Johnson Fistel Welcomes New Associate Mary Ellen Conner

“We are excited to add Mary Ellen to our already talented and diverse team here in Georgia,” said Michael I. Fistel, Jr., a partner in Johnson Fistel’s Georgia office. “Mary Ellen’s past experience representing Fortune 500 companies in complex commercial and securities litigation, as well as her time spent in academia will serve the firm and its clients well.”

At Johnson Fistel, Ms. Conner will concentrate her practice on securities litigation and complex commercial disputes, representing businesses and individuals who have been wronged by corporate fraud in shareholder litigation, including direct and derivative actions.

Ms. Conner began her career at Jones Day, a full-service law firm with more than 2,500 lawyers and 43 offices around the world. While at Jones Day, in addition to securities fraud and fiduciary duty litigation, Ms. Conner also represented numerous businesses, healthcare providers (including hospitals, physician groups, laboratories, Durable Medical Equipment supply companies, and ambulatory surgery centers), and individuals in government investigations and litigation brought by the Department of Justice and Office of Inspector General for alleged violations of the False Claims Act, federal securities and commodities fraud statutes, and insider trading laws. Following her time at Jones Day, Ms. Conner served on the faculty of Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School where she taught Civil Procedure I and II; Legal Research, Writing, and Analysis I; and Legal Communications and Process. She also served as the Faculty Adviser to the Moot Court and co-directed the school’s Oral Advocacy Competition.

Mr. Conner graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Public Service Scholar with a B.A. in English and Psychology. She received her J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law with Honors in 2011, where she served on the editorial board for The North Carolina Law Review and received the Gressman-Pollitt Award for Excellence in Oral Advocacy from the Holderness Moot Court. While in law school, Ms. Conner also served as a summer clerk to The Honorable Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr., Chief Judge for the Western District of North Carolina.

Ms. Conner remains active in legal education. She has served as an instructor at Emory University’s School of Law Keissler Eidson Trial Techniques Program and volunteers as an instructor for Empire Mock Trial.