Nicole Friedlander

White-Collar

• Represented the Washington Commanders, and then-owner Dan Snyder, in Congressional and NFL investigations involving allegations of financial improprieties and workplace conduct issues at the team.
• Represented Goldman Sachs in reaching coordinated resolutions in multiple criminal and regulatory investigations in jurisdictions around the world relating to an alleged multi-billion dollar money laundering and bribery scheme involving the Malaysia sovereign development company, 1MDB, and senior public officials in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates, including a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ and resolutions with the government of Malaysia, the SEC, Federal Reserve, New York DFS, and regulators in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore.
• Represented senior executives of a Fortune 100 corporation in a federal investigation concerning potential oversight failures regarding problematic transactions. The regulator declined to take action against them.
• Represented the CEO of a strategic advisory firm in connection with an internal investigation of potential corporate bribery.
• Conducted an independent investigation for the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Temenos AG, a major provider of enterprise software to the financial services industry, in response to a short-seller report alleging accounting improprieties at the company. We found the allegations were unsubstantiated.

• Represented Wells Fargo in resolving multiple criminal and regulatory investigations, including by the DOJ, the SEC and a multi-state working group of attorneys general, as well as in civil litigation, related to the company’s sales practices.
• Represented a U.S. bank in DOJ and regulatory investigations arising from illicit payments that flowed through the bank in connection with the FIFA and Petrobras bribery schemes. Secured a full declination from the DOJ and federal regulators.
• Conducted an internal investigation for a major hedge fund into leaks of sensitive, non-public information concerning an upcoming M&A transaction.
• Represented numerous senior executives and public figures targeted in fraud, theft and other schemes.
• Conducted an internal investigation for a multinational company concerning price-fixing in a U.S. auction market.
• Conducted an internal investigation for an insurance company into potential cross-border tax violations and tax evasion.
• Represented a U.S. bank in a DOJ and State Attorney General investigation into alleged consumer protection violations.
• Represented a global bank in DOJ and regulatory investigations into billions of dollars in payments processed for Sudanese banks in violation of U.S. sanctions laws. Secured a full declination from the DOJ and federal regulators.
• Represented a global investment bank in a DOJ investigation concerning potential misrepresentations in an IPO.
• Advised a technology company in an investigation into the potential theft of intellectual property worth billions of dollars.
• Conducted an internal investigation for a health care company in response to whistleblower allegation.
• Advised a health care company on potential regulatory enforcement implications of potential new business model.
• Represented the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable as amici in a landmark, successful challenge to the SEC’s assertion of authority to enforce the “internal controls” provision of the Securities Exchange Act against SolarWinds. A New York federal court adopted substantially all of our arguments in finding the SEC has no jurisdiction to assert violations of the statute based on alleged control failures that do not involve a company’s financial reporting.

National Security and Cybersecurity

• Advised public and private companies that discovered that employees working as software engineers were secretly agents of the North Korean government. Coordinated with OFAC and federal law enforcement, and led internal investigations to ensure the companies did not remain at risk.
• Represented Banco Popular in responding to a data breach, including on state privacy issues, nationwide customer notification, and coordination with state Attorneys General and federal regulators.
• Represents M&T Bank in consumer class action litigation arising out of the breach of MOVEit software.
• Advised FTX in responding to a massive breach that resulted in the theft of over $400 million in cryptocurrency.
• Advising a public company in coordination with intelligence agencies in a U.S. national security matter.
• Represented a Fortune 100 company in an SEC investigation of an alleged breach of company systems by a hostile nation-state. Secured a full declination.
• Advising a Fortune 100 company in a DOJ investigation into potential sanctions violations involving Russia.
• Advised a public company regarding a potential breach of its network by a hostile nation-state, including coordinating with federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
• Represented Ubiquiti in responding to a data extortion attack followed by a self-styled whistleblower’s public claim that the company had deficient cybersecurity. The company faced multiple enforcement inquiries, and putative class action and derivative litigation. We identified the perpetrator: the “whistleblower,” who led cloud security for the company. He was prosecuted, and all litigation and investigations were voluntarily dismissed with no cost to our client.
• Represents a Fortune 500 company in SEC and CFTC investigations of cybersecurity matters.
• Advised over a dozen public companies in SEC inquiries concerning the SolarWinds breach.
• Advised numerous public companies responding to data breaches, including notification to federal regulators, State Attorneys General, and individuals across the country; providing SEC disclosure advice; arranging call centers and website postings for affected individuals; and coordinating communications to the media and public.
• Advised a Fortune 100 company that was targeted in a “brute force” attack by a party seeking information for its advantage in potential litigation. Based on our identification of the responsible individual, the party abandoned the threatened litigation.
• Represented an investment bank responding to the cyber theft of material non-public information concerning upcoming M&A transactions; coordinated with FINRA and affected clients.

Recent Speaking Engagements and Events

• “The SEC's Role in Cybersecurity: Rulemaking, Enforcement, and Coordination with the DOJ and Other Regulators” (Securities Docket’s Securities Enforcement Forum New York, January 28, 2025)
• Fireside Chat with Matthew S. Axelrod, Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement, U.S. Department of Commerce and Bradley T. Smith, Director, OFAC, U.S. Department of the Treasury (Sandpiper Partners’ National Security, Sanctions, & Export Controls, May 23, 2024)
• “Bank Boards of Directors Key Risks and Responsibilities in 2024: Actions Counsel Should Take Now” (webinar hosted by Strafford, February 20, 2024)
• “Hot Topics in Global Compliance Programs” (New York City Bar Association’s International White Collar Crime Symposium, November 28, 2023)
• “Managing an Effective Privacy Program in a Time of Increasing Regulatory and Legal Risk,” (NYU Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement’s Security, Privacy and Consumer Protection Conference, November 17, 2023)
• “Cybersecurity Risk Management” (guest lecturer for NYU Master’s Program on Cybersecurity Risk & Strategy, October 25, 2022)
• “Ransomware Rages On: Best Practices and Pitfalls for Corporates and Other Organizations” (Incident Response Forum Europe, September 22, 2022)
• “Cyber Governance” (Incident Response Forum Europe, September 15, 2022)
• “The Medium is the Message: Social Media, the Press, and the Fight Against Disinformation” (Second Circuit Judicial Conference, June 23, 2022)
• “FCPA, Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering,” (PLI’s Doing Business in and with Emerging Markets 2022, June 16, 2022)