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

Before joining CK, Mariellen was a partner at a preeminent national law firm, defending companies and individuals in complex civil litigation, investigations, and white collar criminal defense.

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 the 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 managed the State’s most high-profile litigation, directed the investigation and prosecution of hundreds of criminal matters, 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 clerk for United States District Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise in the District of New Jersey.

• Successfully led the defense of a half dozen False Claims Act investigations by federal and state prosecutors over the past five years, achieving positive results each time for her healthcare clients.
• Won dismissals of complaints alleging co-pay assistance fraud case in violation of the federal RICO Act and state consumer fraud laws by federal courts in the District of Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.
• Represented a publicly-traded company in connection with an audit committee investigation of a whistleblower complaint against a high-level executive.
• Won dismissal of a qui tam complaint with prejudice on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion in federal district court for the Western District of Missouri.
• Won dismissals of complaints alleging breach of contract and ERISA violations by a healthcare client in federal and state court.

• Handled compliance with grand jury and third-party subpoenas issued in complex healthcare cases.
• Successfully defended a managed care organization in more than a dozen Medicaid appeals.
• Represented individuals in federal healthcare, tax, and bank fraud prosecutions.
• Successfully defended a national retail pharmacy in multiple DEA investigations.

Mariellen is firmly committed to her community and her profession. She supports her alma mater, Seton Hall University School of Law, as a student mentor. She has served as a member of the Law School’s Board of Visitors and as an Adjunct Professor in Healthcare Fraud and Abuse and Trial Advocacy.

Mariellen also provides support to the legal community and the judiciary. She 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.