Ronan Doherty has nearly 30 years of experience successfully representing plaintiffs and defendants in complex civil litigation, arbitration, and alternative dispute resolution in Georgia, New York, the District of Columbia, and across the country. 

Ronan specializes in business disputes over commercial contracts and all manner of torts, including antitrust, RICO, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty. He has successfully represented corporate clients in a wide array of coverage disputes with their insurance carriers. He also has litigated numerous intellectual property cases, including trademark, copyright, and trade secret disputes. And he has long-standing experience on appellate matters.

He has significant experience litigating all aspects of class actions. Ronan began his law firm career working as part of a team defending more than 100 antitrust class actions in an MDL proceeding. Since then, he has defended numerous class actions, served as plaintiffs’ class counsel, and represented individual clients that opted out of or objected to class settlements.

His diverse client roster ranges from small businesses to Fortune 50 companies across a variety of industries, such as institutional investors, software companies, retailers, hotel companies, airlines, oil jobbers, REITs, logistics companies, and manufacturers. He has also represented individual executives, officers, and in-house lawyers in corporate disputes. 

Ronan has done a significant amount of pro bono work, prevailing for well-deserving clients in the Georgia Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, and the U.S. OARDEC’s Administrative Review Board for Guantanamo Bay detainees. 

Beyond his active legal practice, he is involved in various community and service leadership roles. Ronan served on the board of directors of the Southern Center for Human Rights from 2014 through 2023. In this capacity, he supported and helped guide the organization's mission towards achieving equality and justice for those affected by the criminal legal system. Additionally, he has held multiple leadership positions within the State Bar of Georgia, including chairing the Appellate Practice Section and serving as an officer of the Class Action Section.

Ronan earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts, with high honors, from The College of William & Mary.

Representative Work

Plaintiff Cases

Antitrust 

Represented a major retailer in challenging a $2.7 billion no-opt-out settlement in the In re Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation, focusing on preserving rights to future antitrust claims.

Represented a leading home improvement retailer in the In re Payment Card Interchange Fee & Merchant Discount Litigation against Visa and Mastercard, on antitrust violations and excessive interchange fees totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.

Represented a major retailer in the In re Polyurethane Foam Antitrust Litigation, negotiating a series of confidential settlements to recover significant damages from major carpet pad manufacturers accused of conspiring to raise prices.

Represented a major retailer in the In re Domestic Drywall Litigation, pursuing an opt-out claim for damages due to an alleged drywall price-fixing conspiracy, involving extensive disputes in both MDL court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Advised corporate clients regarding their option to participate in, object to or opt out of a series of settlements regarding the alleged price fixing of financial benchmarks, including LIBOR, Foreign Currency Exchange, ISDAfix, Interest Rate Swaps, SSA Bonds and Treasury Notes. 

Insurance Coverage 

Represented a publicly traded REIT in $50 million plus insurance coverage disputes over representation and warranty policies in connection with the breach of representations and warranties in two major business acquisitions.

Represented a major retailer seeking coverage for costs to settle class action claims for the lost use of plastic payment cards in connection with a major data breach.

Represented a major retailer in a cyber insurance claim for defense and indemnity for several class actions alleging breach of privacy laws.

Successfully represented a major retailer in insurance coverage disputes with insurance carriers and an insurance broker to recover payment for wage and hour coverage.

Successfully represented a publicly traded rent-to-own company to negotiate coverage and payment for property losses in a major hurricane.

Successfully represented a medical manufacturing company to recover losses in connection with mold damage to a manufacturing facility.

Adviseda publicly traded oil company in connection with an arbitration seeking coverage for a major oil spill.

RICO

Successfully represented an institutional investor in high-stakes fraud and RICO cases against Bank of America, Countrywide, JP Morgan, and UBS, involving the alleged fraudulent sale of over $6 billion in mortgage-backed securities and complex successor liability issues.

Successfully represented employees as Class Counsel in a RICO case against their employer for hiring illegal workers, leading to an $18 million settlement after arguing in the Eleventh Circuit and litigating in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Complex Business Disputes 

Successfully represented a major retailer to recover damages for losses for non-compliant inventory delivered in a $100 million plus business acquisition. 

Represented director and shareholder in close corporation to prevent and recover damages for breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate waste and theft of corporate opportunities.

Represented an investment firm on claims that a former owner breached covenants not to compete or solicit clients after selling the business to its new owners.

