Few Am Law 100 firm leaders have had starring roles in high-impact political litigation while managing their firms. John Devaney, who became Perkins Coie’s new managing partner on Jan. 1, falls into that category. In March, Washington, D.C.-based Devaney argued a case at the Florida Supreme Court that will determine whether the state must scrap a redistricting map drawn up by Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature, a map that Devaney’s clients—Democratic voters—say amounted to partisan gerrymandering.
It’s just one of several such redistricting challenges he’s worked on since 2011 on behalf of Democratic voters in Republican-controlled states. Devaney, 57, spoke with The Am Law Daily about all the litigation and his recent appointment to the top post at the 1,002-lawyer Perkins Coie, where Democratic politics have long run in the DNA of the firm’s D.C. office. Last week, Perkins Coie, which already represents the Democrats’ Senate and House campaign committees, confirmed that it will serve as lead outside counsel to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
