WHEN A New Jersey-based company called Arbinet-thexchange Inc. faced an investor’s bid to replace two board members last year, one thing was guaranteed: plenty of work for lawyers.

Attorney Joe Johnson, chairman of Boston-based Goodwin Procter’s mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance practices, advised the company on the mechanics of the so-called proxy fight, including U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission procedures and state corporate law matters.