Successfully represented a major retailer in the In re Deepwater Horizon claims process, helping the client recover millions of dollars in contested awards and additional settlements.

Represented a major home builder in a bet-the-company case over an alleged default  on hundreds of millions of dollars in bonds. Successfully forestalled claims for default on the terms of the bonds under the Trust Indenture Act.

Successfully represented a major home builder and mortgage lender, in court and in arbitration, on claims for breach of contract, tortious interference with contract and unfair competition against Bank of America Co. and one of its subsidiaries. 

Intellectual Property

Represented a Georgia brand owner on claims that Google violated the owner’s right to exclude others by auctioning brand names to serve competitive advertising via Google’s AdWords program.

Counseled and investigated claims for an airline regarding travel companies’ unauthorized access to frequent flyer programs and use of airline’s marks in advertising to promote the travel company’s app. 

Counseled and investigated claims for a major hotel company in connection with Google AdWords program and on-line travel agencies bidding on branded keywords to deliver competitive advertising.

Defense Cases 

Successfully represented a Fortune 50 home improvement retailer in dozens of cases on claims ranging from $50,000 to $150 million in federal and state courts in Georgia, California, Texas and Illinois over the last 20 years. 

Successfully defended a $500 million RICO case against a gun manufacturer, first persuading the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia to abstain due to foreign litigation, then securing dismissal of all plaintiff’s claims, a decision upheld in the Eleventh Circuit.

Successfully defended a private corporation and its outside counsel in a series of malicious prosecution cases alleging RICO claims, conspiracy and violations of the plaintiff’s constitutional rights, achieving dismissals in both federal and Fulton County State Courts and upholding these in the Eleventh Circuit and Georgia Court of Appeals. 

Successfully defended a major international hotel company against a $35 million claim for breach of a lease agreement, securing a summary judgment against the owner, leading to a favorable confidential settlement after appellate affirmation.

Successfully defended a regional fuel jobber against claims for breach of contract, conversion, tortious interference with contract and defamation.

Successfully defended the Hospital Authority of Albany-Dougherty County against FTC and Georgia State Attorney General antitrust claims, securing a district court's immunity ruling and dismissal of the $195 million Palmyra Medical Center acquisition challenge.    

Defended an international hotel company against claims of fiduciary duty breaches and operating agreement violations. Successfully thwarted attempts for a restraining order and preliminary injunction in federal court, leading to the plaintiff's dismissal and subsequent defeat of the re-filed claim in Gwinnett County Superior Court.

Successfully defended a plastics manufacturing company and its owners against claims of trade secret misappropriation and breach of confidentiality agreements after a failed merger, setting a precedent in applying the statute of limitations in a Georgia trade secret case.

Served as liaison counsel for an internet advertising company in a multi-district litigation, defending against claims that its pop-up ads infringed copyrights and trademarks, resolving multiple cases filed by Fortune 100 plaintiffs.

Pro Bono

Represented capital defense organizations against Georgia and the Attorney General for breaching a Covid-related execution halt agreement. Led a team to secure a preliminary injunction, stopping an execution and enforcing the agreement's conditions. Successfully argued in the Georgia Supreme Court, achieving a unanimous decision upholding the agreement and emphasizing the State's obligation to honor its commitments.

Secured the release of a man wrongfully detained at Guantanamo Bay by filing a habeas corpus petition in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, leading to his release after five years.

Volunteered in the prosecution and trial of a man charged with defrauding his 80-year-old godfather, leading to his conviction on multiple counts of theft-by-deception and elder abuse after a multi-day trial.

Obtained reversal of a denied Title VII retaliation claim against the Federal Railroad Administration, resulting in the plaintiff's reinstatement and an award of nearly $1 million in back pay (pro bono appointment, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit). 

Successfully represented Max Blau, investigative journalist, to force Georgia Department of Corrections to answer open records requests despite Secrecy Act objections.

Professional Activities

Southern Center for Human Rights, Board of Directors, 2014 - 2023

Appellate Section of the Georgia Bar, Chair, 2008 - 2011

Class Action Section of the Georgia Bar, Officer, 2020 - present

Honors and Awards

Chambers USA, Litigation: General Commercial, 2024

Georgia Super Lawyer, 2013 - 2024

Georgia Rising Star, 2005 - 2007; 2009 - 2012