Philip McBride Johnson, passed away peacefully at the age of 83 on July 24, 2021 in Fernandina Beach, FL after a brief battle with cancer.

Phil was born on June 18, 1938, in Springfield, Ohio to the late Myron Johnson and Barbara McCullough. He was the youngest of three siblings, Patty and Nancy. He enjoyed tennis throughout his youth, famously (to those close to him) losing in straight sets to Rod Laver in a regional tennis championship. He graduated from high school, after skipping a grade due to aptitude and impatience. He then attended Indiana University, graduating in 1959 with Honors. He then attended Yale Law School, where he was the managing editor of the Yale Law Review.

During his 50-year career in law, he left a lasting imprint on both the securities and the futures markets. Early in his career, he helped draft key provisions of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act of 1974 that made the CFTC the sole regulator of the U.S. futures industry. In 1982, while serving as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, he entered what became known as the Shad-Johnson Accord, a landmark agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that established a clear demarcation of the two agencies’ jurisdiction over equity derivatives and allowed futures on broad-based stock indices to trade without entanglement in jurisdictional disputes. Over the course of his long career his work helped build some of the most important elements of the legal framework for these crucial markets. He then headed the commodities, futures, and derivatives products practice group at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. He retired from practice but did not hesitate to assist colleagues in his retirement.

Phil is survived by his wife of 40 years, Laurie Johnson McBride of Fernandina Beach, FL as well as his 6 children, Sean Johnson, Erik Johnson, Stacey Atkins, Aimee Michell, Alexandra Green and Kimberly Johnson. He is also survived by his 7 grandchildren, Maeve, Bradley, Ollie, Emmett, Aaron, Henry, and Charlie.

He will be remembered for his unique mind, dry humor, keen insight, and quick wit. It was a great joy of his to walk the beach on Amelia Island, which is where he ultimately retired after a long career in Chicago, New York, and Washington, DC. He loved the beach, teaching, writing pithy Wall Street journal op-eds, lunching out and tipping generously. He was also the father/benefactor to many dogs, cats, horses, and miscellaneous other animals throughout his life. This, admittedly, was mainly at the behest of his children, but he adored the animals, particularly the dogs. He will be greatly missed.