Practice Areas
- Antitrust law
- Securities law
Admitted
- State of Kentucky, 1957
- United States Supreme Court, 1971
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 1984
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 1990
- U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky
- Pro hac vice for the U.S. District Courts for the Virgin Islands
- District of Kansas
- Southern District of Ohio
Recognition
- AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®, the highest recognition possible in the legal industry for professionalism and ethics
- Chairman, ATLA Exchange 1983
- Former Member Kentucky Criminal Rules Committee
- Former Member Kentucky Civil Rules Committee
- Past Member Appellate Handbook Committee
- ABA Litigation Trial Practice Committee, 1983-1984
- Kentucky Bar Association Litigation Committee, 1998
- Kentucky Bar Association Ethics 2000 Committee
- Listed in Who’s Who in American Law
- Past Member Judicial Nominating Commission
- Listed in Super Lawyers in Kentucky
- Recipient of “War Horse” Award from the Southern Trial Lawyers Association, 1991
- Pendleton County High School Wall of Fame recipient, 1998
- Recipient of Eastern Kentucky University National Alumni Association Achievement Award, 1997
- Member, Public Advocacy Commission, 2002 – 2006
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 1984 to present
- Awarded Nelson Mandella Lifetime Achievement Award by Department of Public Advocacy, 2001
- Award of Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Kentucky State University, 2004
- University of Kentucky College of Law Alumni Hall of Fame, 2012
- Roscoe Pound Foundation
- Melvin Belli Society
- Recognized by the Kentucky State Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives for professional accomplishments, 2012
- Recipient of the Chief Justice’s Special Service Award, 2014
- Distinguished Lawyers Award 2016
- Recipient of the Kentucky Justice Association Peter Perlman Outstanding Trial Advocacy Award 2016
Education
- University of Kentucky, LL.B., 1957, converted to Juris Doctor, 1970
- Eastern Kentucky University
Associations & Memberships
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- President, Kentucky Bar Association, 2014-2015; President-Elect, 2013-214; Vice-President, 2012-2013.
- Member, Kentucky Bar Association, Board of Governors, 1986-1989, Chairman of the House of Delegates for the year 1979
- American Bar Association, The Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Board of Governors, 1980-1983
- Kentucky Academy of Trial Attorneys, President 1979
- Franklin County Bar Association, President, 1980
- Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, President, 1990
- Kentucky Justice Association
Lectures and Seminars
- Lecturer, Midway College, lecturer at seminars sponsored by the Kentucky Bar Association, Kentucky Academy of Trial Attorneys, Indiana, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Kansas and Tennessee Trial Lawyers Associations, Belli Seminar, Association of Trial Lawyers of America
- Workshop leader, National College of Advocacy, 1979-1985; Co-Chairman of National College of Advocacy for the years 1981 and 1982
Biographical Details
- Born in Pendleton County, Kentucky
- Veteran, U.S. Army, Captain, Infantry
- Former Assistant County Attorney of Franklin County, Kentucky. Special Counsel to the Commonwealth of Kentucky in numerous cases
- Author: “Maximizing Product Verdicts through Trial Techniques,” Trial Magazine, Nov., 1982. Contributing Author: Kentucky Appellate Handbook, Banks-Baldwin, 1985; Impeachment of Witnesses, Shepard’s-McGraw Hill, 1990. Assistant County Attorney, 1965-1966; Contributing author, Kentucky Civil Practice Before Trial, 1991, Revised 1997
- Member, Frankfort Electric and Water Plant Board, 1970-1974
- Fellow: American Board of Criminal Lawyers; American College of Trial Lawyers; International Academy of Trial Lawyers
Johnson Bearse, LLP serves clients throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky.