Practice Areas
Education
- University of Cincinnati College of Law, J.D., 2007, cum laude
- Capital University, B.A., 2004, summa cum laude
Bar & Court Admissions
Nici is a partner in the Vorys Columbus office and chair of the firm’s finance practice. Her practice focuses on commercial and structured finance matters, representing national and regional banks and public company and other large corporate borrowers in a wide range of financing transactions including syndicated and multi-currency credit facilities, asset-based lending facilities, acquisition financings, leveraged ESOPs, mezzanine financings, mortgage warehousing facilities, and securitizations.
In addition, Nici regularly represents financial institutions and corporate end-users, including public companies, energy companies, manufacturing companies and retailers, in connection with derivative transactions under the ISDA Master Agreement and its related suite of documents, including drafting and negotiating related Schedules and Credit Support Annexes, and related regulatory matters under Title VII of Dodd-Frank, including the negotiation of Futures and Options Agreements and Cleared Derivatives Transactions Addenda with FCMs in connection with mandatory derivatives clearing under Dodd-Frank.
Nici is also a key member of the Vorys team monitoring and analyzing developments in, and advising clients on, the evolving legal landscape surrounding the transition from LIBOR to replacement benchmark rates.
Nici has been recognized by Chambers USA as a leading lawyer in banking and finance and has been listed multiple times on the Ohio Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for banking and finance law. Nici is also a member of the ESOP Association.
In addition to her finance practice, Nici is the immediate past chair of the Vorys Women's Network and an active member of the firm’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and, in 2019, was one of only 15 attorneys nationally to be included on the shortlist for the Chambers Gender Diversity Lawyer of the Year award.
Career highlights include:
- Advising multiple banks on legal issues relating to the transition from LIBOR to replacement benchmark rates, including revising or creating form loan documents and documentation guidelines, strategizing on creative approaches to documenting the transition of existing LIBOR loans to replacement benchmark rates, and advising internal LIBOR bank working groups on a whole host of issues relating to LIBOR transition
- Advising Big Lots Stores, Inc. in connection with its $600 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility
- Advising a public company retailer in its $550 million asset-based credit facility
- Advising Greif, Inc. in its $2.475 billion credit facility and $500 million Notes offering in connection with the financing of Greif’s acquisition of Caraustar Industries Inc., a Georgia-based box manufacturer, for a purchase price of $1.8 billion
- Advising Air Transport Services Group in its $1.28 billion credit facility in connection with the financing of its acquisition of Omni Air International, a Tulsa-based services carrier, for a purchase price of $845 million
- Advising a public company retailer in the expansion of its $400 million credit facility in connection with its acquisition of a product design and brand development company, for a purchase price of approximately $340 million
- Advising an energy development company in connection with its project finance facilities, including a complex collateral agency and intercreditor agreement structure, and all of its derivatives documentation and trading activities for multiple project companies
- Representing a variety of national and regional banks in connection with dozens of complex syndicated and multicurrency facilities, PE sponsor-back acquisition facilities, leveraged ESOPs, and asset-based credit facilities
- Regularly representing a regional bank swap dealer in connection with its derivatives activities, including managing an outside documentation negotiation process, regularly negotiating ISDA Master Agreements and other related documents, providing regular regulatory advice in respect of a variety of matters under Dodd Frank, and conducting due diligence and providing regulatory advice in connection with its acquisitions of other banks
Nici received her J.D. cum laude from the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where she was a member of the Moot Court Board, and her B.A. in Economics summa cum laude from Capital University.
