Meet Lecia
Lecia Johnson is a shareholder on the Tax and Employee Benefits practices in Milwaukee.
Lecia counsels both publicly traded and privately held companies, as well as executives, on compensation planning matters such as equity compensation arrangements, nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements, short-term and long-term incentive compensation programs and other similar arrangements. Lecia also advises companies on compensatory life insurance arrangements and severance agreements. She has assisted clients with domestic compensation arrangements, as well as foreign compensation arrangements, both as applied to U.S. persons working abroad and foreign persons working in the U.S. Lecia also assists clients with compensation matters that arise in mergers & acquisitions. In particular, she works with clients to assess the impact of parachute payments on both employees and employers.
Lecia works closely with many of our publicly traded clients concerning their proxy compensation disclosures. She has also been actively involved in assisting clients with compliance under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code.
In addition to her work in compensation planning, Lecia works with tax-exempt clients, including community foundations, to navigate the tax laws applicable to such organizations. In addition to other topics, she advises on structuring issues for relationships between related tax-exempt organizations and also provides advice on how to structure simple or complex grants from donors to tax-exempt organizations.
Education
Juris Doctor, University of Iowa College of Law, 2000, with distinction
Bachelor of Arts, Illinois Wesleyan University, 1997, French and International Business, magna cum laude with research honors in French
Activities
Forest Home Cemetery Committee, Inc. – Board Chair
Forest Home Historic Preservation Association, Inc. – Board Member
TEMPO International Foundation – Board of Directors
TEMPO Milwaukee – Member
Godfrey & Kahn Women’s Leadership Forum – Chair
Honors
Named a 2016 recipient of the Wisconsin Law Journal's elite Women in the Law award
Named Professional Advisor of the Year by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation (2015)
Recognized as a Wisconsin Rising Star (2009 - 2014)
Recognized as 2022 Notable Women in Law by BizTimes
Listed in Best Lawyers in America (Tax Law, 2025)
Admitted To Practice
WisconsinProfessional Associations
American Bar Association, Milwaukee Bar Association, National Association of Stock Plan Providers, State Bar of Wisconsin