John Montgomery became a litigation partner in 1985, and served as managing partner of the firm from 2004 through 2012. He retired as a partner on December 31, 2012, but he continues to be active in pro bono and other public interest matters. John focuses on complex civil litigation with an emphasis on trials and appeals in high profile cases involving novel or publicly sensitive issues. In 2016, John was named a Lawyer of the Year by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly for his work, along with a team from the firm, in litigation against Backpage.com involving online sex trafficking of children.
His litigation practice has included a variety of complex matters involving securities, pharmaceutical pricing, intellectual property, insurance coverage, commercial tort, product liability, ERISA, and regulatory matters. John has tried cases and argued appeals in Maine, Massachusetts, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. His experience includes two successful arguments in the United States Supreme Court – including the landmark decision in Eastern Enterprises v. Apfel in which the court held that a Congressional statute imposing a $100 million retroactive liability on a Ropes & Gray client was unconstitutional.
Prior to joining Ropes & Gray in 1982, John served as an Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He left the firm in 1990 to serve as First Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and returned to Ropes & Gray in 1992.