Zachary Johnson

Zachary H. Johnson is a versatile litigator with a wealth of experience in criminal and civil practice derived from his employment at some of New York’s top legal institutions. He specializes primarily in criminal defense, civil litigation, civil rights, and FINRA-related matters and serves as the firm’s managing partner.           Mr. Johnson began his legal career serving as an Assistant District Attorney under the Hon. Robert M. Morgenthau, District Attorney of New York County.  Mr. Johnson first served in the Appeals Bureau, where he authored approximately 30 briefs submitted to the Appellate Division and Term of the Supreme Court of New York and the New York Court of Appeals. In one such matter, Mr. Johnson successfully argued People v. Providence, 2 NY3d 579 (2004) which was heard by New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals. After leaving the Appeals Bureau, Mr. Johnson transferred to the Trial Division and served as a trial attorney where he acted as lead prosecutor in numerous felony and misdemeanor jury trials, grand jury presentations, and evidentiary and suppression hearings, and was a member of that office’s Identity Theft Unit.             Mr. Johnson left the D.A.’s office in 2006 to join the litigation group at Shearman & Sterling LLP. There, Mr. Johnson worked on a variety of civil and investigative matters, including an internal investigation of a large global firm in connection with an international bribery and corruption probe and an adversary proceeding in connection with the bankruptcy of a prominent investment bank. He took and defended depositions and cross-examined an adversary’s CFO in commercial litigation arbitration proceedings. He has also represented clients in connection with landlord and tenant and subpoena-compliance matters.            Since forming Galluzzo & Johnson LLP with his former colleague at the Manhattan DA’s Office, Mr. Johnson has developed a solid reputation as a go-to litigator and legal advisor for financial professionals. Indeed, he can claim to have won a multimillion dollar FINRA arbitration on behalf of a broker that Fortune magazine described as “practically impossible.” (Read the article about the case here). Mr. Johnson has also had tremendous success defending FINRA-licensed professionals against a variety of criminal charges and advising them in employment-related matters. Mr. Johnson’s client list is not limited to finance professionals, however. He has also successfully defended a wide variety of professionals, working people, students and tourists in all sorts of criminal matters, favorably settled civil rights claims on behalf of victims of false arrests and/or physical abuse by law enforcement, andlitigated complex civil lawsuits and appeals on behalf of individuals and corporations alike.            Mr. Johnson graduated magna cum laude from Temple University School of Law in Philadelphia. He served as a staff editor on the Temple Law Review and received the school’s Barrister Award in Trial Advocacy and the Lynne M. Abraham (Philadelphia District Attorney) award for outstanding performance in Criminal Law and Professional Responsibility. Mr. Johnson authored a law review comment that was later cited in New York Court of Appeals Judge Albert Rosenblatt’s treatise, The Complete Search Warrant, Annotated. While in law school, Mr. Johnson held internships at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office as well as the Philadelphia branch of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.Mr. Johnson is a co-founder of Galluzzo & Johnson LLP. He is licensed to practice in New York, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and is a member of New York State Bar Association, where he serves as a member of the Electronic Communications Committee as well as the New York City Bar Association, where he serves as a member of the Criminal Advocacy Committee. Mr. Johnson is also conversant in Spanish.