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))
GDPR D-Day: If Not Prepared, It Could Cost You Europe
GDPR D-Day: May 25, 2018. If you are not prepared, the results could cost you Europe. In the U.S., we’ve had a pretty business-friendly approach to consumer data protection. And while federal and state authorities have their respective consumer protection laws, there is no single federal law that clearly defines U.S. policy on how consumer… Read More
A Giant Demanding Piece of … Restrictiveness: Do you need to pay attention to the coming GDPR?
GDPR. If you see those letters and think it is an acronym for Gosh Darned Pain in the Rear (or an edgier equivalent) you are in large-part correct. But if you don’t know any more than that, and you are a company with any ties to Europe, then you need to read further. GDPR, the… Read More
The FTC’s Role in Privacy
Acting Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, Maureen Ohlhausen, answered questions about the FTC’s current role in data privacy before a crowded audience at the April 2017 IAPP Global Privacy Summit in D.C. Below are some take-aways we wanted to share from Commissioner Ohlhausen’s talk: Even if out of ISP oversight, the FTC is actively… Read More
Shutting the Valve on Skin Betting
A tried and true military strategy is to cut off your enemy’s supply lines: blow up a bridge and force a retreat. The tactic works in other situations too. It is regularly used by legislators and government agencies to address what they view as problem behavior from a particular industry. Instead of targeting the industry,… Read More
The E-Rate Honey Pot
When you grant access to a $ 4 billion fund and give fund participants relative autonomy in how they use those funds, ne’er-do-wells will sniff their way to the honey pot. Keeping them out can be a challenge. So goes the story of the federally administered Schools and Libraries Program, better known as E-Rate. Established… Read More
