William E. Johnston

William (Will) Johnston is a former federal prosecutor and accomplished trial lawyer who represents corporations and individuals in government investigations and enforcement matters and complex business disputes.

Mr. Johnston is a respected white collar defense lawyer and investigator who has significant trial experience in federal court. He has supervised and prosecuted hundreds of fraud cases across the country in a wide array of industries, including the technology sector, financial services, healthcare, and government programs. Mr. Johnston has extensive experience working alongside civil enforcement agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC), and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). He uses this to his clients’ advantage when they face parallel investigations or civil enforcement matters.

Prior to joining Bird Marella, Mr. Johnston served as Assistant Chief in the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. During his decade-long tenure at the DOJ, Mr. Johnston was the lead prosecutor on dozens of complex fraud cases against corporations and individuals involving the full range of white collar offenses, including allegations of insider trading, accounting fraud, securities fraud, bribery, money laundering, and obstruction of justice. He has tried numerous complex criminal cases before juries around the country. Some of these cases include:

• Investigation and eleven-week trial of former executives from Outcome Health, a high-profile Chicago-based healthcare technology startup, in a $1 billion corporate, bank, and investor fraud scheme, described by Crain’s Chicago Business as “one of the most high-profile and lengthy white-collar cases in Chicago history.” Mr. Johnston delivered a seven-hour closing argument, resulting in convictions of all three defendants.
• Five-week trial of a former CEO of a Las Vegas and Tokyo-based investment company for running a $1.56 billion Ponzi scheme involving the sale of medical debt – one of the largest Ponzi scheme cases ever to go to trial. Obtained convictions on all counts.
• Four-week trial of Boston-based executive vice president of State Street Corporation for a scheme to charge hidden commission on billions of dollars of securities trades for pension fund clients. Obtained convictions on most serious charges.

Mr. Johnston also has extensive experience litigating complex asset forfeiture issues. For over four years, Mr. Johnston supervised many of the Fraud Section’s enforcement programs, including its portfolio of consumer, investor, and bank fraud cases, where he coordinated closely with the FTC, SEC, and the Office of the Inspector General of the FDIC. For the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Johnston oversaw the Paycheck Protection Program enforcement initiative where he supervised approximately 30 prosecutors and over 100 investigations. Through this initiative, he and his team charged over 160 defendants in over 30 different judicial districts involving losses of over $180 million.

Well respected by his peers, Mr. Johnston served as a thought leader within the DOJ on issues concerning electronic evidence gathering and discovery. Mr. Johnston has received several awards and honors throughout his career. Some of these include the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service and the Investigations Award for Excellence from the Council for Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. Mr. Johnston is a graduate of Stanford Law School and Harvard College.