Faculty Profile: Hon. Deanna Johnson

In nearly 25 years of private practice, Deanna Johnson honed her experience in both civil and criminal matters. Over the course of her career, she represented large and small corporations, family businesses, insurance companies and government entities, and across a spectrum of industries - communications, transportation, entertainment, distribution, media, retail and manufacturing, to name a few.

Governor Bill Haslam pointed to that depth of experience in November 2014, when he appointed Johnson to the Circuit Court bench in Tennessee's 21st District, which includes Williamson, Hickman, Lewis and Perry counties. Since that time, Judge Johnson has become known as a fair jurist, compassionate yet tough, reasonable yet relentlessly focused on enforcing the laws of our state.

Prior to her appointment, Johnson was in private practice in Franklin, having previously served as an associate at the law firms of Spicer, Flynn & Rudstrom and King & Ballow, respectively, both located in Nashville. She received her law degree from DePaul University in Chicago in 1991 and a bachelor's degree in political science at the University of Illinois in 1988. She has practiced in state courts in more than 20 counties throughout Tennessee as well as in federal court, including the Middle District of Tennessee and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Johnson has been a small business owner, including the Leiper's Fork Market in Franklin, the Duck River Market in Duck River, Tenn., and the Pinewood General Store in Nunnelly, Tenn. She is married to state Senator Jack Johnson, and is mother to their three children: Mackenzie, Trevor and Walker.