Melissa Gohlke

Melissa has extensive experience representing corporations, financial institutions and service providers, investment funds, and individuals in responding to regulatory enquiries and investigating self-identified issues.  She has represented clients before a variety of domestic and international authorities, including the U.S. DOJ, SEC, FINRA, CFTC, and the UK SFO and FCA.  She also provides crisis management advice to companies and individuals faced with complex legal and reputational issues.

Melissa has experience at every level of conducting investigations, from advising on data collection consistent with domestic and foreign data privacy laws to negotiating an ultimate resolution to an investigation. Her experience covers an array of subject matters, including market manipulation, securities and commodities fraud, insider trading, money laundering, and spoofing.  She also has experience conducting internal investigations into similar conduct, including matters involving whistleblowers. Melissa also regularly advises companies on remediation steps and compliance enhancements related to investigated conduct.

Prior to joining Cooley, Melissa was an associate in Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton’s DC and London offices.  She was also seconded to HSBC Holdings plc in London in 2017, where she worked in the Litigation and Regulatory Investigations team of HSBC Group Legal.

Representative examples include representation of: 

• Current and former employees of an international investment firm under criminal investigation by DOJ SDNY for potential securities laws violations.
• Broker-dealers in connection with SEC and FINRA inquiries into market volatility surrounding “meme stocks” in early 2021.
• A SPAC in connection with an SEC investigation into compliance with federal securities laws.
• A cryptocurrency investment fund in multiple examinations by the SEC related to compliance with the Investment Advisors Act and federal securities laws.
• A multinational financial institution in parallel investigations by authorities in over a dozen jurisdictions concerning the global foreign exchange markets.
• A major market making firm in multiple examinations and investigations by the SEC into various aspects of compliance with federal securities laws and regulations, including anti-money laundering controls and Regulation SCI compliance.
• Multiple multinational private equity firms in developing compliance protocols for the reopening of their offices across the globe in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.