PALO ALTO, California, September 8, 2025―Duane Morris LLP has appointed Silicon Valley partner Brian L. Johnsrud as vice chair of the firm’s Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group. Johnsrud will assume the role of chair on January 1, 2026, from New York partner Eve I. Klein, who has served in that position since 2018.
Johnsrud is managing partner of the firm’s Silicon Valley office and a member of its governing Partners Board. He has represented companies in their most challenging employment law matters for more than 25 years. Johnsrud defends companies in multiple forums, from agency proceedings and hearings to arbitration and litigation. He has achieved more than a dozen winning arbitration awards. Johnsrud gives specific litigation recommendations, from strategy calls to settlement authority, and does so in a cost-effective and results-oriented manner. He defends a wide variety of claims, from whistleblower/retaliation claims to gender, age and race discrimination cases as well as executive contract and compensation matters. Johnsrud has defended many PAGA actions as well as other wage-and-hour claims. He is a frequent advisor on sensitive investigations and executive separations.
A long-time resident of Silicon Valley, Johnsrud focuses his client representation in the technology, finance, and bioscience and life sciences industries. He has worked on employment law issues for artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, clean energy, communications, electronic gaming, hardware, internet, medical devices, mobile devices, semiconductors, software and transportation companies. Johnsrud has worked with startups and mid-size companies, as well as many of the largest technology companies in the world. He speaks and writes on employment law trends, especially those facing technology companies.
Johnsrud is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School (J.D., cum laude, 1996) and Saint Cloud State University (B.A., summa cum laude, 1993).
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP provides innovative solutions to today’s multifaceted legal and business challenges through the collegial and collaborative culture of its more than 900 attorneys in offices across the United States and internationally. The firm represents a broad array of clients, spanning all major practices and industries. Duane Morris has been recognized by BTI Consulting as both a client service leader and a highly recommended law firm.
