Mr. Johnston practices in the areas of qualified retirement plans, executive compensation and employee benefits plans.  He is a frequent lecturer on employee benefit plans for numerous organizations, including the American Bankers Association, the Community Bankers Association of Illinois and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.  Mr. Johnston is an instructor for the Accounting and Finance, Contemporary Legal Environment of Employee Benefit Plans, and Life, Health and Other Group Benefit Programs courses for the Certified Employee Benefits Specialist Program, co-sponsored by the Wharton School of Business, the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and Michigan State University.

Mr. Johnston received a Bachelor of Arts from Albion College, where he graduated, magna cum laude, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan.  He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and its section on Taxation Law.

Mr. Johnston is the co-author of the article "Recent Development in Commercial Tort Law," American Bar Association's Tort & Insurance Law Journal, Winter 1995 and "Stock Compensation Plans Proving Attractive for Banks, Other Financial Institutions," published in the Michigan Banker, September 1999.