Retired Delaware Superior Court Judge Mary Johnston lends her expertise and skills to resolution of complex commercial and corporate disputes as a mediator, arbitrator, and court-appointed neutral. As the longest serving judge on the Superior Court’s preeminent Complex Commercial Litigation Division (CCLD), Judge Johnston has deep experience with complex business and corporate disputes, including matters implicating the interpretation or application of law from jurisdictions throughout the United States.

Judge Johnston is highly regarded by corporate and commercial litigators for her well-reasoned decisions, calm demeanor, and careful, practical judgments. Judge Johnston is a member of the American Arbitration Association’s Commercial Roster of Arbitrators. She also is a member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN). 

Judge Johnston presided over hundreds of jury and bench trials during her more than 20-year tenure on the Delaware Superior Court, including mass and toxic tort cases, commercial disputes, and insurance coverage matters. Judge Johnston often was cross-designated as a Vice Chancellor of the Court of Chancery, and she regularly was appointed to panels of the Delaware Supreme Court for appeals from the Court of Chancery. As a jurist, Judge Johnston also successfully mediated complex disputes presided over by other judicial officers.

Prior to her appointment to Delaware’s Superior Court by Governor Ruth Ann Minner, Judge Johnston served as Chief Counsel of the Office of Disciplinary Counsel for the Delaware Supreme Court (ODC), with responsibility for the practice of law and legal ethics in Delaware. In this role, Judge Johnston shifted the ODC’s focus from prosecution to prevention. Prior to her distinguished public service career, Judge Johnston was a partner in a private law firm, where she focused her litigation practice on corporate and complex commercial litigation as well as bankruptcy adversary proceedings.

Judge Johnston was raised on a farm in Richmond, Indiana. She pursued a career in music before attending law school.