Power Lawyers: THR Unveils America’s Top 100 Entertainment Attorneys

The Hollywood Reporter

May 22, 2013

33: Neville Johnson

Johnson & Johnson 

Southwestern Law School

Why he matters: It's hard to tell whether Johnson is a bigger pain in the backside of studios or vice versa. He's now representing Knight Rider producer Glen Larson against Universal over millions of dollars from some of the most iconic television shows of the 1970s and 1980s. And when he's not playing with his folk-rock band Trevor McShane, he's spearheading mega class actions against record companies over digital downloads income and many of the film studios over accounting issues.

Key case: On the Larson matter, the court recently allowed him to sue for fraud over the way that Universal interprets contracts. “We are pioneering the law, and it's so difficult,” he says. “Lots of lawyers don't want to take these issues on because they work with studios, and talent doesn't want to be blacklisted.”