Manatt Expands Top Healthcare Practice

WASHINGTON, D.C. — April 22, 2014 — Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, announced today that Deven McGraw has joined the firm as a partner in its Healthcare practice. McGraw comes to Manatt from the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), where she served as director of the Health Privacy Project.

McGraw oversaw the development and promotion of workable privacy and security protections for electronic personal health information through the Health Privacy Project at CDT, a nonprofit that conceptualizes and implements public policies to keep the Internet open, innovative and free.

“Deven is known for her high-caliber privacy work,” said William S. Bernstein, chair of Manatt’s Healthcare division. “The depth of her experience and service in today’s most pressing health policy issues makes her a well-connected asset for clients. In addition, her focus on patient protection and the secondary use of health data will increase the scope of our national team. We are proud to welcome Deven to the firm.”

In 2009, McGraw was one of only three people to be appointed to the federal advisory Health Information Technology Policy Committee by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and for four years she has chaired the committee’s privacy and security policy working group and co-chaired its work on health information exchange. She also serves on the Leadership Committee of the eHealth Initiative. McGraw co-chaired one key work group and served as a member of another for the American Health Information Community, a federal advisory body established by HHS during the Bush administration to develop recommendations on how to facilitate use of health information technology to improve health.

Prior to joining CDT, McGraw was the chief operating officer of the National Partnership for Women & Families, a nonprofit promoting public policies, education and outreach that focuses on women and families. As COO, McGraw provided strategic direction and oversight for all of the organization’s core program areas, including the promotion of initiatives to improve healthcare quality.

Earlier in her career, McGraw was in private practice, working as an associate in the public policy group at Patton Boggs, LLP, and in the healthcare group at Ropes & Gray.

“I was very impressed by Manatt’s multifaceted healthcare practice and its creative, integrated approach to client services,” said McGraw. “The firm is well-known for its high-level engagements and cutting-edge work in the healthcare sector, as well as across multiple platforms such as financial services and litigation. I look forward to growing my practice at Manatt and collaborating with my new colleagues to help clients navigate the increasingly complex privacy space.”

McGraw’s addition is the latest in a series of new partners joining Manatt across the country in 2014, including global payments and anti-money laundering compliance lawyer Carol Van Cleef and financial services litigator Andrew Zimmitti in Washington, D.C.; commercial and white-collar defense litigator Arunabha Bhoumik in New York City; capital markets lawyer Katherine Blair, entertainment litigator John Gatti and privacy, advertising and media lawyer Jesse Brody in Los Angeles; labor and employment litigator Mandana Massoumiand capital markets lawyer Thomas Poletti in Orange County; and financial services and banking lawyer David Gershon in San Francisco.

Manatt’s Healthcare practice has been nationally recognized for excellence by Chambers USA, which earlier in the month named the firm a finalist for the publication’s 2014 Awards for Excellence. The awards honor outstanding law firms and lawyers across the United States, reflecting pre-eminence in key practice areas and notable achievements including outstanding work, impressive strategic growth and excellence in client service. The team also achieved a Tier 1 ranking, the highest designation bestowed, from U.S. News & World Report in its 2014 ranking of the country’s “Best Law Firms.”

McGraw earned a B.S. and B.A. from University of Maryland, a J.D. magna cum laude and an L.L.M. from Georgetown University Law Center, and a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.