Nicole Friedlander is a partner in Sullivan & Cromwell’s Criminal Defense and Investigations Group and Co-Head of both its National Security and Cybersecurity Practices. Ms. Friedlander represents clients in complex internal investigations, regulatory enforcement proceedings and criminal matters involving every aspect of white-collar crime, including fraud, bribery, insider trading, theft of trade secrets, and money laundering matters. Ms. Friedlander also advises major corporations and Boards of Directors in cybersecurity matters. She currently serves as co-chair of the New York Chapter of the Women’s White Collar Defense Association. Ms. Friedlander has been ranked by Chambers USA for White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, where sources praised her “impress[ive] facility and judgment,” her ability to “quietly command the room with her skilled preparation,” and her standout trial skills (“She is so good in court.”).
Government Service
Ms. Friedlander joined the Firm in 2016 from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where she was Chief of the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit, and served for over eight years. In white-collar, among a wide range of cases, Ms. Friedlander led major prosecutions of offshore banks for facilitating tax evasion; secured one of the largest-ever FCPA resolutions; led the successful prosecution of a $1 billion health care fraud scheme; and brought a groundbreaking racketeering case against the owner of multibillion-dollar payday lending companies. In cybersecurity, Ms. Friedlander led the successful investigation of the largest-ever cyber theft of customer data from a U.S. financial institution; oversaw the indictment of Iranian state-sponsored hackers for coordinating cyberattacks on 46 financial institutions; and prosecuted a Russian national for hacking U.S. banks in a case the FBI named one of its top ten of the year.
During her tenure at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms. Friedlander successfully tried numerous federal criminal cases and briefed and argued appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.