« Back to Our Team

M. F. Connell Mullins, Jr.

Attorney, Shareholder

Mullins SL 2024 Mullins SL 10 Years Firm 44440 US Original E31

Areas of Practice

Connell Mullins represents a wide range of clients in business disputes. He has acquired substantial bench and jury trial experience in federal and state courts, as both lead and local counsel, for plaintiffs and defendants in a broad array of contested matters, including financial services litigation, products liability and personal injury cases, regulatory proceedings before Virginia's State Corporation Commission (SCC), contract and business tort cases, employment litigation, intellectual property litigation, and a variety of other business disputes.

Prior to joining the firm, Connell served as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson and to M. Langhorne Keith of the Fairfax County Circuit Court. This unique experience of having clerked in both the Eastern District of Virginia (aka the "Rocket Docket") and in one of the busiest trial courts in the Commonwealth of Virginia enables him to evaluate the needs and concerns of his clients with efficiency, to advise his clients on pre-litigation strategy considerations, and to provide practical and effective representation from the beginning of a case all the way through discovery, development of fact and expert witnesses, motions practice, trial, and post-trial motions practice.

Education

  • University of Richmond, T.C. Williams School of Law (J.D., 2001) Member, Moot Court Board, 1999-2001; University of Richmond Law Review, Member, 1999 - 2001, Manuscripts Editor, 2000 - 2001
  • University of Virginia (B.A., Foreign Affairs, 1997)

Bar Admissions

  • Virginia
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Virginia
  • U.S. District Court Western District of Virginia
  • U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit
  • U.S. Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of Virginia

Clerkships

  • Hon. Henry E. Hudson, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Law Clerk, 2002 - 2003
  • Hon. M. Langhorne Keith, 19th Judicial Circuit of Virginia, Law Clerk, 2001 - 2002

Representative Experience

Financial Services

  • Lead and local defense counsel for national and regional banks, furnishers, lenders, investors, and other financial institutions in numerous matters brought by consumers in the Eastern District of Virginia under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), and Virginia common law theories of recovery.
  • Counsel to community bank clients in a variety of receivership actions, guarantor litigation, and lien priority litigation.

Commercial Litigation

  • Lead counsel in breach of contract actions, declaratory judgment actions, commercial lease disputes, and real estate litigation, including real estate tax appeals.
  • Local counsel for an insurer in coverage litigation in the Eastern District of Virginia
  • Served as co-lead trial counsel in defense of corporate client in multi-day jury trial in the Eastern District of Virginia (Norfolk Division) involving claims of wrongful termination by former employee.
  • Lead defense counsel for motor vehicle dealers in breach of contract, breach of warranty, "lemon law" and Virginia Consumer Protection Act claims.
  • Represented businesses and business owners, including minority shareholders, in various state civil actions (i.e., "business divorces") involving direct and derivative claims of corporate mismanagement, breaches of fiduciary duty claims, partnership disputes, and other statutory and common law theories of recovery.

Products Liability and Personal Injury

  • Defense of various companies in asbestos personal injury and wrongful death litigation brought in state courts throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, and in selected other jurisdictions, involving motions practice, written discovery, and depositions of fact and expert witnesses throughout the country.
  • Lead defense counsel for corporate clients in trucking accident claims, product liability claims, premises liability claims, negligence actions, and nuisance actions.

Administrative and Regulatory

  • Representation of associations in electric utility certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) matters.
  • Representation of associations in integrated resource planning (IRP) matters.
  • Represented international energy company as lead counsel in regulatory proceedings before the Virginia State Corporation Commission.

Intellectual Property

  • Local counsel in numerous patent litigation matters and trademark infringement actions in the Eastern District of Virginia.
  • Assisted with representation of corporate plaintiff in multi-day jury trial in the Eastern District of Virginia (Richmond Division).
  • Assisted with defense of corporate client in multi-day jury trial in the Eastern District of Virginia (Richmond Division), involving trademark and trade dress infringement claims.

Professional Associations

  • Virginia State Bar, Member
  • Virginia Bar Association
    • Member, Civil Litigation Section Council and Co-Chair, CLE Subcommittee
    • Council Member, Joint Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Richmond Bar Association, Member
  • Permanent Member, Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference

Honors and Awards

  • Best Lawyers in America for Commercial Litigation, 2025
  • Virginia Super Lawyers 2015-2024 for Business Litigation
  • Virginia Super Lawyers Rising Stars for Business Litigation

Classes/Seminars Taught

  • "The Continuing Challenge of E-Discovery: The Way Forward." Moderator, Virginia Bar Association Annual Meeting, Williamsburg, January 2014.
  • "You Ain't From Around Here, Are you? A Step-by-Step Guide to Foreign Subpoenas, the Foreign Deposition Act, and Interstate Discovery." Panelist, Virginia Bar Association Summer Meeting, The Homestead, July 2013.

Community Involvement

  • Blue Sky Fund, President
  • St. James's Episcopal Church, Vestry Member
  • Ducks Unlimited, Richmond Chapter, Committee Member and Past Chair

Off the Clock

Connell enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife and three sons, and volunteering with the Blue Sky Fund.