Mr. Knut Sveinbjorn Johnson | Member

Knut S. Johnson, a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, is the practice group leader for our Environmental Litigation & Policy practice group. He brings over 30 years of experience as a trial attorney to Singleton Schreiber. Representing clients in federal and state courts across the nation, he has handled complex trials, appeals, and habeas corpus proceedings and litigated cases alleging violations of environmental laws, including under the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.

Mr. Johnson’s diverse and sophisticated litigation practice has included the representation of many clients, from large corporations to small business owners, and from judges to doctors to entire communities. Together with his many trials and appeals, he has represented clients before the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol and the Mueller Special Counsel’s Office investigation.

Mr. Johnson has been recognized with many awards and honors, including the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, unanimous “Well Qualified” rating (the highest ABA rating) after nomination to U.S. District Court, 2020; Top 50 Attorneys, San Diego Super Lawyers, 2020 and 2019; University of San Diego, School of Law, Distinguished Alumni Award, 2018; America’s Top 100 Attorneys
Lifetime Achievement Selection, 2018; Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, 2017; Lawyer of the Year, White Collar Criminal Defense, San Diego, Best Lawyers in America, 2016; and the E. Stanley Conant Award, Defenders Organizations of San Diego, 2005 and 2013.

He graduated cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law and before his legal career, Mr. Johnson studied petroleum engineering and geology as an undergraduate and graduate student at Tulane University, where he received the W.A. Tarr Award for outstanding Earth Sciences Graduate. He then worked as a petroleum geologist for a major oil company, where he mapped oil reserves and worked on production estimates and on rigs during the final stages of drilling. He also received a significant amount of professional training in areas like well completion, exploration, and related topics.

Mr. Johnson is licensed to practice in the state courts of Arizona, California, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington. In addition, he is admitted to practice in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits, as well as many different U.S. District Courts. He is also admitted to practice before the International Criminal Court, The Hague, Netherlands. He has served as the Chair of the Practitioners Advisory Group to the United States Sentencing Commission and testified before the Commission on several occasions. He presently serves on the Ethics Committee for the San Diego County Bar Association.