Lauren L. Valiente
Partner
Lauren Valiente helps protect the reputation and success of her clients by guiding them through corporate governance challenges. Her practice is focused on internal investigations, government enforcement actions, governance counseling, and high stakes civil litigation. She counsels public and private companies, as well as their officers and directors, through these trying and complex situations by applying her lessons learned through years of experience. Fluent in Spanish, Valiente has counseled clients in Latin America, as well as in the U.S. and throughout Asia.
Valiente has extensive experience conducting complex internal investigations involving allegations of fraud, theft of trade secrets, and other serious misconduct, and advising boards and board committees on their response to evidence gathered in such investigations. She has represented clients in various government enforcement proceedings, including those alleging violations of the federal securities laws, the False Claims Act, and broker-dealer regulations.
In the area of civil litigation, Valiente has represented clients in securities class action litigation, shareholder derivative actions and other shareholder disputes, and False Claims Act litigation. She has also advised on a wide range of international matters, including those involving alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (FCPA).
Valiente’s clients represent diverse sectors, including health care, pharmaceutical manufacturing, technology, education, franchise, retail, consumer services, food and beverage, and beauty and wellness. She is a member of the Securities Enforcement & Litigation practice group and the Health Care & Life Sciences Sector. She understands the regulatory issues faced by public companies as well as the unique challenges of their private counterparts.
Understanding the client’s perspective is critically important to Valiente. From 2021 – 2025, she served on the board of directors of HCI Group, Inc., a Florida-based publicly traded company that, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property and casualty insurance, reinsurance, real estate and information technology. During her tenure on HCI’s board, she served as Chair of the Sustainability Committee and served on the Compensation Committee.
Representative Experience
- Represented a publicly traded health technology company in an SEC enforcement proceeding, securities class action litigation, and shareholder derivative litigation.
- Represented the audit committee of the board of directors of a publicly traded consumer online retail company in an investigation into allegations of financial and accounting misconduct.
- Represented the special committee of the board of directors of a publicly traded beauty and wellness franchisor in an investigation into allegations of corporate misconduct raised in a short-seller report.
- Represented the audit committee of the board of directors of a private consumer online retail company in the self-disclosure of potential FCPA violations to the Department of Justice.
- Represented a large private consumer services company in conducting a large-scale internal investigation into suspected consumer fraud occurring within their salesforce.
- Represented the Chair of the board of directors of a private U.K. based medical technology company in connection with an internal investigation involving alleged breaches of fiduciary duty.
- Represented a large physician provider network in false claims act litigation.
- Represented directors of a publicly traded AI company in shareholder derivative litigation.
Awards and Recognition
- Recognized as one of the “Legal Elite NOTABLE Women Leaders in Law” in Florida Trend (December 2024)
- Recognized as one of the “100 Hispanic Board Members Making a Difference” in BoardProspects (October 2024)
- Florida Super Lawyers® – Rising Stars lists (2012 – 2017)
- Graduate of the Tampa Bay Chamber’s Leadership Tampa program (2016), and one of three finalists for the Deanne Dewey Roberts Emerging Leader Award
- Tampa Bay Business Journal’s “30 Under 30” award (2007)
Affiliations and Community Involvement
- Straz Center for the Performing Arts – Member of the Board of Trustees
- Women Corporate Directors (WCD) – Co-Chair Tampa Chapter, Co-Founder and Chair of Tampa Chapter’s Women of Color Directors Pipeline Initiative
- Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA) – Vice Chair of Member Engagement Committee
- National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), Member
- Extraordinary Women on Boards (EWOB), Member
- Private Directors Association (PDA), Member
- Southeastern Women in Financial Services (SWIFS), Member
Presentations and Publications
- Co-Presenter with KPMG, “Mock Board Meeting,” Latino Corporate Directors Association Board Ready Institute (April 2026)
- Panelist, “Your Role on the Board,” Deloitte National Board-Ready Program (March 2026)
- Speaker, MIT Sloane Women on Boards Program (March 2026)
- Moderator and Panelist, “Strategic Oversight in Times of Crisis: A Guide to Board-Led Investigations,” Latino Corporate Directors Association Annual Convening (November 2025)
- Co-Presenter with PwC, “Navigating the Audit Committee’s Core Oversight Responsibilities in these Complex Times,” Boston, Palo Alto, Miami, Tampa (2025)
- Speaker, “Ethical Considerations for Counsel in the Business World,” Segment of Pocket MBA 2025: Finance for Lawyers and Other Professionals, Practicing Law Institute (September 2025)
- Interview, “Lauren Valiente Discusses Importance of Board Diversity” Tampa Bay Business Journal (December 2, 2022)
- Co-Author, “Is the DEA Poised to Regulate Telepharmacy?” Health Care Law Today (November 30, 2021)
- Presenter, “Robinhood: The Risks of Gamification,” Southeastern Women in Financial Services (August 31, 2021)
- Co-Author, “Supreme Court Clarifies, but Declines to Significantly Alter, Class Certification Battleground in Securities-Fraud Class Actions,” Foley Insights Blog (July 1, 2021)
- Panelist, 2019 Tampa Bay Women in Leadership Symposium (March 29, 2019)
Languages
- Spanish (fluent)
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