Jarrett Johnson, Trial Lawyer

A down-to-earth nationally recognized trial lawyer fighting for survivors and their families.

A Trial Lawyer Who Knows How to Win

I’ve spent more than 30 years in courtrooms fighting for people whose lives were torn apart by abuse, negligence, or tragedy. In 2000, the Missouri Bar Foundation honored me with the Lon O. Hocker Memorial Trial Lawyer Award, recognizing trial skills that few lawyers in Missouri history have achieved.

Today, I use that experience to stand with survivors of religious boarding school abuse and families whose children were harmed or killed due to foster care agency negligence. I know what it takes to take a case to trial—and to win.

Call today for a confidential consultation.

My Practice

My work today focuses on some of the hardest cases any family can face:

  • • Religious Boarding School Abuse – representing survivors of sexual abuse, forced labor, and psychological torture at so-called “faith-based” boarding schools.

  • • Foster Care Agency Negligence – representing families whose children were injured, raped, or killed because foster care agencies ignored warning signs and failed to protect them.

  • • Serious Personal Injury & Wrongful Death – including auto collisions, unsafe premises, catastrophic workplace injuries, and defective products.

  • • Civil Rights & Employment Discrimination – including racial profiling, workplace discrimination, and denial of education services.

  • • Criminal Defense – with a record of acquittals and dismissals in some of the most serious felony charges, including first- and second-degree murder.

Results That Matter

Past results are no guarantee of future results. Every case is different and must be judged on its own merits. Missouri Supreme Court Rule 4-7.1(c).

• Religious Boarding School Abuse: More than two dozen confidential settlements for survivors who were sexually abused, tortured, and exploited as teenagers.

• Foster Care Negligence:
– Girl repeatedly raped in foster care after agency ignored her therapist’s grooming warnings. Confidential settlement.
– Boy suffered catastrophic brain damage from fentanyl overdose because agencies failed to screen residents. Confidential settlement.
– Medically fragile teenager placed on a cot in a foster care office instead of a secure facility. After repeated escapes, she was found dead. Confidential settlement.

• Personal Injury: $32.1 million arbitration award in a multi-car crash caused by a city fire truck—one of Missouri’s largest ever. Numerous confidential settlements for slip-and-fall, wrongful death, and catastrophic injury claims.

• Civil Rights: Confidential settlements for victims of racial profiling, workplace discrimination, and assaults by those in positions of power.

• Criminal Defense: Multiple acquittals in first- and second-degree murder trials, along with numerous dismissals, not-guilty verdicts, and reversals on appeal in serious felony cases.

About Me

I have been fortunate to work in both the public and private sectors: for the State of Missouri, at one of the country’s largest law firms, in smaller boutique practices, and—since 2010—at my own law firm. This experience has given me the ability to see cases from all sides and bring a unique perspective to trial strategy.

Over the past 30 years, I have first-chaired nearly 40 jury trials to verdict and assisted other lawyers in many more. My reputation has been built on preparation, persistence, and the ability to connect with juries in the most difficult cases.

My Approach

I know that people rarely come to a lawyer with good news. My role is to listen, to understand, and to fight for justice—whether for survivors of abuse, families devastated by foster care negligence, or those injured or accused in life-altering events.

If you are facing one of these challenges, I welcome the opportunity to stand with you.

I now handle these cases with my law partner, Geordie McGonagle, at my newly-formed law firm: McGonagle Spencer Johnson, LLC (www.mcgonaglespencer.com). Please call me there at 816-221-2222. I will answer your questions and tell you how I can be your voice and advocate for justice and closure.