WASHINGTON — Christopher A. Johnson, a relatively new attorney with CUNA's regulatory advocacy department, has been promoted to vice president of state government affairs.

In his new role, Johnson will work with state leagues to identify national trends and determine strategies to ensure favorable treatment of credit unions in the state legislatures. He succeeds Larry Lanier. "Chris has a wealth of legal experience that will prove valuable to leagues and credit unions in analyzing and identifying key issues that will be addressed at the state level," CUNA Senior Vice President of Legislative Affairs John Magill said. Johnson served for 18 years as an assistant general counsel for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage (Freddie Mac), working on various projects, programs and compliance issues related to financial institutions and mortgage lending. He also provided legislative and regulatory support such as reviewing legislation, preparing regulatory comments and presenting issues to congressional and federal regulatory staff.

Prior to that, he was an associate in the law firm of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, in Washington, D.C.; and had also served as a legal associate for firms in Salt Lake City and Tulsa, Okla. Johnson holds a bachelor's degree in University Studies from Brigham Young University and a J.D. from the University of Utah College of Law, where he was a member of the Utah Law Review.