Frances Floriano Goins

Practice Areas

Securities & Corporate Governance Compliance; Data Privacy & Cybersecurity; Financial Services; Corporate Governance; Appellate Litigation; Class Actions; Consumer & Financial Litigation; Complex Business Litigation; Governance Disputes & D&O Litigation; Litigation & Dispute Resolution; Manufacturing

Career

Fran helps clients resolve complex business disputes through litigation and negotiation. She represents public and private companies and individual directors, officers, and shareholders in disputes on issues including securities, corporate governance, cybersecurity, consumer, and contract law. She regularly defends clients in SEC and other regulatory enforcement actions. Fran has conducted many internal corporate and special litigation investigations, and litigated numerous takeover and proxy contests involving public companies. Additionally, Fran counsels businesses on compliance and training for governance, data privacy and cybersecurity, ethics, and anti-bribery best practices.

Fran has litigated class/mass actions in New York, California, Ohio, Indiana, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Delaware, and Texas, and has managed dozens of takeover and proxy contests involving public and private companies.

Additionally, Fran is an accomplished appellate lawyer, successfully arguing appeals on many groundbreaking issues. She also serves as an arbitrator on the American Arbitration Association Commercial and Consumer Panels and has represented numerous clients in arbitration proceedings.

Professional Memberships

Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Foundation (Securities Law Section, Past Chair; Judicial Selection Committee; Founding Member, Women in Law Section); American Arbitration Association Commercial and Consumer Arbitration Panelist; American Bar Association (Business Law Section – Past Chair, D&O Liability Committee; Member, Business and Corporate Litigation, Corporate Governance, Cyberspace Law, and Diversity Committees; Member, Standing Committee on Election Law Advisory Committee & Programming Subcommittee Chair; Ohio State Bar Association (Member, Task Force on Business Courts; Task Force on Officer Liability; Corporation Law Committee); Federal Court Panel of Alternative Dispute Resolution Neutrals, N.D. Ohio (Founding Member); Ohio Women’s Bar Association (Founding Member); William K. Thomas Chapter of the American Inns of Court, Master of the Bench Emeritus (Past President); U.S. District Court, N.D. Ohio, Advisory Group (Emeritus Member); National Institute for Trial Advocacy Faculty; Litigation Counsel of America (Barrister, Order of Centurions; Advocate, Order of Certus); Litigation Counsel of America (Member, Trial Law Institute and Diversity Law Institute); U.S. Sixth Circuit and Ohio Eighth District Judicial Conferences (Life Member)

Education