Michael A. Johnson

Michael A. Johnson is a partner at the law firm of Kay Griffin Evans, PLLC, and represents the best interests of clients throughout Nashville, Tennessee. He has handled a variety of complicated legal matters during his tenure with the firm:

·      Business advisory services: business advisor and outside general counsel

·      Intellectual property and entertainment law: Patents, trademarks, contracts and licensing, copyrights, defamation, unfair competition, right of privacy and publicity

·       Construction law: Contract disputes, mechanic's liens, workplace injury claims, design issues and construction defect claims

·       Business Litigation: Commercial litigation, mergers and acquisitions and more

Mr. Johnson received his Juris Doctor from the Vanderbilt Law School. During his time there, he was placed on the dean’s list and was a part of the Vanderbilt Law Review. He won the Vanderbilt Scholastic Excellence Award and the Editor’s Award for his outstanding contribution to law review.

Mr. Johnson’s practice focuses on business transactions, entertainment law, intellectual property, and complex commercial litigation. Mr. Johnson regularly handles copyright and trademark applications, intellectual property licensing, entertainment transactions, and corporate transactions. His clients include music licensing companies, tech companies, and various other businesses, for which he serves as a business advisor and outside general counsel. He also has extensive experience in a wide variety of civil litigation matters at both the trial and appellate level in state and federal courts across the country.

For each of the past ten years, Mr. Johnson has been recognized as a Mid-South Super Lawyers Rising Star. In 2024, Mr. Johnson was recognized as one of the “Best Lawyers In America” in the areas of commercial litigation and copyright law. He is also a member of the Nashville Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law American Inns of Court.

In 2011, Mr. Johnson received the International Trademark Association’s prestigious Ladas Memorial Award for his article The Waning Consumer Protection Rationale of Trademark Law: Over-Protective Courts and the Path to Stifling Post-Sale Consumer Use, 101 TMR 1321 (2011).

Prior to law school, Mr. Johnson worked in various capacities in the entertainment industry, including at Creative Artists Agency. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Johnson worked as an attorney at Loeb & Loeb LLP in its entertainment group.

Mr. Johnson has successfully litigated a number of cases in the state and appellate courts of Tennessee. He is licensed to practice in Tennessee, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the Middle, Eastern and Western Districts of Tennessee, and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle and Eastern Districts of Tennessee.