The Pryor Cashman community is mourning the loss of Jeffrey Johnson, our partner, colleague, and friend, who passed away in early July after a hard-fought battle with pancreatic cancer. He was a steadfast member of the firm who shared his upbeat approach with everyone throughout nearly a quarter-century of practice here.

Jeff joined Pryor Cashman in 2000 after working in-house at Boston Scientific, and he immediately brought a unique blend of legal skill, technical know-how, and general curiosity that he used to grow a distinctive practice. He was a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property and Corporate Groups, and led the Cannabis and Life Sciences Practices.

In his practice, Jeff was known for helping clients with a wide range of IP issues and complex transactions. He worked with small- to mid-cap companies and startups in the telecommunications, software, cannabis, entertainment, biotech, and pharmaceutical industries, and was especially adept at handling IP-driven and cannabis-focused transactions, including helping cannabis businesses with licensing and capital markets matters.

Jeff never left his interest in science and technical creativity behind, and continued to advise university professors and other academics seeking to commercialize their inventions, including a Nobel laureate, a MacArthur Fellow, and an applied physicist whose images of the sun have been featured on U.S. postage stamps.

Partner Brad D. Rose, a co-chair of the firm’s IP Group and a close friend of Jeff’s, said following his passing:

Jeff’s intellect and legal acumen, his genuinely upbeat demeanor, his positive outlook about life, family, friendship, and work, together with his always cheerful and anticipated daily greeting of “GOOD MORNING, HOW ARE YOU THIS FINE DAY?” will all be sorely missed by his Pryor Cashman family. May Jeff’s memory be for a blessing, and may his family, friends, and colleagues be comforted by our cherished memories of Jeff and the love and light that he shared with us all.

Partner John Crowe, a co-chair of the Corporate Group, remembered working with Jeff:

He was a terrific lawyer who was able to get things done in an efficient, practical, and positive way. In the middle of a difficult deal he would often say when asked how he was doing, in a cheerful and heartfelt way, “I’m having all kinds of fun.” He was unflappable, and I’m going to miss him greatly.

Managing Partner Ronald Shechtman, who shared the news of Jeff’s death with the firm, said:

Jeffrey was a partner at our firm for 24 years and touched almost all of us with his positivity, kindness, intelligence, and friendship. We share a great loss, and he will be dearly missed.

In lieu of flowers or other gifts, his family has suggested donations to Precede – The Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection Consortium at https://precedestudy.org/Donations or by mail: TrovaNow, Attn: Debbie Brandel, PO Box 207, Red Hook, NY 12571.