Farrow-Gillespie Heath Wilmoth LLP

Mary L. O’Connor’s practice focuses on representing companies and their officers and directors in commercial litigation and arbitration, as well as securities litigation, internal investigations, regulatory investigations, and enforcement proceedings.

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Ms. O'Connor is a member of the Commercial Panel of the American Arbitration Association and is a FINRA arbitrator.

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Mary is currently named to the list of Best Lawyers in America by US News and World Report and has been named multiple times to the list of Best Lawyers in Dallas by D Magazine and the list of Texas Super Lawyers (a Thomson Reuters service) by Texas Monthly Magazine.

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Practice Areas

• Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

• Securities Litigation and Enforcement

• Internal Investigations

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Education

• J.D., Stanford Law School, 1983

• B.A., summa cum laude (political science), Bryn Mawr College, 1979

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Experience Overview

Ms. O’Connor’s recent engagements include representing —

• a family trust in obtaining judgment for breach of a loan agreement and defeating 8-figure counterclaims by the borrower in a bench trial

• a landlord in obtaining a 7-figure jury verdict for breach of a commercial lease agreement and successfully defending that verdict on appeal

• a supplier of frac sand in a suit for payment on a 7-figure account

• an Ohio-based manufacturing company in a Securities and Exchange Commission  investigation of fraudulent accounting practices by the vice president for finance of one of its subsidiaries

• a publicly-traded insurance holding company and its board of directors in derivative litigation arising from the proposed acquisition of the company by a major professional liability insurance company

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Internal Investigation Experience

Ms. O’Connor has conducted a wide range of investigations, including:

• Investigated inventory accounting issues for publicly-held retail company

• Investigated off-the-books transactions by employees of publicly-held oil and gas company

• Investigated whistleblower allegations by an employee with compliance duties

• Investigated potential insider trading by employees and officers

• Investigated related party transactions involving an employee of a publicly-held company

• Investigated accounting and internal control issues at multiple locations of a publicly-held manufacturing and services company

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Court Admissions

• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

• U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit

• U.S. Supreme Court

• All Texas courts

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Publications & Presentations

• Panelist, “Avoiding and Untangling Knots in Company Internal Investigations,” National Association of Minority & Women-Owned Law Firms, February 2018 Business Meeting

• Author and Speaker, “Advanced Arbitration: Nuances in Arbitration Law,” presented with Scott T. Williams, Texas Center for the Judiciary, 2013 Civil Justice Conference

• “Chinks in the Enforcement Armor: Recent Decisions Erode SEC’s Favored Remedies” by Mary L. O’Connor, Patrick G. O’Brien, Bloomberg BNA Securities Regulation and Law Report, November 2012

• “The Conduct of Independent Investigations – and the General Counsel’s Role,” The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, April 2007