Tracy A. Nichols practices in litigation with emphasis in defending securities class actions; derivative actions, complex commercial litigation and consumer class actions. She is the firm's National Practice Group Leader for the Securities Litigation Group. She is a frequent lecturer at national securities litigation conferences.
Ms. Nichols has served as the lead attorney in more than two dozen class action lawsuits, and obtained one of the largest Rule 11 sanctions in the country against plaintiffs for filing a frivolous securities class action. She has represented issuers, officers, directors and underwriters against Section 11 and Section 10(b) claims. She has also successfully defended parallel derivative actions and investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Her experience includes:
- representing audit committee in option backdating investigations, including conducting an investigation in six weeks, assisting the Company file its restated financials, and responding to an SEC inquiry
- defending securities class action claims based on issuer's subprime mortgage portfolio
- obtaining summary judgment based on forward-looking statements in prospectus
- obtaining dismissal of derivative actions based on demand futility
- defending class actions involving revenue recognition, reserve writedowns, and other alleged financial fraud issues
- supervising forensic e-discovery investigations and productions
- obtaining motion to dismiss that was affirmed on appeal in case of first impression for that circuit that held no general duty to disclose material facts, even in a prospectus — case cited as one of 10 most significant securities litigation decisions of 2002
- litigating removal issues under Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (SLUSA)
In her community, Ms. Nichols is a founding member of the Volunteer Lawyers' Project for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and the Symmetry Foundation, which supports education for autistic children. She is a frequent speaker at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association annual meetings, the Federal Securities Institute, and other national and regional securities conferences. She holds the highest rating assigned by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.
Ms. Nichols was Editor-in-Chief of the University of Florida Review (1983-84) and a member of the Order of the Coif, and Florida Blue Key. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Howell W. Melton, United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, from 1984-86.
Listen to a clip of Ms. Nichols at the Fla. 3rd District Court of Appeals.