NAR Chief Authorized Officer Katie Johnson Is ‘Stepping Down’
After a decade main the commerce group’s authorized group — together with via sexual harassment scandals and quite a few anti-trust fee lawsuits — Johnson is leaving.
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Katie Johnson, the pinnacle of the Nationwide Affiliation of Realtors’ authorized group, is departing from the 1.5-million-member commerce group after practically 20 years, NAR advised Inman Tuesday.
After Inman inquired concerning a rumor that Johnson had simply been fired, an NAR spokesperson advised Inman minutes later that was “not right.”
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Katie Johnson
“Katie Johnson is stepping down as Chief Authorized Officer and Chief Member Expertise Officer after 17 years of devoted service to NAR,” the spokesperson mentioned in an announcement.
“Having joined NAR in 2007, Katie has spent the majority of her profession dedicated to fulfilling NAR’s mission to make homeownership a actuality for all Individuals. We’re grateful for her service.
“As we make this transition, our precedence is making certain enterprise continuity and remaining laser targeted on shepherding NAR via this time of serious business change.”
Inman has requested why Johnson is stepping down, when she is stepping down and who will substitute her. We are going to replace this story if and when responses are obtained.
Johnson’s exit comes simply over a month after NAR named Nykia Wright its first female CEO.
In 2014, Katie Raynolds Johnson, then the group’s affiliate counsel, turned NAR’s common counsel and the successor to NAR’s longtime legal champion Laurie Janik after Janik’s retirement. She was promoted because the commerce group was embroiled in litigation with NeighborCity.com operator American House Realty Community. Now, she leaves as NAR offers with an impending antitrust investigation by the U.S. Division of Justice.
Johnson turned NAR’s chief authorized officer in March 2023, in response to her LinkedIn profile. She led the affiliation’s authorized division via years of turmoil, notably within the final 5 years when a number of antitrust lawsuits and sexual harassment scandals rocked the group.
Throughout Johnson’s tenure, NAR suffered a surprising defeat at trial in a case referred to as Sitzer | Burnett, wherein a jury found NAR and main actual property franchisors had conspired to inflate dealer commissions and awarded a category of Missouri homesellers billions in damages. NAR’s authorized group negotiated a $418 million deal in March to settle that case and different comparable instances nationwide.
That settlement, which has not but obtained last courtroom approval, earned blended reactions from the commerce group’s members. Shortly earlier than that improvement, NAR had repeatedly mentioned it might appeal the verdict.
In November, at NAR’s annual convention, the commerce group held a legal update that includes Johnson and colleagues Lesley Muchow, NAR’s common counsel, and Charlie Lee, NAR’s senior counsel.
Then-NAR President Tracy Kasper launched the three and mentioned of them,”That is the epitome of grace underneath fireplace. That is the epitome of specialists that we have now in our home; these watching out for us all of those years. They’ve labored tirelessly for us.”
In keeping with NAR’s nonprofit tax filings, NAR paid Johnson $375,185 in compensation in 2014 for working a mean of 37.5 hours per week. In 2022, the most recent 12 months accessible, Johnson obtained $1.021 million for working a mean 50 hours per week. Within the 9 years between 2014 and 2022, Johnson pulled in a complete of $6,227,762 in compensation from NAR.
| Katie Johnson’s Complete Compensation 2014-2022 | |
| 2014 | $375,185 |
| 2015 | $440,163 |
| 2016 | $497,435 |
| 2017 | $579,225 |
| 2018 | $692,747 |
| 2019 | $766,398 |
| 2020 | $891,977 |
| 2021 | $963,164 |
| 2022 | $1,021,468 |
| Complete: | $6,227,762 |
Supply: NAR’s Kind 990s by way of ProPublica
Johnson, the daughter of two Realtors, earned her legislation diploma in 2005 and spent nearly two years at Chicago legislation agency Gardiner Koch Weisberg & Wrona earlier than coming to NAR as affiliate counsel in October 2007.
Editor’s observe: This story has been up to date.
