Stahl, Robert G.

Mary Jo Johnson is a partner in the firm's Securities and Litigation/Controversy Departments, and a member of the Securities Litigation and Enforcement and Investigations and Criminal Litigation Practice Groups. Ms. Johnson is also a member of the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Working Group. She joined the firm in 1988.

Practice

Ms. Johnson's litigation practice focuses on securities fraud cases, ranging from defending securities fraud class actions and SEC enforcement matters to conducting internal investigations on issues such as revenue recognition, accounting fraud, insider trading, public disclosures, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and whistleblower claims. Ms. Johnson's practice also has included representing companies in employment litigation on matters involving corporate management.

Ms. Johnson represents clients in diverse industries, including financial services, software, technology, manufacturing, healthcare, pharmaceutical, insurance and investment management. She frequently represents and advises both public and private corporations and officers and directors confronting federal and state lawsuits, including securities fraud class actions. A large portion of her practice involves representing corporations and individuals in investigations conducted by the SEC, FINRA or state regulators.

Over the years Ms. Johnson has successfully represented clients and individuals in over 50 investigations that have related to alleged improper revenue recognition or disclosures, accounting fraud, failure to supervise, insider trading, FDA-related disclosures, options backdating and market timing, to name a few. In such cases, Ms. Johnson's representation often includes reporting to a Committee of the Board of Directors and supervising internal investigations.

In addition, Ms. Johnson has represented companies in employment and commercial litigation involving franchise terminations, contract disputes, non-competition, non-solicitation, whistleblower, wage act, fiduciary duty and discrimination claims. For example, the First Circuit and the Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld three employment cases (one a class action) that Ms. Johnson had defended successfully in the trial courts. This year she successfully defended a client in three arbitrations.

Professional Honors and Activities

• Named a "New England Super Lawyer" (formerly "Massachusetts Super Lawyer") in securities litigation in the 2005-2011 issues of Boston Magazine.
• Conducts training sessions at WilmerHale and at the Harvard Business and Law Schools and speaks at conferences on topics relating to securities fraud litigation, internal and regulatory investigations, and litigation practice.
• Serves on WilmerHale's Associate and Public Service Committees and is a Career Advancement Program mentor at the firm. 
• Member of the Boston, Massachusetts, Women’s and American Bar Associations.
• Admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and before the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the US Supreme Court.
• In 1994, prosecuted cases at the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office as a special assistant district attorney.
• Serves on the Boards of the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange and is President Elect of the Women’s Bar Foundation Board.