Nicole Serfoss is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Securities Litigation and Investigations + White Collar Defense groups and co-chairs its Securities Enforcement practice.

Nicole has two decades of experience representing clients in SEC enforcement matters, corporate internal investigations, securities class actions, and shareholder derivative suits. She represents companies, officers, and directors in a wide range of matters involving alleged accounting and disclosure issues. She also frequently assists audit and special committees with investigations following allegations of corporate misconduct.

Nicole was named to Securities Docket’s “Enforcement Elite” list in 2025 and has also been recognized as a “Colorado Rising Star” by Super Lawyers. She has tried over a dozen cases as a special prosecutor in the Denver City Attorney’s Municipal Court Trial Advocacy Program. She is also committed to pro bono service and has received the Wiley W. Manuel award for pro bono legal services.

Nicole received her B.A. in history from UCLA, magna cum laude, and graduated Order of the Coif from the University of Colorado School of Law. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Jose D.L. Marquez of the Colorado Court of Appeals.

Nicole is an active member of the Colorado legal community, including membership in the Women’s White Collar Defense Association and the Colorado Women’s Bar Association.

Representative Experience

• Represented the audit committee of a large, multinational software corporation in an internal investigation into allegations raised by a former employee regarding certain non-GAAP accounting practices.
• Represented Farmland Partners and its CEO and CFO in a federal securities fraud class action in the District of Colorado. Won summary judgment dismissing all claims against our clients. Won motion to dismiss a related derivative action in Maryland state court with prejudice.
• Represented more than two dozen audit and special committees in internal investigations resulting from whistleblower complaints alleging accounting and disclosure issues.
• Represented a Fortune 500 company in an SEC investigation following the company’s announcement of the then-largest data breach in history. Negotiated a favorable consent order with the SEC.
• Represented a Fortune 500 company in an SEC investigation after a high-profile data security incident. Following document production and witness testimony, the matter was closed without any enforcement action.
• Represented Boulder Brands in three lawsuits: a shareholder securities class action in which the district court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss with prejudice, a related derivative action that was voluntarily dismissed, and a separate shareholder merger challenge settled based upon disclosure updates.
• Defended Crocs and certain of its officers and directors in a securities class action and derivative litigation matter. Won dismissal of federal securities class action against Crocs and individual defendants with prejudice.
• Represented a former CFO in a settlement of securities litigation, derivative litigation, and a related SEC investigation.
• Represented a Fortune 500 company in a Regulation FD inquiry by the SEC. The matter was closed without enforcement action.
• Represented a company operating a national person-to-person lending platform in investigations conducted by the SEC and dozens of states. Successfully negotiated a settlement of all actions on favorable terms for company.