Ashley Heintz concentrates her practice on securities litigation, shareholder disputes, and corporate governance matters. She has significant experience handling securities fraud class actions, shareholder derivative cases, SEC investigations and inquiries, and internal investigations relating to shareholder demands, whistleblower complaints, and corporate compliance. She regularly counsels boards of directors and senior management in connection with governmental and internal investigations as well as ESG (environmental, social, and governance), shareholder activism, and other governance-related issues.
Ashley was named one of the top seven securities litigators in the country under 40 years old by Law 360 in 2021. Significant matters in which she has played a major role include defending: Jarden in the highly publicized appraisal dispute in Delaware Chancery Court (In re Appraisal of Jarden Corporation); The Southern Company and certain of its officers in securities litigation; Flowers Foods and certain of its officers and directors in securities and derivative litigation; and Rayonier Inc. in securities litigation.
Ashley serves as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Women in Securities Litigation Network. Ashley is also active in the Atlanta community, where she is a member of the board of directors of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation and the Zoo Atlanta Leadership Council. Ashley recently served as an adjunct professor at the University of Georgia School of Law, teaching Securities Litigation & Enforcement. She is a graduate of the LEAD Atlanta Class of 2018.
Experience
Additional Speaking Engagements
- October 25, 2018
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Update: Understand New Rules, Standards, and Disclosure Requirements, Lorman Education Services - November 3, 2016
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure a Year Later: The Latest Decisions and Other Developments, Celesq AttorneysEd Center
- The University of Georgia (J.D. magna cum laude 2011; Order of the Coif; Notes Editor, Georgia Law Review; National First Amendment 2011 Moot Court Competition; Phillip C. Jessup International Law 2010 Moot Court Competition, Southeastern Region Champions, Southeastern Region 6th Place Oralist); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (B.A. with honors 2007; Public Service Scholar)
- Georgia, Pennsylvania, U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and U.S. District Courts for the Middle and Northern Districts of Georgia
Southeastern Legal Awards 2023, "On the Rise" (recognizes lawyers under the age of 40)
Chambers USA, litigation: securities — Georgia (Up and Coming, 2022 and 2023)
Georgia Super Lawyers, Rising Star, securities litigation (2022, 2024)
Best Lawyers in America, "Ones to Watch" for litigation — securities (2022)
Law 360, "Rising Star" (2021)
- Judicial Clerk to the Honorable Clay D. Land, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Georgia (2011-2013); Extern to the Honorable William M. Ray II, Superior Court of Gwinnett County, Georgia (Fall 2010)