McNair Nichols is a partner in the firm focused on government enforcement defense, internal investigations, and securities regulatory compliance.
McNair represents companies and individuals in government investigations, enforcement actions, and complex regulatory matters across financial services, technology, healthcare, and other regulated industries. His clients include broker-dealers, investment advisers, registered investment companies, public companies, banks, exchanges, tokenized platforms, issuers, and other financial firms facing investigations and enforcement actions.
He regularly serves as counsel for clients with respect to federal government investigation and enforcement matters brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and US Attorneys’ Offices.
McNair also represents clients who are subject to investigations and enforcement actions from state securities divisions, state attorneys general, and state departments of financial institutions. McNair has defended clients in connection with scrutiny from securities regulators in many states (and Multi-State Investigations), including Alabama, Arkansas, California, Kentucky, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.
McNair has represented clients in matters, for example, involving:
- Alleged violations of federal and state securities laws, including disclosure, insider trading, accounting, financial reporting, registration, and supervisory matters;
- Broker-dealer and investment adviser regulation, including registration, fiduciary duty and sales practice issues;
- Regulatory scrutiny involving cryptocurrencies, digital assets, tokenization, and blockchain-based platforms.
He also represents clients in a variety of industries, including healthcare and defense, in civil and criminal enforcement matters and in investigations under the False Claims Act (FCA).
McNair is a seasoned leader of internal investigations. McNair leverages his substantial experience conducting witness interviews, mining the factual record, and quarterbacking the entire investigation process to guide clients through even the most thorny and high-risk matters.
McNair regularly advises in-house counsel, boards, audit committees, and management on sensitive issues, including potential misconduct, disclosure obligations, and remediation strategies. His internal investigation experience spans public companies, universities and colleges, government contractors, financial services firms, and healthcare organizations.
McNair maintains an active regulatory compliance practice, advising clients proactively on securities law requirements and enforcement risk. He works closely with financial services firms to assess compliance frameworks and address issues arising from product development, distribution, and operations.
McNair engages in pro bono matters at the firm, including the representation of a client in federal habeas proceedings and participating in efforts to identify and remedy wrongful convictions.
