Combining his extensive experience in private practice and as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, Nick Goldin is a Litigation Partner and Global Co-Head of the Firm’s Government and Internal Investigations Practice. He represents public and private companies, private equity and financial services firms, board committees, and executives in a broad range of high stakes and otherwise sensitive situations often involving intersecting investigations, litigation, and public scrutiny. These matters include white collar criminal, regulatory, and Congressional inquiries, internal investigations, cybersecurity incidents, and other critical situations that present significant legal and reputational risk. Nick also regularly provides strategic counsel to corporate leadership on crisis, compliance, and governance matters.
Nick has handled matters across virtually every industry—including asset management and financial services, technology, social media, AI, data science, real estate, outsourcing, insurance, aerospace and defense, leisure, entertainment and sports, travel, hospitality and gaming, food services, industrial manufacturing, utilities and infrastructure, oil and gas, retail and direct sales, transportation and automotive, health care and life sciences, traditional media, and cultural and nonprofit.
Consistently recognized in leading industry surveys, Nick has been ranked in Chambers as among the top 15 crisis and risk management lawyers in the United States. Clients and other market participants have described Nick to Chambers USA and Benchmark Litigation as “a brilliant and creative strategist” and “first-class legal and strategic mind,” “really extraordinary,” “incredibly insightful,” “an excellent counselor,” “a pleasure to deal with,” and the “complete package” with “tremendous judgment and outstanding adversarial skills” and “an unusual blend of understanding both the law and the business angles very well” who “knows how to see around the corners,” “fearlessly . . . defends his clients’ interests” and is “able to connect the dots probably better than any other attorney I’ve worked with.” Sources also report to Chambers USA that Nick “takes the time to figure it out, to understand our pressure points, and he manages his team to effectively get us from point A to point B,” has “the ability and desire to understand the details and nuances of complicated situations,” “manages stressful situations with poise, clarity and calmness,” and provides “excellent leadership and counsel on sensitive matters requiring timely and thoughtful execution.” A client told Chambers USA that “I sleep well at night knowing that Nick Goldin is advising us.”
In addition to recognition as a leading lawyer in Chambers USA for White Collar Crime/Government Investigations and in Chambers Crisis & Risk Management, Nick has been recognized in Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders in Business Crime Defense for Corporates, The Legal 500, and Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation. Nick has been named as a BTI Client Service All-Star nominated by in-house counsel for “the absolute best client service,” as a recipient of Lexology’s Client Choice Award for Business Crime Defense nominated by corporate counsel for excellent client care and service above and beyond the other players in the market, and as a Distinguished Adviser in Investigations and White Collar Crime on Financier Worldwide’s Power Players list.
Nick’s matters have included:
- Independent directors of public electric and gas company in litigation and other matters relating to Northern California wildfires
- Independent directors of utility in response to ransomware incident
- Independent directors of public electric company in investigation concerning losses on trading desk
- Audit committee of global public infrastructure company in investigation concerning alleged accounting misconduct
- Independent directors of utility company in investigation into alleged executive misconduct
- Special committee of public entertainment company in investigation concerning alleged misconduct by executives
- Independent directors of global travel and leisure company in investigation concerning alleged misconduct by CEO
- Audit committee of public social media company in investigation concerning alleged accounting misconduct
- Group of independent directors of global public consumer goods company in investigation of alleged misleading disclosures and insider trading
- Board of global public technology company in investigation concerning personal trading activity
- Directors of global technology equipment company in shareholder litigation
- Independent directors of IT company in investigation concerning alleged misconduct by CEO
- Board of financial services company in investigations concerning alleged misconduct by senior executives
- Board of public advertising company in investigation concerning accounting and disclosure misconduct
- Board of prominent non-profit in investigations concerning misuse of donor funds
- Directors of prominent health care company in investigation concerning misuse of COVID-19 vaccines
- Global financial institution in investigation concerning unauthorized text messaging
- Public defense contractor in investigations concerning alleged securities law and disclosure control violations
- Public business-to-business company in response to short seller attack
- Public social media company in investigation concerning disclosures
- Public consumer products company in investigations relating to customs compliance, sales practices, identity theft, and credit compliance
- Public financial services firm in investigations relating to misuse of government data
- Public biopharma company in insider trading investigation
- Public technology company in investigation and litigation relating to prominent data breach incident
- Major municipality in investigation concerning misuse of government funds
- Public industrials company in investigation relating to auditor independence
- Public technology company in accounting investigation and securities/derivative litigation
- Public real estate company in investigation concerning accuracy of disclosures
and financials
- Public electric company in investigation relating to accounting and disclosure matters
- Public real estate company in investigation concerning disclosures about value of assets
- Multiple private equity firms in range of regulatory, criminal, and civil investigations
- Multiple public companies in investigations and response to data breach incidents
- Multiple prominent non-profit organizations in investigations concerning range of conduct
- Multiple multi-national companies in FCPA and corruption-related investigations
- Counsel to the DOJ and SEC-appointed global anti-corruption compliance monitor for Avon Products
- Prominent gaming company in money laundering investigation concerning casino operations
- Public entertainment chain in investigations concerning disclosures around impact of documentary film
- Public home security company in investigation relating to financial disclosures
- Public mortgage servicer in investigation concerning mortgage practices
- Hedge fund in insider trading investigations
- Insurance company in criminal and regulatory investigations following data breach
- Global institution in Congressional investigation concerning Foreign Agents Registration Act compliance
- Multiple senior executives, directors, and investment professionals in investigations involving alleged insider trading, disclosure violations, valuation issues, money laundering, OFAC/trade sanctions, FCPA, financial benchmarks, obstruction of justice, and bid-rigging and price-fixing
Nick’s matters have involved allegations relating to:
- Accounting and securities fraud
- Market and benchmark manipulation
- Insider trading
- Investment Advisors Act compliance
- Computer hacking, ransomware, 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
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 conducted numerous criminal jury trials and evidentiary hearings 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 Guide to Monitorships” published by Global Investigations Review.
Nick has served as Co-Chair of Simpson Thacher’s Finance Committee and as a Hiring Partner.