Nicole D. Horowitz
Associate
Nicole Horowitz represents investment advisers in all aspects of Advisers Act compliance, drawing on her litigation and enforcement experience to anticipate potential risk. As a member of the private funds regulatory practice, she assists clients in registering as investment advisers with the SEC and in developing their compliance programs. She also advises them on other regulatory matters as compliance questions arise and new rules are adopted. She regularly prepares clients for and advises them on SEC examinations.
Prior to joining the private funds regulatory practice, Nicole spent several years in Ropes & Gray’s litigation and enforcement group. In that role, she advised clients in the development and enhancement of their compliance programs, internal investigations, and enforcement matters, with a focus on securities and anti-corruption/anti-bribery issues. Nicole also counseled private equity sponsors, investment advisers, and multinational companies on international risk issues related to transactions and investments. She represented clients in a broad range of civil litigation, including securities, antitrust, and complex commercial disputes. This included all stages of litigation, including drafting pleadings and dispositive motions, managing all aspects of discovery, and representing clients at depositions and hearings.
Nicole holds a Masters in Art Business and previously worked for a major art collector. Given her background in the arts and fluency in Spanish, she has focused her pro bono efforts on advising arts organizations, such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), and obtaining grants of asylum for clients from Central America. Stemming from the relationship with SFMOMA, Nicole completed a secondment in 2018 during which she assisted the museum in establishing its litigation protocols, among other projects.
Experience
- Advises investment advisers and fund managers on various regulatory obligations and compliance matters.
- Counsels investment advisers and fund managers in connection with SEC examinations and enforcement matters, including responses to exams, deficiency letters, and investigative subpoenas.
- Conducted mock SEC examination of multi-billion dollar investment advisor.
- Completed comprehensive anti-corruption/anti-bribery risk assessment of international corporation’s Mexico operations.
- Developed third party due diligence program for international consumer products company.
- Analyzed FCPA and litigation risk through diligence on behalf of private equity firms and strategic buyers.
- Welgus v. TriNet et al., 2017 WL 6466264 (N.D. Cal.): Obtained dismissal, and affirmance of dismissal by the Ninth Circuit, on behalf of TriNet, its officers, and directors of class action claims asserted against them under the Securities Exchange Act and Securities Act based on TriNet’s IPO, secondary offering, and subsequent filings.
- Secured successful settlement for a global pharmaceutical company through litigation in the Northern District of California, asserting claims under the Lanham Act against competitors’ false and misleading marketing of unapproved drug products as FDA-approved generics for client’s NDA-approved prescription drug and defending against antitrust counterclaims.
- Secured successful settlement for private equity client and its portfolio company in dispute involving breach of contract, tort, and antitrust issues. Prior to settlement, managed federal litigation of claims through pleadings, motion practice, and discovery.
- Defended client in preparation for and during two-week arbitration of contract dispute.
- Represented electronics manufacturer in multidistrict antitrust class action litigation.
- Represented major multinational technology company in responding to regulator’s allegations of antitrust violations.
Publications
- Co-author, “Typical Deficiencies Targeted in SEC Examinations of Advisers’ ESG-Related Policies, Procedures and Disclosures,” Private Equity Law Report (October 11, 2022)
- Co-author, “Latin America: Compliance During COVID-19,” Latinvex (June 11, 2021)
- Co-author, “FCPA to Remain Enforcement Priority Under New Administration Against Backdrop of COVID-19,” Ropes & Gray Alert (March 18, 2021)
- Co-author, “Latin America Overview,” The Practitioner’s Guide to Global Investigations, Fifth Edition (March 2021)
- Co-author, “Colombia’s Superintendence of Companies Expands New Criteria for Compliance Programs: Deadline to Comply by April 30, 2021,” Ropes & Gray Alert (February 10, 2021)
- Co-author, “OFAC Issues Art Advisory, Highlighting Sanctions Risk in the Art Trade,” Ropes & Gray Alert (November 3, 2020)
- Co-author, “Ensuring Compliance as Usual Even Without Business as Usual in Latin America,” Ropes & Gray Alert (April 23, 2020)
- Co-author, “COVID-19 Lands in Latin America: Mitigation Strategies for Increased Corruption Risk,” The Anti-Corruption Report (April 15, 2020)
- Co-author, “Elevated Bribery and Fraud Risks in Latin America in the Wake of COVID-19,” Ropes & Gray Alert (April 2020)
- Co-author, “Managing Money Laundering Risk In The Art Trade,” Law360 (January 16, 2020)
- Note, “Price-Fixing the Priceless? Discouraging Collusion in the Secondary Art Market,” 66 Hastings L.J. 331 (2014)
Presentations
- Co-panelist, “The Impact of a Global Crisis on Anti-Bribery Compliance,” TRACE Webinar (April 2020)
Education
- JD, magna cum laude, University of California, Hastings College of the Law, 2015; senior managing editor, Hastings Law Journal; Thurston Honor Society
- MA (Art Business), University of Manchester, 2011
- BA (Art History), Northwestern University, 2009
Admissions / Qualifications
Qualifications
- Massachusetts, 2022
- California, 2015
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, 2016
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, 2017
