John T. Boundas

Firm partner John Boundas has spent the past two decades primarily representing people injured by prescription drugs or toxic substances, in many cases, children born with serious birth defects after exposure to prescription drugs in utero.

John fights hard for his clients, working to get them the resolutions they deserve. As a cancer survivor, he knows how trying a medical crisis can be.

As an example of his experience, John was appointed Co-Lead Counsel in the In re Depakote Litigation in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. In those cases, John represented children who suffered birth defects as a result of Depakote exposure and, along with the Williams Hart & Boundas, LLP team, tried individual jury trials that resulted in a $38 million verdict (unanimously affirmed on appeal) and a $15 million verdict (settled while on appeal), which ultimately led to the resolution of the litigation. He was also recently a part of a trial team that won a $3.5 million verdict on behalf of a client who was injured due to exposure to Roundup weedkiller. These results are just a few of the many results that John has helped achieve for the people we represent.

John attended the University of Michigan and then the University of Iowa College of Law, where he graduated first in his class. Following law school, John interned at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and was recognized for his “outstanding” performance. He went on to clerk for the Honorable Milton I. Shadur in the United States District Court in Chicago, where his father is also a lawyer. “My Dad and Judge Shadur have always been role models to me, not just because they were both the best of the best when it comes to lawyers, but even more because they conducted themselves with the highest integrity, at all times, period.”

After receiving the second highest score statewide on the Texas bar exam, John moved to Texas to join the law firm of Fulbright and Jaworski, here he worked on a wide variety of cases, including trademark, securities and antitrust litigation, and also prevailed in pro bono civil rights trials. After several years, John realized he wanted to spend his career representing individuals rather than corporations, and he is proud of the firm’s track record of achieving excellent results for people who have been injured. Particularly gratifying has been the ability to gain compensation for children all throughout the country who were born with life-altering birth defects.

Even with his impressive body of work, his many accolades, and his history of success in arguing everything from personal injury suits to pro bono civil rights cases, John still considers beating cancer one of his biggest fights. John was diagnosed with cancer while in the midst of a jury trial in Philadelphia, which fortunately was caught just in time. John credits one of his trial team members and an expert witness from the trial with saving his life and is grateful to have been supported by such great team members and even better people. His team members and partners finished the trial with a victory while John recovered from surgery at a hospital across town. After months of chemotherapy and radiation, he made a full recovery.

The Chicago native gained perspective during his time fighting cancer, and believes it has made him an even better lawyer. “I try to see the big picture and realize that people do not need to be hurt or endangered so others can cut corners just to make profits. That is why we do what we do. We try to make sure that people can stand up against companies, corporations, and individuals that have mistreated them or been negligent.”

Court Admissions:
Texas State Courts
Illinois State Courts
Pennsylvania State Courts
United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States Supreme Court