Mintz today announced that leading trial lawyer John C. Dougherty has joined as a Member in the firm’s Litigation Practice in Boston. Mr. Dougherty represents and advises public and private companies, particularly in the life sciences industry, on commercial, product liability, licensing, and class action matters. With his wealth of experience, Mr. Dougherty has been tapped for leadership roles at both of his former firms, including heading up the global Life Sciences Sector of DLA Piper, where he practiced for 25 years.

Mr. Dougherty represents clients in disputes involving mergers and acquisitions and a broad spectrum of business arrangements, including tech-transfer, development, commercialization and manufacturing collaborations, and has litigated those disputes in both federal and state courts and national and international arbitration forums. He serves as counsel in product liability cases involving personal injury and related claims, and regularly handles complex multidisciplinary torts and coordinates both the national and international defense of these matters. Most recently, he successfully represented a manufacturer of a Class III medical device before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in a ruling which clarified the standard for determining whether the federal Medical Device Amendments to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act preempt state manufacturer-liability claims.

Mr. Dougherty also helps clients, including boards of directors, identify, avoid or manage business risks and litigation, including risks present during the due diligence, developmental or operational phases of a company’s or product’s life cycle. As such, he is a trusted advisor for sensitive matters, particularly those involving the intersection of scientific, medical, and regulatory issues.

Mr. Dougherty joins Mintz from Haug Partners, where he served as Co-Chair of the firm’s Life Sciences Practice, member of the firm’s Executive Committee, and Managing Partner and Founder of the firm’s Boston office. Prior to joining Haug Partners, Mr. Dougherty practiced at DLA Piper for 25 years, where he served as Co-Chair of the firm’s global Life Sciences Sector, helping it to grow into a cross-functional team operating in 29 countries. He also served as Co-Chair of Patent Litigation for DLA Piper.

“With his entrepreneurial perspective – having founded Haug Partners’ Boston office to serve the life sciences hub – John is widely-recognized as go-to counsel for life sciences innovators, including biotechnology and large pharmaceutical companies, both in Massachusetts and nationally,” said Mintz Member and Chair of the firm’s Litigation Practice Scott C. Ford. “His broad-based practice and breadth of experience as a trial lawyer makes him a terrific asset to our Litigation Practice, and to our life sciences clients.”

“It is a pleasure to welcome John to the firm and our national Litigation Practice, which continues to grow and develop new capabilities in 2021,” said Mintz Managing Member Bob Bodian. “John’s arrival will add to Mintz’s existing strength in providing life sciences clients with a full suite of legal services, including advising on corporate deals, intellectual property matters, and litigation and disputes.”

Earlier this month, Mintz added Lara Compton as a Member in the firm’s Health Law Practice in Los Angeles.