Joanne Marie O'Connor

Joanne O'Connor is a shareholder with the firm who has been listed as a Florida Super Lawyer, is listed among Florida's Leading Lawyers by Chambers USA, and was identified as one of South Florida's Up and Coming Attorneys by the South Florida Legal Guide for 5 years until she graduated to Top Lawyer status in 2009. She is a 2008 graduate of Leadership Palm Beach County and serves on the Executive Committee of the Duke University Alumni Association and is Vice-Chair of the 15th Judicial Circuit Grievance Committee "A.".  She is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches and former member of the Professional Ethics Committee of The Florida Bar.  Additionally, she has served as Chair of the Judicial Relations and Professionalism Committees of the Palm Beach County Bar Association. She served as co-chair of Palm Beach County's 2013 Bench Bar Conference.

Ms. O'Connor practices in the areas of complex commercial litigation including busines torts, real estate disputes and lawyer and law firm defense. Since joining Jones Foster in 2001, she has litigated a broad range of matters at all levels from arbitration and trials through appeals and has particular experience successfully defending national and regional law firms against legal malpractice claims.

Ms. O'Connor graduated summa cum laude from the Tulane University School of Law, where she was a Managing Editor of the Tulane Law Review and named to the Order of the Coif.  She holds a master’s degree in political science and Latin American Studies from the University of Florida. She received her undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Duke University. Prior to joining Jones Foster, Ms. O'Connor served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Sarah S. Vance of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTS:

• Served as counsel to The Scripps Research Institute in establishing Scripps Florida, a new state-of-the-art scientific research institute, in Palm Beach County, Florida against a variety of legal challenges from environmental and non-profit organizations.
• Represented publicly held financial services corporation and its chairman and chief executive officer in defense of $65 million claim brought by minority shareholders of wholly owned subsidiary alleging breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, fraud and civil theft in two-week hearing before AAA arbitration panel.
• Obtained directed verdict, affirmed on appeal, on behalf of national law firm sued for damages in excess of $20 million for alleged legal malpractice in drafting limited partnership documents.