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Inside Story: Geoffrey Fieger's Bitter Breakup With Ven Johnson

October 28, 2014, 6:11 AM

In the Free Press, L.L. Brasier details the fight -- punctuated with angry words, multimillion-dollar lawsuits, a law firm divided, and a friendship shattered beyond repair -- that characterized the breakup of super lawyer Geoffrey Fieger with his partner Ven Johnson, right.

The two former partners settled their lawsuits, though not necessarily their differences, in late September. The results are sealed, but court records from the dueling lawsuits and interviews offer an intimate glimpse of what went on behind the scenes of Michigan's most famous — some would say most notorious — law firm.

Johnson, 53, agreed to sit down with the Detroit Free Press for an exclusive interview after the final paperwork was filed earlier this month.

"I loved him more than I liked him," Johnson said in his corner office of the Buhl Building in downtown Detroit. His firm, Johnson Law, operates there with a staff of 35, including 13 attorneys. "I don't think I have the vocabulary to express how I felt. I viewed him as my big brother."

After Fieger and Johnson were acquitted in 2008 of charges of illegally funneling money to the presidential campaign of John Edwards, Brasier writes, Fieger, always "a yeller," became more erratic in the months and years that followed, bullying the staff and making unreasonable demands. Johnson said women were often in the restroom crying. And when Fieger's voice boomed across the office-wide intercom system, employees would cringe.

"Everybody would wonder who's going to get it now," Johnson recalled. "And more and more, it was against defenseless people."

Fieger declined Braiser's interview request.


Read more:  Detroit Free Press


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