Leading Lawyers Join Perkins Coie

Prominent lawyers from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the California Department of Justice choose Perkins Coie

Perkins Coie continues to strengthen its national litigation and regulatory practices with three former government lawyers who have deep experience and insights leading investigations, litigation and enforcement actions, and advising on policy development. The additions of Ted Dowd to the Financial Regulation practice, and Tara McGrath and Josh Patashnik to the Litigation practice further enhance the firm’s ability to support clients driving innovation across industries.

Ted is based out of the firm’s Washington, D.C., office; Tara’s practice is bi-coastal, operating from both Washington, D.C., and San Diego; and Josh is based out of the San Diego office.

They are among the 14 new partners who have joined Perkins Coie so far this year as the firm further expands its global capabilities across litigation, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, capital markets, technology transactions, and intellectual property.

Learn more about Ted, Tara, and Josh

	Ted Dowd Financial Regulation Partner Former Acting Senior Deputy Comptroller and Chief Counsel of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Ted Dowd advises banks, trust companies, and fintechs on regulatory and transactional matters involving financial technology, digital assets, and innovation. His experience includes guiding clients through issues related to cryptocurrency, blockchain, and stablecoins, as well as chartering, banking as a service (BaaS), digital custody, and third-party risk oversight. Ted assists companies operating in regulated environments with compliance, risk mitigation, and enforcement, including Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/Anti-Money Laundering (AML), fair lending, and Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices (UDAP). He also advises on mergers and acquisitions and other complex transactions, helping clients execute deals within evolving legal frameworks.

	Tara McGrath White Collar & Investigations Partner Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California As the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Tara McGrath brings decades of experience in strategic legal counsel, including sophisticated federal prosecutions, complex investigations, civil defensive matters, and crisis management. Tara has first-chair and oversight trial experience in cases ranging from racketeering and violent crime to complex fraud. She has personally run scores of federal investigations and argued several times before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Under Tara’s leadership at DOJ, her teams focused on white-collar and financial crimes, including Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations, organized crime, cyber intrusions and offenses, environmental infractions, national security matters, and civil fraud.

	Josh Patashnik Appeals, Issues, and Strategy Partner Former Deputy Solicitor General at the California Department of Justice Josh Patashnik brings to his practice a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of appellate litigation. As a deputy solicitor general at the California Department of Justice, Josh worked on many of the state’s most complex and consequential matters, with a particular focus on litigation in the Supreme Court of the United States and the California Supreme Court. He routinely served as the lead drafter of briefs and argued more than a dozen cases at all levels of the federal and state judiciary. His experience spans a wide range of substantive legal areas, including constitutional and administrative law, federal preemption, environmental law, and antitrust and unfair competition.