Barbara L. Johnson J.D. ’84 Completes Two Terms on William & Mary’s Board of Visitors

After eight years of dedicated service, most recently as Vice Rector, Barbara L. Johnson J.D. ’84 officially completed her work with the William & Mary Board of Visitors on June 30.

Johnson was appointed to the BOV in 2017 by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and again in 2021 by Governor Ralph Northam. She served as secretary from 2020 to 2022. In addition to her most recent role as vice rector, she served as chair of the Committee on Academic Affairs and vice chair of the Executive Committee, and as a member of the Richard Bland College Committee.

“Barbara Johnson once said that ‘laws are words on a page, it is people who make the law come alive,’” said A. Benjamin Spencer, Dean and Trustee Professor of the Law School. “Her deep commitment to service perfectly illustrates how seriously she takes her role as a Citizen Lawyer, and the University, the law school, and the greater community are all the better for it.”

Prior to joining the BOV, Johnson was a member of the Board of Trustees of the William & Mary Law School Foundation, where she served as president from 2014 to 2016 and as vice president from 2012 to 2014. She was also a major force behind the first Law School African American Law Alumni Celebration in 2014 and served as a co-chair of the second celebration in 2018.

Outside of William & Mary, she has served as President of the National Employment Law Counsel, Chairman of  the Board of Governors for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a member of the Council for Court Excellence, and the Counselors Council of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

Before attending William & Mary, Johnson earned her undergraduate degree from Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia. Her husband, John “Michael” Payne, is an honorary 2017 alumnus of William & Mary Law School.

Johnson was a partner with Paul Hastings LLP for 14 years, and is the founder of BLJohnsonLaw and counsel with Potter & Murdock PC, a women- and minority-owned law firm where she represents management in labor and employment matters.

An employment lawyer, workplace consultant and public speaker with more than 30 years of experience, Johnson has represented a wide array of employers, ranging from Global 50 companies to nonprofit organizations.

She is also the co-host of “Today’s Workplace,” a podcast focusing on the intersection of employment law and human potential.