Hillary Leigh Johnson

About Hillary Leigh Johnson

I was born and raised in Florida, and grew up in a family of law enforcement. My father was a major for the Florida Highway Patrol, and my brother is currently a trooper with FHP in Tallahassee. My dad was a large influence in my life, and I always knew I wanted to have a career in the law. I remember the stories my dad would tell me about people he arrested and how scared they were about what would happen to them next. Before I decided to go to law school, I was very involved with softball while I was in high school in Fort Myers, and I was able to play in the high school championship game. I was also selected first team all state, a prestigious honor for softball players. As a result, I ended up receiving an athletic scholarship to play softball at Florida Gulf Coast University. Afterwards I went to Florida State University and earned my degree in Communication with a minor in Business. After FSU, I decided to follow my passion for law and began law school at Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama. While I was there, I got involved with different school activities by serving as the Chairman of the Board of Advocates and the President of the Jones Public Interest Law Foundation. I was also selected to compete in trial competitions across the nation and I had several top 5 finishes. I enjoyed the trial competitions so much that I decided to take an internship with the State Attorney's Office in Panama City, Florida. While I was there I got to try criminal traffic and other misdemeanor cases before I graduated. It was an amazing experience and from there I knew I wanted to devote my career to fighting for people in the courtroom. After graduating from law school, I worked as a lawyer for the Department of Children and Families where I fought for children who were caught up in an abusive family situation. However, I missed the criminal courtroom, and decided to work for the State Attorney's Office in Sarasota and Manatee County. During my time at the State Attorney's Office, I gained much more trial experience prosecuting criminal cases including theft, trespass, criminal mischief, DUI, battery and drug trafficking. I also served as the lead DUI Prosecutor in the Manatee County office where I handled defense attacks on the Intoxilyzer and litigated hundreds of DUI cases. While there, I also completed the Advanced DUI School hosted by the Florida Prosecutor Attorney Association and received extensive training in the areas of Jury Selection, Search and Arrest Warrants and Social Media Evidence. After leaving the State Attorney's Office, I came to MSPerryLaw where I now use my skills learned as a prosecutor to help those accused of crimes. Having experience on both sides, I realize I have a much stronger passion helping those accused of crimes get through the system and fight for their rights than I ever had prosecuting those same cases. Like my father, I understand how scary it can be for someone being charged with a crime. However, unlike my dad, I have chosen a path to become involved with those people to help them get through the criminal justice system. I truly believe that most of us are good people who either have been unjustly accused or have made a poor judgment in our lives. I can assure you that I will use all my experience and skills to either beat your case, or minimize the consequences in order to restore your freedom and reputation. If you have been charged with a crime, I would be happy to speak with you to see how we can help you get through this very difficult time. As former prosecutors at MSPerryLaw, I believe we have the skills and passion necessary to get the best results for anyone accused of a crime. As such, I hope you will consider our firm should the unfortunate situation occur in either your life or in the life of someone you love.

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