John Merrigan has extensive political and legal experience. He has played a leading role in building one of the nation’s premier law and lobbying practices, in formulating and executing successful strategies to advance or protect clients’ interests. Mr. Merrigan is a member of DLA Piper's firmwide Policy Committee.

Mr. Merrigan serves as co-chair of the firm's Federal Affairs practice group, which consists of over 40 lawyers and professionals seasoned in governmental practice and is ranked consistently by leading publications in the top tier among law and lobbying firms. DLA Piper's federal affairs and legislative clients include numerous Fortune 100 corporations, various domestic and foreign governments, and other entities.

In 1973, Mr. Merrigan began practicing law at Verner Liipfert. With Berl Bernhard and Harry McPherson, he founded Verner Liipfert’s federal affairs practice. For 30 years he helped to build the group and attract top lawyers and government professionals into the firm, eventually developing what Fortune magazine, The National Journal , and other leading publications described as the leading federal affairs firm in the nation’s capital. Among the government figures who eventually joined the firm were former Majority Leaders George Mitchell and Bob Dole, former Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen, former Senator Dan Coats and former Governors Ann Richards, Jim Blanchard, and John Waihee. A cover article in The National Journal labeled the Verner Liipfert federal affairs group “the dream team.” As practice group chair, Mr. Merrigan played a pivotal role in building and managing the firm’s practice.

Mr. Merrigan was among the members of the former Verner Liipfert who joined DLA Piper in 2002. The firm’s roster of seasoned professionals, including Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, former House Majority Leaders Richard Armey and Richard Gephardt, and former Governor James Blanchard, brings together a remarkable combination of legislative, regulatory and litigation capabilities.

Clients look to Mr. Merrigan for strategic planning which draws on the firm’s deep experience and knowledge base and integrates the firm’s capabilities in the legislative, regulatory, judicial, and political arenas.

Mr. Merrigan also has led the way in integrating the firm’s governmental capabilities with DLA Piper’s nationally recognized real estate and litigation practices.

As an example, Mr. Merrigan and his BRAC team have helped the firm’s clients formulate successful strategies to protect military bases from closure in the Base Realignment and Closure decision making process. In Florida, his BRAC team worked successfully with Governor Jeb Bush to convince Pentagon decisionmakers not to close 21 bases.

Mr. Merrigan also participates actively in a variety of capacities within the National Democratic Party. From 1996 until 2000, he served as chairman of the Democratic Business Council, the leading forum for business interests within the Democratic National Party. From 2002 through 2004 he served as Middle Atlantic Finance chairman in the Kerry for President Campaign.

The respected publication Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business cites Mr. Merrigan for his practice of government relations law, calling him a "deeply respected" practitioner whose clients praise his “wonderfully collaborative approach and his focus on his clients’ objectives."

Mr. Merrigan currently serves on the board of advisors for the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management and on the board of Children Uniting Nations, a foundation which fosters mentoring among inner city children.

In 2006, Washington SmartCEO magazine named Mr. Merrigan to its short list of Greater Washington's Legal Elite.

认许

• District of Columbia

会员资格

• American Bar Association
• Chair, Democratic Business Council, Democratic National Committee
• Member, The George Washington University's National Council for Political Management
• Board of Directors, New Democrat Network

Seminars

Mr. Merrigan presented at the The Washington Legal Foundation's briefing on the Alien Tort Statute. The presentation is available for viewing by clicking this link and selecting the low speed or high speed link under the program’s title - "The Alien Tort Statute of 1789: Trial Lawyers' Latest Mass Litigation Weapon."