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Patrick E. McDonough

Associate

[email protected]

+1.617.348.1839

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Patrick's practice focuses on securities and shareholder litigation, representing companies and individuals in connection with federal securities litigation, derivative litigation, appraisal litigation, class action lawsuits, and fiduciary litigation in state and federal courts both in Delaware and around the country. Patrick also represents companies and individuals in investigations and securities enforcement actions by regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission. Patrick's practice also involves complex commercial and corporate litigation in state and federal courts around the country, as well as numerous alternative dispute resolution forums. Patrick's clients range from early-stage start-ups to publicly-traded companies representing numerous industries, including life sciences and biotechnology companies, financial services, consumer products and retail, and clean technology. Patrick counsels clients regarding trial and appellate strategy and has extensive experience before trial and appellate courts all over the country. Patrick also frequently provides advice to corporations and their boards of directors on issues of corporate governance, fiduciary duties, and the Delaware General Corporation law. He also applies his extensive experience with securities litigation to counsel SPAC clients on risks related to SPAC transactions and how companies can avoid disputes.

In addition to his robust litigation practice, Patrick also is an active member of the firm’s pro bono community. Most recently, he worked as part of a Mintz team filing an amicus brief in state appeals court interpreting the Violence Against Women Act and how the law is applied in relation to public housing agencies.

After law school, Patrick clerked for the Honorable William J. Meade of the Massachusetts Appeals Court. Patrick graduated magna cum laude from Suffolk University Law School, where he served on the editorial staff of the Suffolk University Law Review as Production Editor, where he was also published. Patrick also served as a member of the Foreign Direct Investment Moot Arbitration team, as well as a research assistant for the Honorable John E. Fenton, Jr. During law school, Patrick also interned for the Honorable Nathaniel M. Gorton and the Honorable Marianne B. Bowler of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, as well for the Appellate Division of the Criminal Bureau of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.

Prior to law school, Patrick worked in corporate and financial strategy roles for Capital One Financial Corporation, where he worked in large part on the company's M&A strategy and other similar areas. Patrick graduated from Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service, with a concentration in International Security.

Experience

  • Secured complete dismissal of a securities class action at pleading stage on behalf of a large multinational operator of membership warehouse clubs, and its former executives. The case, commenced in the Southern District of California, centered on allegations that the company misled the public about its performance and the accuracy of year-end reporting, among other things. 
  • Represented Apollo Global Management, LLC and its portfolio company, The Fresh Market, as coordinating litigation counsel in multiple merger objection suits arising from the acquisition of The Fresh Market in March of 2016 by certain Apollo affiliates. Following the acquisition, ten separate suits were filed in federal and state courts in Delaware and North Carolina. Mintz successfully negotiated the resolution of all ten complaints in the Delaware Chancery Court and federal district court in the Middle District of North Carolina.
  • Represented a hedge fund in a case where a former employee claimed an ownership stake in the fund which our client contended was obtained through a breach of fiduciary duty. The case involved novel issues of law on fiduciary duty and wiretap law.
  • Lead trial counsel in complex civil RICO case. Represented Taiwanese creditor in claims against 34 foreign and domestic defendants. Successfully defeated over 30 motions to dismiss, managed millions of pages of written discovery, including processing and analyzing hundreds of gigabytes of data, over 40 depositions on two continents and over 120 discovery disputes before two court-appointed special masters. Defeated summary judgment and in limine motions. Favorably settled case at commencement of trial.
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Case Studies

Breaking Down the SPAC Surge Report Cover Mintz Case Study
Mintz analyzed PitchBook data to produce an in-depth report on the record rise in special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) fundraising in the US since 2020 and the recent increase in SPAC merger activity. We also explore how SPACs could evolve and litigation challenges to SPAC IPOs and transactions.
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viewpoints

On March 18, 2020, the Delaware Supreme Court (the “Court”) issued a groundbreaking decision reversing the Delaware Court of Chancery’s December 2019 ruling in Sciabacucchi v. Salzberg, 2018 Del. Ch. LEXIS 578 (Del. Ch. Dec. 19, 2018), and holding that charter provisions adopted by public companies that designate a federal forum for securities claims brought pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933 (“Federal Forum Provisions”) are valid and enforceable.
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Earlier this month, an appellate panel of the federal DC Circuit unanimously held that individuals affected by a healthcare insurer’s data breach in 2014 could pursue claims against the insurer stemming from the cyberattack.
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In a June 13, 2017, ruling on a motion for partial summary judgment in the Ocwen Financial Corp. Securities Litigation (the “Ocwen Litigation”), the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida determined Ocwen materially misrepresented in its securities filings and other public statements that its Executive Chairman would recuse himself from Ocwen’s transactions with companies in which the Executive Chairman also served as Chairman.
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Recently introduced legislation pending before the U.S. House of Representatives attempts to make wide-sweeping reforms to the procedural rules governing class actions and, if implemented, could permanently alter the class action landscape and render class actions a “shadow of what we know today,” according to Reuters.
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News & Press

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187 Mintz attorneys have been recognized by Best Lawyers® in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©. Notably, three Mintz attorneys received 2025 “Lawyer of the Year” awards, and 64 firm attorneys were included in the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.

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Mintz is pleased to announce that 120 firm attorneys have been recognized as leaders by Best Lawyers® in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©.

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Members Douglas P. Baumstein and John Condon, and Associates Patrick McDonough and Aaron Megar co-authored an article published in the May 2023 Issue of The Banking Law Journal. The article provides an in depth review of the case Slack Technologies, LLC v. Pirani.

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35 Mintz attorneys have been named Massachusetts Super Lawyers and 25 Mintz attorneys have been named Massachusetts Rising Stars for 2022.

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Best Lawyers® recognized 108 firm attorneys in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©. Notably, two Mintz attorneys – Poonam Patidar and Scott M. Stanton – received 2023 “Lawyer of the Year” awards, and 28 firm attorneys were included in the inaugural edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.

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Mintz achieved a significant victory for BTA Bank (BTA) on January 18, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed summary judgment dismissing all claims against BTA in a nearly decade-long securities fraud lawsuit alleging violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This decisive issue of what loss causation evidence a holder of thinly-traded securities must present to prove such claims was a matter of first impression in the Second Circuit.
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Recognition & Awards

  • Best Lawyers In America- Ones to Watch: Litigation- Securities (2023-2025)

  • Massachusetts Super Lawyers: Rising Star - Securities Litigation (2022)

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Involvement

  • Co-Chair, Boston Bar Association's Securities Enforcement Committee (2019)
  • Member, Boston Bar Association
  • Member, Massachusetts Bar Association
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