Mariellen, a partner with Calcagni & Kanefsky, is a seasoned trial attorney who draws upon her considerable experience in the public and private sectors to resolve a broad range of litigated matters for the firm’s roster of prominent corporate clients. Fortune 500 companies and their executives regularly engage Mariellen, an accomplished former Federal prosecutor and First Assistant State Attorney General and a widely-respected litigator, to handle their most sensitive and contentious commercial, white collar criminal, regulatory, securities and False Claims Act matters.  A former General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of a publicly-traded company, Mariellen combines her keen ability to properly assess business imperatives and manage risk with her highly-developed prosecutorial skills to help the firm’s clients successfully resolve the most challenging commercial disputes and government investigations.

Mariellen’s extraordinary background includes substantial prosecutorial experience with both the United States Department of Justice and New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, over a decade serving as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for a major energy services holding company, and vast experience counseling and litigating on behalf of corporate clients.

Before joining Calcagni & Kanefsky, Mariellen was a partner at a preeminent national law firm, representing companies in litigation, government and internal investigations, and corporate compliance.

Mariellen served for eleven years as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at New Jersey Resources Corporation, a publicly-traded Fortune 1000 company, where she oversaw all aspects of litigation, including commercial, regulatory, securities, employment, and mass tort.  Mariellen also counseled and worked closely with the Board of Directors and Senior Management on corporate crisis management, government investigations, regulatory strategy, risk alignment, and compliance.

Before joining New Jersey Resources Corporation, Mariellen served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, where she investigated and prosecuted all manner of complex white-collar crime, including fraud, money laundering, and political corruption.  During her time as Federal prosecutor, she tried more than a dozen felony cases to verdict.

Mariellen also served as First Assistant Attorney General and Chief of Staff to the Attorney General of New Jersey.  As the State’s second highest-ranking prosecutor and second-in-command of one of the largest departments of state government, Ms. Dugan directed the investigation and prosecution of hundreds of criminal matters, managed the State’s most high-profile litigation, and oversaw all twenty-one state county prosecutors and the New Jersey State Police.  She also counseled state regulators and members of the governor’s cabinet and executive staff on high-level policy matters.

Mariellen began her career as a judicial law clerk for United States District Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise in the District of New Jersey.

• Represented a publicly-traded company in connection with an audit committee investigation of a whistleblower complaint against a high-level executive.
• Representing a Fortune 50 company in federal and state court ERISA litigations.
• Counseled a Fortune 50 company through a federal criminal investigation.
• Defended individuals in federal healthcare, tax, and bank fraud prosecutions.

Mariellen is firmly committed to her community and her profession.  She supports her alma mater, Seton Hall University School of Law, as a member of its Board of Visitors and serves as an Adjunct Professor in Healthcare Fraud and Abuse.  She is also an avid supporter of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, having served as Trustee for five years.

Mariellen also provides support to the legal community and the judiciary.  She was a panelist for the Re-appointment of United State Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel and served as a member of the Criminal Practice Committee of the New Jersey Supreme Court and the Lawyers’ Advisory Committee for the United States District Court.