Maurice A. Johnson is a partner in Lewis Brisbois’ Fort Lauderdale office and a member of the Administrative Law & Regulatory, Government Investigations & White-Collar Defense, and Complex Business & Commercial Litigation Practices. As a seasoned and former prosecutor, Maurice is an experienced trial attorney who, for more than two decades, has applied his deep knowledge, unique perspectives, and leadership experience to consistently achieve the government’s objectives in state and federal courts.

Prior to joining the Business Practices Group at Lewis Brisbois, Maurice was an Assistant U.S. Attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida in Miami. As a line assistant in the Appellate Division, the Major Crimes Section, and the Economic and Environmental Crimes Section (Economic Crimes Section), Maurice filed appellate briefs and prosecuted matters involving mail and wire fraud, international money laundering, Ponzi schemes, stolen identity theft refund fraud, and violations of the Investment Advisor Act. He also has prosecuted public corruption matters and was awarded the U.S. Department of Justice Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant United States Attorney.

Throughout his career, Maurice has served in numerous supervisory roles in the Southern District of Florida, including as an Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney – the third highest position in the district – and as Deputy Chief of the Economic Crimes Section. As a Deputy Chief, Maurice supervised attorneys who prosecuted sophisticated and complex fraud schemes, including securities fraud and commodities fraud. He also collaborated with senior members from regulatory agencies – including the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation – regarding parallel investigations. In addition, Maurice helped supervise the chiefs of the Appellate, Civil, Criminal, Administration, and Asset Forfeiture Divisions. Notably, Maurice participated in the development and implementation of the U.S. Attorney Office’s first ever Whistleblower Non-Prosecution Pilot Program. Before becoming a federal prosecutor, Maurice was an Assistant District Attorney at the New York County District Attorney’s office where he served in the Trial Division, Office of Special Narcotics Prosecutor, and in the Rackets Bureau.

Outside of his practice, Maurice is committed to the training and advancement of law students and young lawyers. He has served as a visiting faculty member at the Harvard Law School Trial Advocacy Workshop and the Kessler-Eidson Program for Trial Techniques at the Emory University School of Law. Maurice also has served as faculty at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy’s (NITA) Trial Skills Program in Philadelphia, New York City, and California, and at NITA’s Deposition Skills Program at the University of Miami.

Professional Presentations

• Panelist, “Parallel Proceedings: Challenges and Best Practices”, 2024 U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Cooperative Enforcement Conference, January 2024
• Panelist, “Trends and Emerging Issues in Securities Enforcement”,  2023 Southeastern Securities Conference, April 2023
• Panelist, “Economic Impact of Crypto Currency Crimes in Miami”, South Florida Economic Summit, March 2023
• Panelist, “Brady/Giglio Evidence”, The ABA 38^th Annual National Institute on White Collar Crime, March 2023

Admissions

• State Bar Admissions
  • Florida
  • New York
• United States District Courts
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

Education

University of Pittsburgh School of Law

Juris Doctor, 2001

Mansfield University of Pennsylvania

Bachelor of Science, 1996