Sarah Ellen Johnson – a former Kansas Capital Appellate Defender with more than 17 years of experience in the appeals courts of Kansas – has joined Monnat & Spurrier, Chartered to lead the firm’s appellate practice and legal research and writing section.

“Sarah has taken two cases to the United States Supreme Court and filed over 80 briefs in the Kansas appeals courts, including five briefs in death penalty cases,” said Dan Monnat, president of the firm. “She is an accomplished writer with a gift for honing persuasive legal arguments, and we are thrilled to have her leading our appellate practice.”

Johnson received her law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School, with honors. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Carleton College.

Founded in 1985 by litigator Dan Monnat and legal scholar Stan Spurrier, Monnat & Spurrier has built an international reputation for criminal defense, white-collar criminal defense, computer crimes defense and appellate defense. The firm now has seven attorneys.