About J. Anthony
J. Anthony Downs graduated from Princeton University in 1982 and earned his J.D. from The University of Chicago Law School in 1986. He moved into federal appellate work immediately after law school, clerking for Judge James Oakes on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The following year he served as a law clerk to William H. Rehnquist at the U.S. Supreme Court, an experience that deepened his exposure to high-level appellate procedure and constitutional questions.
After his Supreme Court clerkship, Downs joined Goodwin. He became a partner there in 1988. Over the years he built a practice that spans trial and appellate work in federal courts. His filings and courtroom appearances have involved a range of matters heard before district courts, circuit courts, and specialized tribunals.
Downs is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and has appeared in federal courts across the country. His admissions include the U.S. Supreme Court, the Federal Circuit, the First and Second Circuits, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. He has also been involved in proceedings before the International Trade Commission and has argued matters in state appellate forums such as the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
His caseload reflects both trial-level and appellate litigation, including intellectual property disputes that reach the Federal Circuit and the ITC. He has handled briefing and oral argument in complex matters that required coordination across jurisdictions and specialized procedural rules. Colleagues describe him as methodical in preparing appellate briefs and deliberate in courtroom strategy.
Downs maintains memberships in several professional organizations. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Boston Bar Association, and the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). These memberships keep him connected to developments in federal practice and intellectual property law.
He continues to practice at Goodwin, where he splits his time between appellate work and federal litigation. In 2026 he remains active in cases that involve patent appeals, federal circuit practice, and district court litigation in intellectual property and related federal matters.
His current practice focuses on appellate and federal court litigation, including intellectual property disputes and appeals before the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.
