexium and Valcyte from coming to market for years. 
  • In In re Glumetza Antitrust Litigation, 3:19-cv-05822, N.D. Cal. (Alsup, J.),Ms. Johnson was an important part of the Hagens Berman team that litigated antitrust claims on behalf of a proposed class of direct purchasers of brand and generic Glumetza. The litigation resulted in settlements totaling $453.85 million for the direct purchaser class, the largest U.S. antitrust settlement of 2022, per a 2022 Antitrust Annual Report. The litigation alleged that generic company Lupin agreed to delay its launch of a generic form of Valeant’s extended-release metformin product in exchange for Valeant’s promise not to launch a competing generic product.
Career Highlights
  • In re New England Compounding Pharmacy Multidistrict Litigation, 12-md-2419, D. Mass. (Saylor, J., Zobel, J.), In this sprawling 100+ defendant litigation, the Honorable F. Dennis Saylor, IV initially appointed Ms. Johnson as liaison counsel to speak for the hundreds of victims who contracted fungal meningitis or suffered other serious health problems as a result of receiving contaminated products made and sold by NECC. Ms. Johnson was later appointed lead counsel (alternate) alongside her partner Thomas M. Sobol. The case resulted in a settlement of about $200 million on behalf of tort victims.
  • In In re Neurontin Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, 04-md-1629, D. Mass. (Saris, J.), Ms. Johnson was a member of the trial team that achieved a $142 million civil RICO jury verdict against Pfizer for suppressing and manipulating results of scientific studies concerning the drug Neurontin. Post-trial, the third-party payer class settled with Pfizer for an additional $325 million.
  • In In re Flonase Antitrust Litigation, 08-cv-3149, E.D. Pa. (Brody, J.), Ms. Johnson’s contributions helped achieve a $150 million settlement for the direct purchaser class in this antitrust case alleging GSK submitted a baseless petition to the FDA to delay the FDA’s approvals of generic versions of Flonase.
  • In In re Celebrex (Celecoxib) Antitrust Litigation, 2:13-cv-361, E.D. Va (Wright, J., Miller, J.), Ms. Johnson served as court-appointed co-lead counsel and helped achieve a $94 million settlement for the certified class of direct purchasers in this antitrust case alleging Pfizer obtained reissuance of a follow-on patent by defrauding the Patent and Trademark Office.
  • Has served as court-appointed lead or co-lead counsel in seven MDLs and similarly complex litigations, including:
    • In re Celebrex (Celecoxib) Antitrust Litigation
    • In re New England Compounding Pharmacy Litigation Multidistrict Litigation
    • In re Loestrin 24 FE Antitrust Litigation
    • In re Restasis (Cyclosporine Ophthalmic Emulsion) Antitrust Litigation
    • In re Ranbaxy Generic Drug Application Antitrust Litigation
    • In re Zetia (Ezetimibe) Antitrust Litigation
    • In re Lipitor Antitrust Litigation
Recognition
  • Boston’s Rising Stars 40 outstanding lawyers under 40, The National Law Journal, 2014-2015
  • Trial Lawyer of the Year, nominated with the Neurontin trial team for securing a $142 million verdict against Pfizer for suppressing and manipulating the results of scientific studies that showed Neurontin did not work to treat the off-label indications Pfizer was heavily promoting, Public Justice, 2011 
Notable Cases
  • In In re Flonase Antitrust Litigation, 08-cv-3149, E.D. Pa. (Brody, J.), Ms. Johnson’s contributions helped achieve $150 million settlement for the direct purchaser class in an antitrust case alleging GSK submitted a baseless petition to the FDA to delay the FDA’s approvals of generic versions of Flonase.
  • In In re Prograf Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2242, D. Mass. (Zobel, J.), Ms. Johnson helped reach a $98 million settlement for the class of direct purchasers in an antitrust case alleging Astellas delayed generic entry of transplant antirejection drug Prograf by abusing the FDA’s petitioning process.
  • In In re Celebrex (Celecoxib) Antitrust Litigation, 2:13-cv-361, E.D. Va (Wright, J., Miller, J.), Ms. Johnson served as court-appointed co-lead counsel and helped achieve a $94 million settlement for the certified class of direct purchasers in this antitrust case alleging Pfizer obtained reissuance of a follow-on patent by defrauding the Patent and Trademark Office.
Personal Insight

Ms. Johnson grew up in a family law practice in the Midwest. Her grandfather, uncles and father practiced together, and her mother ran the office. Her siblings joined the family firm and one is now a judge. Ms. Johnson’s career choice was perhaps inevitable, though she hopes her children will at least consider another profession.