Photo of Elaine Johnston

Elaine Johnston

Partner

Email

elaine.johnston@aoshearman.com

Phone

+1 212 610 6388

Offices

New York

V-CARD
Elaine has handled matters in a wide range of industries, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, oil and gas, engineering, banking and financial services, agricultural products, and vitamins. 

She has been featured in Chambers USA, BTI Client Service All-Stars, PLC Which Lawyer?, The International Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers, Euromoney’s Guide to the World’s Leading Competition and Antitrust Lawyers, and Global Competition Review's Women in Antitrust 2021. 

Elaine has an active practice before the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) representing merging parties in connection with mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures, as well as companies in non-merger investigations, and she is particularly experienced in coordinating U.S., European, and other foreign antitrust clearances on complex cross-border deals. Elaine also has an active antitrust litigation practice including representing the Belarusian Potash Company, Experian, Mercuria, and Saudi Aramco. In addition, she regularly advises companies on business conduct, including worldwide distribution and licensing arrangements, patent pools, information exchanges and benchmarking. 

Elaine was ranked Band 3 in Chambers USA 2023 and has been ranked for 21 years.

Elaine is a member of the American Bar Association (Antitrust section) and the New York State Bar Association (Chair, Antitrust Law section). She is also a former member of the editorial board of the ABA’s Competition Laws Outside the United States, a former associate editor of the Antitrust Law Journal, and a former member of the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. She is a frequent speaker at antitrust conferences and seminars. 

Expertise

Industries

Experience

Representative matters

  • International pipeline services company in its non-judicial restructuring of approximately USD150m in secured debt, including through an equity investment and a new secured credit facility.

Published Work

  • “Antitrust focus on Private Equity Funds and Serial Acquisitions” CPI Antitrust Chronicle (June 2024), with Puja Patel and Ben Stievator.
  • Co-author, 'Antitrust Aspects of Settling Intellectual Property Litigation,' Intellectual Property Antitrust 2006, published by the Practising Law Institute, 2006, republished in The Licensing Journal Volume 26 Number 8, September 2006, with Matthew J. Galvin.
  • 'Antitrust Liability for Acts and Omissions in Dealing with Government Entities,' Intellectual Property Antitrust 2005, published by the Practising Law Institute, 2005.
  • 'Intellectual Property as an 'Essential Facility,'' Intellectual Property Antitrust 2004, published by the Practising Law Institute, 2004, republished in The Computer & Internet Lawyer, February 2005.
  • Co-author, 'Contrast or Convergence? The IP Guidelines and the New EU Technology Transfer Block Exemption,' Antitrust Magazine, Spring 1995, with Ronald W. Davis.
  • 'Dual Representation in Antitrust Investigations,' Antitrust Law in New York State, published by the New York State Bar Association, 1995.
  • Contributor, Bellamy & Child, Common Market Law of Competition, Fourth Edition (Sweet & Maxwell 1993); responsible for section on intellectual property licensing.
  • Co-author, 'Antitrust Aspects of Reverse Engineering,' Intellectual Property Antitrust 1993, published by the Practising Law Institute, 1993, with David Bender.

Leadership Positions And Professional Affiliations

  • American Bar Association, Antitrust Section.
  • New York State Bar Association, Finance Officer, Antitrust Law Section.
  • Editorial Board of Competition Laws Outside the United States
  • Former Associate Editor of the Antitrust Law Journal
  • Former Member of Committee on Antitrust and Trade Regulation of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York 
     

Recognition

“Elaine is always part of the solution for our business - she helps us achieve our goals while managing risk from a legal perspective. ”
Who's Who Legal Competition, 2021
“She's experienced and client-focused, she's is an outstanding partner. ”
Chambers USA 2022, Antitrust: New York

Awards

  • Ranked Band 3 in Chambers USA 2022: Antitrust

Qualifications

Admissions

Registered Foreign Lawyer, England and Wales, 2024

Admitted: Bar of the State of New York, 1988

Admitted: United States District Courts Southern District of New York, 1995

Eastern District of New York, 1995

Admitted: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2009

Academic

LL.M., University of Michigan Law School, Fulbright Scholar, 1987

M.A., Cambridge University, 1984

B.A. honors, Clare College Cambridge, 1980

Languages

English
Disclaimer
A&O Shearman was formed on May 1, 2024 by the combination of Shearman & Sterling LLP and Allen & Overy LLP and their respective affiliates (the legacy firms). Any matters referred to above may include matters undertaken by one or more of the legacy firms rather than A&O Shearman.