Page 30 - SeptemberOctober25 Report

MEMORIALS
Memorials honor the lives of deceased members of the local Bar. For more information, contact Lisa Quintanilla at (513) 699-1391 or lquintanilla@cincybar.org.
James L. Johnson, Esq.
1945 ­ – 2025
A Great Cincinnatian
The list of great Cincinnatians
who have tremendously impacted our
community is long and distinguished.
However, that list is incomplete without
James (“Jim”) L. Johnson, Esq., who
leaves behind a rich legacy of trans-
forming the lives of hundreds of students and inspiring many to
pursue a career in the legal profession.
Jim was born on December 8, 1945 in Cincinnati and grew up
in the West End and Walnut Hills. After graduating from Walnut
Hills High School in 1964, Jim earned his bachelor’s degree in
1970 from the University of Cincinnati. Jim worked for several
years before enrolling at the University of Cincinnati College
of Law in 1977. Upon graduating in 1980, Jim had a long and
distinguished legal career, serving as an Assistant City Solicitor,
an Assistant to the City Manager, a Chief Investigator of the City’s
Office of Municipal Investigation and as a trial attorney in the
Hamilton County Public Defender’s Office Juvenile Division until
retiring in 2015. While Jim had a legal career that many would be
proud of, perhaps his greatest accomplishment and legacy is the
Summer Work Experience in Law (“SWEL”) program.
Founded in 1988, SWEL is a Cincinnati-based program
that historically exposed Black high school and college students
(“Scholars”) to the legal profession. The program offers students
summer internships at a number of legal offices around the city,
including major law firms, large corporations, local government
and with state and federal judges. For Jim, the SWEL program
was important because it gave students without any connection to
the legal profession a window into law school and the rigors of the
practice of law. Jim also knew SWEL would be an instrumental
pipeline to increase diversity in the Cincinnati legal commu-
nity. Over 500 Scholars have participated in the SWEL program
since its inception and many of those Scholars have become part-
ners at major law firms, government officials, in-house attorneys
at major corporations, executive officers at nonprofit organiza-
tions, sitting judges and a United States Attorney. To say that Jim
and the SWEL program have had a tremendous impact on the
Cincinnati legal community would be an understatement. And
for the Scholars who did not pursue a legal career, Jim nonethe-
less ensured that they would become successful as local leaders in
the community in whatever career path they chose.
Above all, through SWEL, Jim dedicated his life to mento-
ring Scholars both during and long after the program. Jim often
attended graduation ceremonies, birthday parties, weddings and
baby showers. In many respects, Jim was not only a mentor, but he
was also a father figure, a friend, an academic and career coach, a
social worker and a spiritual advisor to many of his Scholars. Jim
often said that while he never had any biological children, he was
blessed with the hundreds of students with whom he developed
lifelong relationships and who affectionately referred to him as
“Mr. J.” I count myself as one of his lucky “kids” as I would not
be a partner at a large law firm today had it not been for SWEL
and Mr. J.
On June 20, 2025, Jim passed away peacefully surrounded
by family, friends and many of his current and former SWEL
Scholars. Through the SWEL program, Jim will be remembered
not only as a great Cincinnatian, but a great human being who
gave selflessly of his time and energy to all Scholars. While Jim is
no longer here, his legacy and the SWEL program will continue
to live on for many years to come.
Reginald L. Staples, Jr.
Partner at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
President of the Board of SWEL
30 THE REPORT | September/October 2025 | CincyBar.org