Jeh Johnson, former Secretary of Homeland Security and partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison accepts the Gold Medal Award presented at the New York State Bar Association Presidential Gala held at the Museum of Modern Art on Thursday, January 18, 2024. Photo: Ryland West/ALM

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison partner Jeh Johnson—who's currently defending Davis Polk in the firm's retaliation trial—told New York State Bar Association Presidential gala attendees Thursday that he hopes this will be his last time before a jury. "I don't mind saying publicly at all, I hope this is my last trial," Johnson said to laughs. "But, you know, getting off the subway at Park Place at 7 o'clock in the morning and walking past 1 Saint Andrews Plaza, where I used to work as an Assistant U.S. Attorney 35 years ago and walking into the federal courthouse brings back fond memories. But I never want to do it again." The former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security prefaced the comments, which were made as he accepted NYSBA's Gold Medal Award, by saying he found himself at a place he did not predict. "Thank you again for this magnificent honor," he said of the award, which was presented at the annual gala held this year at the Museum of Modern Art. "I'm humbled, I don't believe I deserve it. You reach a point where you realize suddenly that most of your career is behind you and not in front of you." Johnson told the room of his family's heritage, sharing the many accomplishments of his forefathers and noting that his great-grandfather had been born enslaved. He became emancipated and later became a Baptist preacher. Johnson noted that his great-grandfather's headstone bore three words: "A Good Life." "That's what I want on my headstone," he said to applause. "I've tried to be a good husband, a good father, a good son, a good friend, and a good mentor [...] And I think that's what it's all about, for all of us. All of us very accomplished people in this room. Even though we win cases, we become judges, we hear distinguished cases, we occupy positions of importance, it's all about having a good life." In his remarks, the 66-year-old acknowledged those seated at his table for the event: including former Chief Judge of the Southern District of New York Colleen McMahon, former Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals Janet DiFiore, Acting Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Miriam Best, former New York State Bar President Mark Alcott, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York, and others. "I've said many times that as we in this nation, watch the political branches of our government melt down into paralysis, we depend upon the judiciary," he said. "All of you in this room stand for independence and courage." Johnson previously served as the co-chair of NYSBA's Task Force on Advancing Diversity. In 2020 served as an independent monitor assessing equality in the New York State Court System. In October 2020 he issued a 100-page Equal Justice Report, and many of his recommendations have since been implemented. A graduate of Morehouse College and Columbia University Law School, Johnson has also worked as general counsel of the Department of Defense, general counsel of the Department of the Air Force, and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. "Jeh has been a leader in diversity, equity and inclusion," said New York State Bar Association President Richard Lewis. "After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on affirmative action, colleges, law schools, law firms and the courts were left scrambling. But under Jeh's leadership, the Task Force on Advancing Diversity produced a detailed report in record time, providing much-needed guidance to make sure that legal diversity programs were not dismantled." Johnson has been with Paul, Weiss since 1984, and in 1993 was elected the firm's first Black partner. He is the co-chair of the firm's cybersecurity and data protection practice.