Johanna Schiavoni

Johanna Schiavoni is certified as a specialist in appellate law by the State Bar of California and has nearly two decades of appellate experience. She has argued more than 35 cases in the state and federal appellate courts, and has been the principal brief-writer in at least 90.

She served as the 2020 President of the San Diego County Bar Association, which serves nearly 10,000 members of the San Diego legal community. In October 2021, the San Diego Law Library Foundation recognized Johanna with the prestigious Bernard E. Wtikin Award for Excellence in the Practice of Law and as a Community Changemaker.

Johanna regularly represents large companies, closely-held corporations, small businesses, and individuals in high-stakes appellate matters. She has participated in cases on subjects ranging from business torts to healthcare law to employment, insurance, contract, probate, and intellectual property disputes. She has also represented clients in anti-SLAPP, unfair competition, securities, and public

Johanna has been named to the San Diego Super Lawyers list for Appellate Litigation in each year since 2015, an honor reserved for the top 5% of appellate attorneys and awarded based upon merit selection criteria in addition to review by peer attorneys. From 2018 – 2022, Johanna also has been named by Super Lawyers one of San Diego’s “Top 25 Women Attorneys” and among the “Top 50 Attorneys” overall in the region. In 2020, she was recognized by SD METRO Magazine as one of 10 “Women of Influence” in the San Diego region.

Since 2019, Johanna has served as an Appellate Lawyer Representative to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, a small group of attorneys selected by the Circuit’s judges to work on improving the administration of the court and to advance the interests of the appellate bar and clients who appear in the Ninth Circuit. In August 2020, she was appointed to serve as a member of the Executive Council of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, which provides high-quality programming, information, training and resources to leaders of state, local, and specialty bar associations across the country. And, in 2021, she began a three-year term on the California Lawyers Association’s Committee on Appellate Courts, which promotes excellence, professionalism, and civility among appellate practitioners, and provides opportunities for connection, education, and pro bono representation in appellate practice.

In 2021, Johanna served by Mayoral appointment as Chair of the Board of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. She has served as a member of the Airport Authority’s Board since her nomination by the Mayor and unanimous confirmation by the San Diego City Council in 2018. Johanna serves on the nine-member Board of Directors overseeing the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority Board. The Airport Authority is an independent agency that manages the day-to-day operations of the San Diego International Airport and addresses the region’s long-term air transportation needs. As a member of the Board, Johanna routinely evaluates multi-million-dollar contracts, oversees implementation of a multi-billion-dollar terminal renovation project, and makes decisions on complex legal matters for the Airport Authority. She has served on Audit Committee, Capital Improvement and Oversight Committee, as well as on the Advisory Committee working with external stakeholders in the community and as the Airport’s representative on the Board (ex officio) and Transportation Committee of the San Diego Association of Governments. She also Chaired the Airport’s Executive Personnel and Compensation Committee, overseeing the three top executive employees. She currently serves as Chair of the Finance Committee.

The San Diego County Bar Association previously awarded Johanna its Community Service Award for her commitment to advancing the interests of women and girls, her work on leadership development, and her commitment to supporting the performing arts. Notably, when elected as the 113th President of the San Diego County Bar Association, Johanna became only the fourteenth woman to serve in that role in the organization’s history. Johanna’s service to the Community also was recognized by Lawyers Club of San Diego with its 2018 Community Service Award. She served as President of that organization from 2013-14, helped it grow to its highest membership levels to date in its prior 42-year history, and hosted the Hon. Sandra Day O’Connor (ret.) as the speaker at the organization’s Annual Dinner in 2014.

Johanna is a 2002 graduate of the UCLA School of Law, and a 1998 graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. She clerked for Judge M. Margaret McKeown on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Diego and Judge Christina A. Snyder on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles