Mullen Coughlin, Cybersecurity & Data Privacy

Mullen Coughlin continues its growth of its Litigation practice by welcoming experienced litigator MaryEllen Conroy as a Partner. With over 30 years of litigation experience in U.S. state and federal courts nationwide, most recently as a Partner in the Philadelphia office of a full-service law firm, MaryEllen possesses significant experience in handling complex and high-exposure litigation defense matters on behalf of organizations of all sizes and from all industry sectors. At Mullen Coughlin, MaryEllen will leverage her substantial legal skills to defend organizations against data breach, data privacy, and data security claims, and provide strategic legal counsel to Firm clients. MaryEllen is based in Mullen Coughlin’s Devon, PA headquarters, and is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, Florida, and New Jersey.

“I am flattered to have been afforded the opportunity to become a productive member of the Mullen Coughlin team, the pioneer firm specializing in data privacy and security law,” said MaryEllen. “I look forward to helping organizations navigate their complex legal needs both inside and outside of the court room.”

MaryEllen is also a court-appointed mediator for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, having completed formal mediation training in 2016, wherein she is retained by both plaintiff and defense counsel to sit as a private mediator in catastrophic loss cases. She also has served as Judge pro tem in the County of Philadelphia for over 25 years. Prior to joining Mullen Coughlin, MaryEllen was a shareholding partner in the Philadelphia office of a law firm focusing on general liability litigation.

“MaryEllen is an exceptional attorney and a distinguished litigator whose reputation precedes her,” said Litigation Practice Group Chair Carolyn Purwin Ryan. “Her deep expertise in trial work elevates an already formidable team, bringing with her a level of skill and courtroom mastery that is truly unmatched.”

MaryEllen received her J.D. from Widener University Delaware Law School and a B.S. from Drexel University. In addition to her admission to PA, FL, and NJ, state courts, she is also licensed to practice in the U.S.D.C. for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

“With her reputation, experience, and strategic insight on complex litigation matters, MaryEllen is an extraordinary addition to our 29-attorney litigation team,” said Managing Member Jennifer A. Coughlin. “With MaryEllen, Mullen Coughlin remains at the forefront of providing organizations with innovative, responsive, and unmatched counsel in the complex and ever-evolving realm of data breach and privacy litigation.”

Fresh off being named to Cybersecurity Docket’s “Incident Response Elite 2026,” Mullen Coughlin UK Managing Partner Cameron Carr presents at the Incident Response Forum 2026 in London on June 4. Cameron joins a panel of cybersecurity and data privacy legal professionals during the session, “Cyber Threat Landscape: Preparation and Remediation.”

The panel explores the prevailing cyber threats impacting organizations around the world and how they can better defend against, detect, contain, and recover from data privacy and security incidents.

Learn more and register to attend here.

Continuing our Firmwide attorney growth, Mullen Coughlin welcomed two (2) new Associate attorneys to the Incident Response (IR) and Litigation practice groups – Rohith Badri and Kate Garofalo.

Rohith joins the Litigation practice group and is based and licensed to practice in Pennsylvania. An experienced attorney and litigator, he focuses his practice on defending organizations in data privacy and security-related litigation in U.S. state and federal courts. Rohith is a former ADA with the Philadelphia DA’s office. He received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

Kate joins the IR practice group and is based and licensed to practice in California. She provides Breach Counsel services, coordinating and managing the response and investigation into data privacy and security incidents by directing, under privilege, third-party vendors and counseling clients on compliance with legal, regulatory, and contractual obligations. Kate is a former Associate General Counsel at a leading financial services technology company specializing in cryptocurrency investment. She is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals and received her J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law.