Richard Donoghue, ex-U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Joins Pillsbury

“We are absolutely thrilled to have someone of Rich’s talent and demonstrated character as our partner. His experience spans prominent government positions, senior in-house roles and a lengthy list of high-profile trial wins and successful government investigations, so he can leverage special value for our clients, adding perspective from every angle,” said Deborah Baum, the leader of the firm’s global litigation section.  

Bill Sullivan, leader of the Firm’s White Collar & Government Investigations Practice, added, “With his keen intellect and thoughtful judgment, Rich will contribute in important ways to Pillsbury’s demonstrated ability to resolve complex and sophisticated matters to the benefit of our clients.”

Donoghue has tried more than 40 federal cases and conducted and supervised thousands of investigations, prosecutions and cases across criminal, civil and regulatory practice areas. As U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, he was the chief federal law enforcement officer for one of the nation's largest and most sophisticated U.S. Attorney’s Offices, overseeing approximately 170 Assistant U.S. Attorneys in complex DOJ investigations and litigation, including cases like the trial conviction of Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera and the prosecutions of Chinese telecommunications conglomerate Huawei for racketeering and intellectual property crimes and Low Taek Jho and his co-defendants in the $6 billion 1MDB Malaysian bond fraud.

Donoghue began his legal career in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps for the U.S. Army, where he held several roles including that of Military Magistrate Judge. He began working as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in 2000 before going on to serve as Chief of first the Long Island Criminal Division and then the Eastern District of New York Criminal Division. Donoghue then spent six years in-house with CA Technologies before being appointed U.S. Attorney in January 2018, a position he held until July 2020, when he became the Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice. In that position, he supervised all work undertaken within the Office of the Deputy Attorney General.    

“I am tremendously excited to join the talented Pillsbury team and have the opportunity to partner with so many skilled lawyers I served with in the DOJ or worked alongside when I was in-house counsel,” said Donoghue. “Having been a client of the firm, and having admired their performance for many years, I know that Pillsbury brings unparalleled expertise, focus and commitment to every client’s challenge.”   

Pillsbury’s litigation practice has grown significantly in 2021. To date this year, the firm has added noted San Francisco-based appellate lawyer Daniel Bromberg, the former Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary to California Governor Gavin Newsom; former federal prosecutor Kimberly Jaimez in Los Angeles; oil and gas litigators Tony Guerino and Liz Klingensmith in Houston; international arbitration practitioner Derek Soller in New York; complex commercial litigators William Bosch and retired Judge James Catterson in DC and New York; and former Associate Deputy Attorney General Patrick Hovakimian in DC.

Pillsbury’s award-winning team of more than 200 litigators works with clients around the world to help them successfully resolve disputes, in trial and out of court, at home and in jurisdictions around the globe. The firm has garnered dozens of top-tier recognitions as a result of its exceptional litigation prowess, and was most recently recognized as one of the 12 most feared law firms to come up against in litigation by BTI Consulting Group.