Mary Jo Johnson represented corporations, financial institutions and their officers and directors in matters pending before federal and state courts and regulatory agencies. She had significant experience in conducting internal investigations and compliance reviews and defending regulatory enforcement matters. Her practice included clients in diverse industries, such as financial services, banking, energy, insurance, mortgage servicing, software, technology, manufacturing, healthcare, pharmaceutical and investment management. Ms. Johnson retired in 2016.

She defended clients in securities fraud class actions; SEC enforcement matters; FINRA investigations; OCC investigations; and state securities actions on a wide range of matters involving revenue recognition, accounting and auditing practices, restatements of financial statements, insider trading, public disclosures, adequacy of books and records, management conduct, compliance risk management systems, internal controls, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, whistleblower claims, flood insurance, and "unsafe and unsound" banking practices.  

Over the years Ms. Johnson successfully represented clients and individuals in more than 70 investigations that have related to alleged improper revenue recognition and inaccurate financial statements; public company disclosures; credit card, mortgage or accounting fraud; failure to supervise; insider trading; FDA-related disclosures; notary and signing practices; options backdating; market timing; and compliance with the Flood Disaster Protection Act and regulations, to name a few. In such cases, Ms. Johnson's representation often included reporting to a committee of the Board of Directors. Some of these matters involved compliance reviews conducted for companies or financial institutions to identify and prevent regulatory problems.

Ms. Johnson also represented companies in arbitration and commercial and employment litigation involving contract disputes, franchise terminations, non-competition, non-solicitation, whistleblower, wage act, fiduciary duty and discrimination claims.

Pro Bono Practice

Ms. Johnson was a longstanding member of the firm's Pro Bono and Community Service Committee, which guides the firm's pro bono and community services. Throughout her tenure at the firm, she had been deeply involved in numerous pro bono matters. She also supervised and tried cases through the Women's Bar Foundation's Family Law Project involving allegations of domestic violence in divorce and child custody matters, and was instrumental in the firm's preparation of a manual for Massachusetts practitioners on handling human trafficking cases.

Professional Activities

Ms. Johnson conducted trainings for WilmerHale attorneys and law and business schools related to securities fraud litigation, internal and regulatory investigations, depositions, and litigation practice. Topics included the Dodd-Frank whistleblower provisions, indemnification and joint defense agreements, civil litigation management, non-competition agreements, taking and defending depositions; discovery practices; attorney client privilege, witness interviews, trial practice, client counseling and problem solving. She was a longstanding member of the firm's Associates Committee and Career Advancement Program, through which she mentored many associates at the firm.

Ms. Johnson served on the boards of the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange and the Women's Bar Foundation, and was president of the Women's Bar Foundation's board in 2011. She was a member of the Boston, Massachusetts, Women's and American Bar Associations, and was admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the US Supreme Court.