Nicholas Doherty is latest addition to expanding Boston office and strengthens Manatt's national government advocacy and health policy capabilities
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, a multidisciplinary, integrated professional services firm, today announced the arrival of Senior Advisor Nicholas (Nick) Doherty to the Firm's Government Advocacy & Contracting team in Boston. Doherty's extensive government and private sector experience and proven track record across Massachusetts' legislative landscape deepens Manatt's ability to provide clients with strategic solutions to legislative and regulatory challenges both in the region and across all 50 states.
"With vast experience in state policy and political strategy across key industries like health care and life sciences, Nick will be instrumental in enhancing our government policy and advocacy offerings in Boston and beyond," said Manatt CEO and Managing Partner Donna L. Wilson. "Our government teams operate at the intersection of policy, law and business out of some of the most important political hubs in the country, including Washington, D.C., Albany and Sacramento. Boston is no exception, so in addition to Nick fortifying our state government capabilities in Massachusetts, he also adds to our growing Boston office, which is led by Partner Eric Gold, and has welcomed other high-profile professionals in the last year, including life sciences and regulatory partner Pat Cerundolo and former health care legal and business executive Doug Brown."
Bringing over 15 years of legislative and regulatory experience with a primary focus on industries that are highly regulated by the state, Doherty offers clients a deep understanding of state policy developments, political strategy and the impacts of new and existing state laws and regulations on their businesses specific to Massachusetts. Doherty also leverages his national experiences to provide 50-state strategic coverage and guidance. He will support clients with strategic and innovative solutions in addressing legislative and regulatory challenges across the health care spectrum, including the life sciences and pharmaceutical sectors.
"Our clients look for experienced advisers with a sound understanding of state policy developments, political strategy and the impacts of new regulation on their businesses—and Nick is well suited to support our government team in that regard," said Brandon D. Young, partner and leader of Manatt's Government Advocacy and Contracting practice. "His arrival also builds on our expanding government team across the country, which in just the last few months has welcomed National Advisor Darrell Steinberg and Legislative Advisor Chris Dombrowski in Sacramento and Rich Leib in San Diego."
Prior to joining Manatt, Doherty was the Executive Director of U.S. Government Affairs and Policy at two majorbiopharmaceutical companies, where he gained extensive experience developing and advocating for legislative initiatives across the country to expand patient access and coverage for first-in-class medicines. He was also the Director of Policy at a national biopharmaceutical industry trade association, where he crafted responses to legislative and regulatory proposals and advocated before regulators and legislative committees on behalf of the companies in states across the country.
Doherty began his career in the Massachusetts Legislature, where he spent more than a decade as senior staff to members in both the House of Representatives and Senate. His public service culminated in his tenure as Chief Legal Counsel to the then House Majority Leader (now Speaker of the House) on legislative strategies related to health care, mental health, energy, transportation, housing and disruptive technologies, among others. Prior to that role, he served as Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for the Massachusetts Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure.
"With its collaborative culture and impressive work in government advocacy and contracting, I'm thrilled to build upon Manatt's strong foundation in government advocacy and provide clients with impactful guidance as they seek to both comply with evolving regulation while staying innovative and meeting their bottom-line goals," said Doherty. "I also look forward to leveraging my relationships and experience in Massachusetts to contribute to the Firm's growth in the region and across the country, particularly in the health care and life sciences sectors."
Doherty joins the Firm's roster of legal and consulting professionals who have also joined over the last year across core industry sectors, including Digital and Technology (Tod Cohen and Vejay Lalla); Financial Services (Hope Adams, Warren Biro, Bill Broome, Haley Fiallo, Mike Katz, James Williams and Troy Zander); Government and Regulatory (Chris Dombrowski, Richard Leib and Darrell Steinberg); and Health Care (Haider Andazola, Patrick Brennan, Doug Brown, Tom Cassels, Pat Cerundolo, Richard Cho, Mandy Cohen, Christina (Chrissy) Farr, Dr. Shamiram (Shami) Feinglass, Vin Gupta, Erin Estey Hertzog, Kendall Hussey, Jason Klimek, Ross Margulies, John O'Brien, Tina Papagiannopoulos, Melindah Sharma, Alexander Somodevilla, Joshua Tauber, Jerome (Jerry) Tichner and Shaina Zurlin).
Doherty earned his J.D. from Suffolk University Law School and his B.A. from Boston College.