W. Thomas McGough

W. Thomas McGough, Jr., is the Distinguished Faculty Fellow of Law and Medicine at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law and the Nasuti College of Osteopathic Medicine. He is responsible for a course entitled "The Healthcare Marketplace," bringing law students and medical students together to explore how and to whom healthcare is being delivered and how our system of delivery can be improved.

Immediately prior to joining Duquesne University, Professor McGough was Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at UPMC, a Pittsburgh-based health system integrating 40 hospitals with a health insurance plan serving more than four million members. In that position, he helped set UPMC’s strategic direction and was responsible for its legal affairs and its governmental relations. He was frequently invited to address issues of healthcare policy before legislative bodies, administrative agencies and academic symposia.  

Professor McGough received his B.A. from Princeton University and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.  His professional career thereafter included service as a law clerk for the Honorable Collins J. Seitz of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, as a law clerk for the Honorable William H. Rehnquist of the Supreme Court of the United States, as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and as Associate Counsel to the U.S. Senate Select Committee investigating the Iran-Contra Affair. Prior to joining UPMC in 2011, Professor McGough was a partner at Reed Smith, LLP, where he served for nine years as Global Head of Litigation and was recognized by Best Lawyers in America© as a leading practitioner of bet-the-company litigation, white collar criminal defense, commercial litigation, first amendment law and appellate law.  He has also served since 2003 as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Virginia.

Professor McGough has received a number of awards and distinctions, including the Justin Johnson Award from Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, “for his unrelenting commitment to making Pennsylvania’s courts and communities better places for all of the Commonwealth’s residents;” the Pro Bono Award, given by the Allegheny County Bar Association, “for dedicated concern for the legal needs of the indigent;” the President’s Award given by Allegheny County Bar Foundation, “in recognition of career-long service in support of the ACBF’s mission to promote justice for all and to improve the community through public service law-related programs;” the Leadership in Non-Profit Governance Award from the National Association of Corporate Directors; and the Shaw’s Lion Award as Reed Smith’s Outstanding Lawyer in 2007.  He has served as President of the Allegheny County Bar Association, is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and is a member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County.     

• J.D., University of Virginia, Order of the Coif, 1978
• B.A. in Politics, Princeton University, magna cum laude, 1975