Drawing on his extensive experience in private practice and as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, Nick Goldin is Global Co-Head of the Firm’s Government and Internal Investigations Practice. He represents companies, financial services and private equity firms, boards and executives in a range of sensitive matters—including white collar criminal and regulatory enforcement matters (including DOJ, SEC, CFTC, AG, DA and FTC), Congressional inquiries, internal investigations, related civil litigation and other critical situations that present significant legal and reputational risk. He also provides ongoing compliance advice (including insider trading compliance, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering and whistleblower response) to corporate clients. In addition, as Co-Chair of Simpson Thacher’s Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice, he advises companies on crisis response planning, data breaches and other cybersecurity incidents. Nick regularly speaks and writes on developments in the law and is consistently listed as a leading lawyer in his field by industry publications. Sources have described him to Chambers USA as “a first-class legal and strategic mind,” the “complete package,” “really extraordinary,” “incredibly insightful” and “an excellent counselor” with a “very practical approach” who “offers an unusual blend of understanding both the law and the business angles very well,” “has the ability and desire to understand the details and nuances of complicated situations,” and is “able to connect the dots probably better than any other attorney I’ve worked with.” A client told Chambers that “I sleep well at night knowing that Nick Goldin is advising us.” In 2018, Nick was named as a “BTI Client Service All-Star” recognizing lawyers nominated by clients for “delivering the absolute best client service.” He is Co-Chair of Simpson Thacher’s Finance Committee and previously served as a Hiring Partner.
Nick has handled matters across the U.S. and in South America, Europe and Asia for clients in the financial services, private funds, hospitality and gaming, industrial, retail, technology, security, automotive, health care and life sciences, real estate, energy, utility, aerospace and defense, food services, advertising and media, and insurance sectors. These engagements sometimes involve coordinating simultaneous criminal and regulatory investigations, internal investigations, shareholder litigation, whistleblower claims and review by independent auditors. Most of his matters have never become public.
Nick’s matters have included:
- Public defense contractor in SEC and DOJ investigations concerning alleged securities law violations
- Board of global technology company in confidential internal investigation
- Publicly traded consumer facing company in FTC investigation and resolution relating to sales practices, identity theft mitigation, and credit compliance matters
- Independent directors of publicly traded electric company in investigation concerning losses on trading desk
- Working group of board of publicly traded consumer goods company in response to shareholder demand concerning alleged accounting and other misconduct
- Board of public IT company in investigation relating to trading activity
- Multiple prominent private equity advisors in SEC exams and investigations concerning disclosures, fees and expenses, and potential conflicts
- Independent directors of public utility in litigation and other matters relating to the California wildfires
- Directors of international technology company in shareholder derivative litigation
- Gaming company in federal money laundering investigation
- Multiple prominent non-profit organizations in internal and government investigations
- Amusement park chain in SEC and DOJ investigations concerning impact of documentary film on business and reputation
- Multiple multi-national companies in FCPA and corruption-related investigations involving conduct around the world
- Multiple prominent private equity firms and their portfolio companies in DOJ, SEC, and other government investigations concerning a range of issues
- International technology company in SEC investigation and securities/derivative litigation
- Counsel to the DOJ and SEC-appointed global anti-corruption compliance monitor for Avon Products, Inc.
- Public home security company in SEC investigation relating to financial disclosures
- Board of financial services company in internal investigations concerning alleged sexual harassment by senior leadership, workplace misconduct, and inadequate handling of related employee complaints
- Public mortgage servicer in False Claims Act investigation by DOJ
- Hedge fund in DOJ and SEC investigations concerning alleged insider trading
- Insurance company in criminal and regulatory investigations following data breach
- Global chief compliance officer of international bank in Senate PSI investigation and hearing concerning alleged money laundering and trade sanctions
- Global institution in House investigation concerning compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act
- Multiple professionals in DOJ, SEC, and other government investigations involving the federal securities laws, anti-money laundering (AML/BSA) regulations, OFAC/trade sanctions, FCPA, obstruction of justice, and bid-rigging and price-fixing
Nick’s matters have involved allegations relating to:
- Accounting and securities fraud
- Insider trading
- Investment Advisors Act
- Computer hacking and data breaches
- OFAC and other international trade sanctions
- FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) and domestic corruption
- FARA (Foreign Agents Registration Act)
- FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act)
- Criminal bid rigging and price fixing
- Healthcare fraud
- Workplace behavior including sexual harassment
- Money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act violations
- Misappropriation of trade secrets
- Obstruction of justice
- False Claims Act and FIRREA
Nick has been recognized in major industry publications. In Chambers USA, sources are quoted as saying that he “brings a high-class level of investigation to every single matter he touches;” “he’s very reassuring;” his “client service is impeccable” and he is “highly responsive, empathetic and able to provide very sound, objective guidance.” He is also consistently recognized by The Legal 500 and Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation. Earlier in his career, he was named to Global Investigations Review’s “40 Under 40” recognizing the world’s leading investigations specialists under 40, and to Law360’s list of five nationwide “Rising Stars” in white collar litigation.
Before joining Simpson Thacher in 2010, Nick served in the Department of Justice as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where he was a member of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force and the computer hacking group of the Major Crimes Unit. As a federal prosecutor, Nick led parallel investigations with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, FBI, and other law enforcement and regulatory agencies. He also prosecuted criminal jury trials and conducted evidentiary hearings in federal court in the SDNY and argued appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Nick graduated from Cornell Law School, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Cornell Law Review, and from Cornell University, magna cum laude and with distinction in all subjects, where he was Assistant Managing Editor of The Cornell Daily Sun. He taught a full semester course on cybercrime as an adjunct professor at Fordham Law School and lectured at the Department of Justice’s national training center. Among Nick’s recent publications is the chapter covering FCPA/anti-corruption monitorships in the 2019 edition of “The Guide to Monitorships” published by Global Investigations Review.