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John Devaney

Profile photo for John Devaney
Profile photo for John Devaney
Of Counsel

John Devaney

  • Managing Partner Emeritus
  • Washington, D.C.

A longtime leader at Perkins Coie, John is a litigator and the firm managing partner emeritus.

John Devaney litigates commercial, political law, regulatory, and pro bono matters. He has represented clients in dozens of proceedings before federal and state courts, and administrative agencies throughout the country. John served as litigation counsel for then President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in election recount and election contest proceedings in Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin. He also represented the Biden-Harris Campaign and the Democratic National Committee in preelection litigation in Nevada and Wisconsin involving challenges to the procedures governing absentee voting.

In regulatory matters, John has represented public utility clients in dozens of regulatory proceedings and in more than 20 appeals, including appeals before federal appeals courts and U.S. district courts.  

John began his career as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, after a judicial clerkship with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. He currently serves as a member of the board of trustees of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and as a guardian ad litem for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

From 2015-2019, John served as Perkins Coie’s firmwide managing partner. He also served in other leadership positions for more than a decade, including as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, a member of the Management Committee, and as managing partner of the firm’s Washington, D.C., office.  

Education & Credentials

Education

  • Catholic University, Columbus School of Law, J.D., Editor, Catholic University Law Review, 1983
  • Boston College, B.A., History, magna cum laude, 1979

Bar and Court Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
  • Supreme Court of the United States

Related Employment

  • U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Trial Attorney

Professional Recognition

  • Listed in Thomson Reuters “Stand-out Lawyers,” 2024

  • Listed in Best Lawyers in America: Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants, 2020-2025

  • Listed as a "Super Lawyers " for Washington D.C. in Super Lawyers, 2013-2020

Impact

Professional Leadership

  • Perkins Coie’s Firmwide Managing Partner, 2015-2019
  • Perkins Coie’s Management Committee, Member, 2010 -2013
  • Perkins Coie's Executive Committee, Member, 2009-2013
  • Perkins Coie, Washington, D.C., Managing Partner, 2005-2010 

Community Involvement

  • Co-founder of D.C. Lawyers For Children’s Hospital Foundation
  • Washington Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs
  • Little League baseball coach, 1991-2004
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