Diona F. Howard-Nicolas
Diona F. Howard-Nicolas represents public companies, audit committees, financial institutions and other regulated entities, senior officers and directors, accounting professionals, and individuals in internal investigations and civil and criminal securities enforcement, compliance, and litigation matters. She has led multiple independent compliance consultant engagements for Fortune 50 financial institutions in connection with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) off-channel communications settlements. She is a shareholder of Bruch Law Group.
Ms. Howard-Nicolas has spoken before national professional organizations and international governmental bodies on securities examinations, compliance readiness, and anti-corruption reform. She was a featured speaker at the National Association of Black Compliance and Risk Management Professionals 2025 Annual Summit, where she discussed positioning investment advisers, broker dealers, investment companies, and private funds for success in SEC examinations and inquiries. From 2022 to 2023, she served as a Volunteer Expert for the Financial Services Volunteer Corporation, where she collaborated with the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Anti-Corruption Agency (APLC) in drafting their inaugural Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality and Witness Protection and Whistleblower Policies. Her research and presentations to APLC leadership in Kinshasa encompassed international anti-corruption standards, anti-bribery recommendations, and whistleblower legislation best practices. Additionally, she facilitated workshops analyzing case studies, applying anti-corruption frameworks to real-world scenarios.
Her pro bono work reflects her commitment to fairness and justice. She has represented incarcerated clients seeking compassionate release from federal prison facilities across the country that were unable to provide safe conditions or adequate medical care during the Covid-19 pandemic. Her advocacy resulted in the modification of federal sentences for two clients, allowing them to reunite safely at home with their families. Additionally, she has represented clients facing urgent housing issues, ensuring their rights and well-being during challenging times.
She is an active volunteer in the District of Columbia and beyond, serving as the Vice Chair of the Frederick Abramson Scholarship Foundation Board and former Co-Chair of the Development Committee, and board member of the Council for Court Excellence (CCE), and Permission to Write.
Before joining Bruch Law Group, Ms. Howard-Nicolas was a litigation associate for two prominent law firms in Baltimore and the District of Columbia. Through her experience, Ms. Howard-Nicolas has developed substantial litigation skills, handling a diverse array of matters involving insurance and securities litigation, employment disputes, commercial disputes, insurance coverage, professional liability, and white collar defense. She began her legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable Jeffrey Geller at the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland. She has also served as a judicial intern for the Honorable C. Darnell Jones at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; the retired Honorable Randolph F. Treece at the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York; and the Honorable Sally D. Adkins at the Court of Appeals of Maryland.
Ms. Howard-Nicolas graduated magna cum laude from Temple University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She also earned a Master of Public Administration from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010, and received her law degree from American University, Washington College of Law in 2014. While attending American University Washington College of Law, Ms. Howard-Nicolas served as a Note and Comment Editor for the Administrative Law Review, where her article addressing reformation of the federal sentencing guidelines was selected for publication.
Selected Publications
- “Accounting and Auditing Law: the U.S. Example,” Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Corruption Law (2023) (co-author with Gregory S. Bruch).
- “Negotiated Federal Sentencing Guidelines: A Cure for the Federal Sentencing Debacle,” 65 Admin L. Rev. 665 (2013).