Michelle W. Johnson is a partner of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP who practices in Atlanta in the areas of labor and employment law, business litigation, and appellate work.  She represents management in lawsuits and administrative proceedings arising out of all aspects of the employment relationship, including race, sex, age, disability, and other discrimination claims; whistleblower suits; enforcement of non-compete, non-solicitation, trade secret, and confidentiality covenants; wage and hour disputes; and other matters. She has significant experience representing employers in class actions filed under Title VII and the Fair Labor Standards Act. She has tried cases before the National Labor Relations Board and in state and federal courts throughout Georgia, and has appeared before the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court, and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Sixth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits.

Ms. Johnson routinely counsels employers in connection with hiring, discipline, terminations, wage payment practices, the preparation of executive employment agreements, employee training, the drafting and review of personnel policies, compliance with state and federal recordkeeping and reporting requirements, and strategies for the prevention of employee lawsuits. She also assists businesses with employment issues arising out of mergers and acquisitions, stock and asset purchase agreements, and other corporate transactions.

Ms. Johnson is a member of the State Bar of Georgia (Labor and Employment Section) and is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Sixth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits, and the U.S. District Courts for the Middle and Northern Districts of Georgia. She is a member of the American Bar Association (Labor and Employment and Litigation Sections), the Atlanta Bar Association (Labor and Employment Law Section), the National Association of Women Lawyers and the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers. From 1995 until 2003, she served on the editorial board of the Georgia Bar Journal.

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Johnson was associated with another leading law firm. From 1991-93, she served as law clerk to Judge R. Lanier Anderson, III of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Johnson is the author of "Solving the Problem of Prenatal Substance Abuse: An Analysis of Punitive and Rehabilitative Approaches," Emory Law Journal, Fall 1990. She co-authored "Lies and Damned Lies: The Use of Statistics in Employment Discrimination Cases," which was published in the Spring 2006 newsletter of the Defense Research Institute's Employment Law Committee.

In 1991, Ms. Johnson earned a Juris Doctor degree, with distinction, from Emory University School of Law where she was inducted into the Order of the Coif. While a law student, Ms. Johnson served as Notes and Comments Editor of the Emory Law Journal. Ms. Johnson earned a Bachelor of Arts in English, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Rhodes College in 1988.