John Herman is the Chairman and a founding partner of Herman Jones LLP.  His practice focuses on complex civil litigation and licensing, with a particular emphasis on high technology matters. His experience includes securities, patent, antitrust, data breach, whistleblower and class action litigation. John also has significant first chair trial experience, handling numerous cases through verdict in both federal and state courts.

John has worked on many noteworthy cases and successfully achieved favorable results for his clients. His notable cases include a securities fraud settlement of $108 million against Orbital ATK, a settlement of $87.5 million in a securities class action case against Southern Company, and a derivative settlement of $60 million on behalf of Community Health Systems, as well as leading a team of attorneys enforcing the 3Com Ethernet patents by winning two jury trial victories in federal court. John also represented renowned inventor Ed Phillips in the landmark case of Phillips v. AWH Corp. He has represented the pioneers of mesh technology – David Petite, Edwin Brownrigg and SIPCO – in connection with their mesh technology portfolio. John has also worked on numerous class action cases, including acting as lead plaintiffs’ counsel in the Home Depot shareholder derivative action, which achieved landmark corporate governance reforms for investors.

John has been recognized for his legal work by both his peers and legal publications. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Native American Intellectual Property Enterprise Council (“NAIPEC”) and is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. John was also voted by his peers as one of the leading intellectual property litigators in the Southeast. He has been named a Super Lawyer numerous times and was ranked on the “Top 100” Georgia Super Lawyers list.  Additionally, he was listed as one of “Georgia’s Most Effective Lawyers” by Legal Trend magazine and was voted by peers as one of Atlanta Magazine’s 2017 Top Lawyers in Georgia. In 2018, John was elected as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

John graduated first in his class with a Bachelor of Science degree summa cum laude in Biochemistry from Marquette University. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from Vanderbilt University Law School, where he was Editor-in- Chief of the Vanderbilt Journal and chosen as a John Wade Scholar. John has also served as a member of Vanderbilt University’s Law School Board and on the Federal Circuit’s Government Employees’ Pro Bono Committee.

Professional Affiliations

• Fellow, American Bar Foundation
• Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
• Member, Advisory Board of the Native American Intellectual Property Enterprise Council (“NAIPEC”)

Featured Seminars & Speaking Engagements

• Atlanta Bar Association, Securities and Corporate Litigation (May 10, 2019)
• Law Seminars International, Technology and Cloud Transactions – What, Me Worry? Identifying Exactly Who is Likely to Sue Whom and What is at Stake (April 27, 2015)
• North American Entertainment, Sports, and Intellectual Property Law Conference, The Next Decade of Patent Litigation – Grand Slam (Nov. 10, 2007)
• Law Seminars International, Update on Telecommunications Market Barriers: Regulatory and Intellectual Property Law (Nov. 2, 2006)

Publications

• John C. Herman & Ryan K. Walsh, When is Your Copyrighted Work Really Not Your Copyrighted Work?, State Bar of Georgia – Intellectual Property Law Section Newsletter (Fall 2002)
• John C. Herman, Court Offers Guidance on Striking Similarity And Establishing Independent Creation, Law Journal Newsletters – Entertainment Law & Finance (Nov. 2002)
• John C. Herman & Jamie N. Shipp, Free Speech or Spam? Legal Challenges to Unsolicited Fax and Email, Technology Law (April – June 2002)
• John C. Herman & Paul K. Ferdinands, Acquiring Technology in Today’s Market (2001)
• John C. Herman, Biotechnology and Recently Amended Section 337: Federal Circuit Grants No Protection, 24 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 827 (1991)

Admissions

• Georgia
• United States Supreme Court
• United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Eleventh and Federal Circuits
• United States District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia
• United States District Court for the District of Colorado
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas