Chester County Assistant District Attorney John Rafferty Joins Gawthrop Greenwood

John Rafferty has joined the law firm of Gawthrop Greenwood, PC as an associate in the firm’s Litigation Department. He will focus his work on civil and business litigation matters as the firm continues to expand.

Mr. Rafferty comes to Gawthrop Greenwood from the Chester County District Attorney’s office where, as an Assistant District Attorney, he prosecuted serious criminal matters, including homicides and assaults. Having managed multiple cases from investigation through trial, his extensive trial experience will allow Mr. Rafferty to represent firm clients in litigation matters.

Mr. Rafferty’s career began in the U.S. Navy, where he served as a naval officer in southeast Asia, southern California and the Middle East. In Bahrain, he served as the Assistant General Secretary for the Migrant Workers Protection Society, which addressed the housing needs of the area’s migrant workforce. He was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal for meritorious shipboard accomplishments, as well as the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal for exemplary public service efforts.

He was awarded a full scholarship to Villanova Law School as a Public Interest Scholar, and received the Super Lawyers Pro Bono Award for exhibiting a significant and sustained commitment to public service through his work as a law student.

Upon graduation, Mr. Rafferty received a Fulbright Fellowship, which enabled him to live in Ecuador for 10 months, where he conducted field research on the scope of human trafficking. When he returned to the U.S., he fought for immigration benefits for victims of human trafficking with the Philadelphia non-profit law firm Friends of Farmworkers. He also initiated civil suits under federal and state law to recover unpaid wages for victims of trafficking.

Mr. Rafferty currently serves on the board of advisors for the Villanova Law School’s Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation. He is an active member of the Chester County and Philadelphia Anti-Trafficking Coalitions, and serves as a board member for P.H. Balanced Films, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit that facilitates knowledge exchanges and mentorship programs to support women who want to use film and storytelling as a platform to advocate for social justice.