From federal and state enforcement actions to government contract work, Nicole has spent most of her time as a lawyer representing clients on the opposite side of the table of government regulators and prosecutors. She has worked on matters involving the Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, Internal Revenue Service, Offices of Inspector General of several federal agencies, and Attorneys General of numerous states. Nicole also has worked on many matters in which clients have proactively opposed government action – before administrative as well as judicial bodies. When necessary, she has taken policy issues to congressional offices and committees.
Her years at Greenberg Traurig and Dewey & LeBoeuf afforded Nicole the opportunity to work on large investigative and media-rich cases – from the representation of a former inspector general in his unlawful termination suit against the federal government to the representation of a large multinational insurer in an extensive bid-rigging probe by several state attorneys general.
While working with Jeff Ifrah (both at Greenberg Traurig and Ifrah Law), Nicole has enjoyed building on her experience in federal government contracts and federal and state regulatory and investigative matters.
Professional + Community
- American Bar Association
- New York Bar Association
- Board of Trustees for the International School of Charlottesville
- Board of Directors of the Alliance Francaise de Charlottesville
- Regular Contributor for the Foundation for Economic Education
A. Jeff Ifrah, Moderator, "Mock Trial: United States v. Ginger McKenna", iGNA 2015, Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada
"You’ll Never Guess Who’s Trying to Hack Your iPhone", FEE.org
"Are You Prepared For a Government Probe?", National Defense Magazine
Securing Dismissal of a False Claims Qui Tam Suit
Jeff Ifrah successfully represented global health care leader Merck in a False Claims Act qui tam suit and got the case dismissed.
The suit involved a whistleblower that worked for a health care buying company (a group purchasing organization that purchases supplies and drugs). Terminated from the buying group, the employee alleged she was retaliated against because of issues she raised about the buying process.
The case was brought before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, and 18 drug companies were named as defendants in an alleged bribery scheme. Jeff represented Merck, which was one of the named defendants. He filed a successful motion to dismiss the complaint, based on the former employee’s alarming lack of specificity in her claim.
Not only was our motion to dismiss successful, it was efficient: Jeff won the dismissal roughly one year after Merck and the other defendants were originally served.
(United States ex rel. Fitzgerald v. Novation LLC, et al., S.D. Tex., No. 3:03-CV-01589))
A Giant Demanding Piece of … Restrictiveness: Do you need to pay attention to the coming GDPR?
The FTC’s Role in Privacy
Shutting the Valve on Skin Betting
The E-Rate Honey Pot
Keep It Short and Prosper
Data Breach Lawsuits: Challenges Persist After Spokeo v. Robins
Getting Started with E-Rate
Feds Open The Gates and Seize the Domain Names
Good News: The Feds Can’t Freeze Your Assets to Stop You from Hiring a Lawyer
Even Bad Guys Have Rights