Professional and Community Activities
- Ruling Our eXperiences (ROX) Board of Directors, Member 2018-present; Chairperson, 2020-present
- The ESOP Association, Member
- Leadership Columbus, Class of 2018
- Smart Columbus Acceleration Partners, Board Member, 2017-2020
- Capital University Alumni Advisory Board, Board Member, 2014-2019
- Mentor, Lawyer-to-Lawyer Mentoring Program, Committee on Professionalism of the Supreme Court of Ohio, 2013-present
Honors & Awards
- Chambers and Partners, Leading Lawyer in Banking & Finance, 2021-2022
- IFLR1000 Corporate & Financial List, Banking and finance and Capital markets: structured finance and securitization – notable practitioner, 2020
- The Best Lawyers in America, Banking and Finance Law, 2021-2022
- Short List for the Chambers Gender Diversity Lawyer of the Year, 2019
- Columbus Business First, Forty Under 40, 2019
- Ohio Super Lawyers Rising Stars, Banking, 2014, 2017-2018, 2022
News
- 6/1/2022Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease is pleased to announce that 33 of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized among the leading practitioners in the country in the 2022 edition of Chambers USA.
- 1/4/2022Vorys is pleased to announce that 42 attorneys from the firm have been named either 2022 Ohio Super Lawyers or Rising Stars.
- 8/19/2021One hundred and sixteen lawyers from Vorys were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America® 2022 edition. In addition, 34 Vorys attorneys were named to the 2022 Best Lawyers in America “Ones to Watch” list.
- 5/20/2021Vorys is pleased to announce that 33 of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized among the leading practitioners in the country in the 2021 edition of Chambers USA .
- 4/27/2021Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP recently advised Air Transport Services Group, Inc. – a leading provider of aircraft leasing and air cargo transportation and related services – in two significant financing transactions.
- 10/15/2020Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP has been recognized in the 2020 edition of IFLR1000, an organization dedicated to providing a comprehensive analysis of lawyers and firms working in the corporate and financial space.
- 8/20/2020One hundred and twelve lawyers from Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America® 2021 edition. In addition, 26 Vorys attorneys were named to the inaugural Best Lawyers in America “Ones to Watch” list.
- 10/1/2019Nici Workman, a partner in the Vorys Columbus office and chair of the Vorys Women’s Network, was quoted in a Columbus CEO story about the Gender Equity in the Legal Industry (GELI) collaboration among five Columbus law firms.
- 5/24/2019Nici Workman, partner in the Vorys Columbus office, was selected as one of Columbus Business First’s 2019 40 Under 40 Nominees.
- 5/9/2019Vorys announced that partners Jolie Havens and Nici Workman have made the shortlist for the Chambers Diversity and Inclusion Awards: USA 2019.
- 12/28/2018Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP recently advised Greif, Inc. in its $2.475 billion credit facility and $500 million Notes offering.
- 12/5/2017Vorys is pleased to announce that 56 attorneys from the firm have been named 2018 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars.
- 10/3/2017
- 1/3/2017Vorys announced that Michael J. Ball, Colleen M. Devanney, J.B. Lind, Natalie M. McLaughlin, Martha Brewer Motley, Adam J. Rocco, Benjamin A. Shepler and Nancy Nicole Workman have been named partners of the firm.
- 12/2/2016Vorys is pleased to announce that 58 attorneys from the firm have been named 2017 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars.
- 12/4/2013Eighty-one attorneys from Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP have been named 2014 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars. 57 Vorys attorneys were named 2014 Ohio Super Lawyer and 24 Vorys attorneys were named 2014 Ohio Rising Stars.
Events
- 9/9/2021Vorys is proud to host a complimentary, 5-part webinar series for commercial bankers. The series begins on May 4th, 2021 and continues through September 9th.
- 3/31/2021Vorys partner Nici Workman participated in a webinar for the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association titled "Fostering True Inclusivity in Women’s Groups."
- 1/13/2021Vorys attorneys Nici Workman, Kim Schaefer and Zach Brumfield hosted a webinar on preparing for LIBOR cessation. The webinar focused on key dates relating to LIBOR cessation in 2021, late November LIBOR announcements and regulatory risks for banks who are not prepared to cease making LIBOR loans by the end of 2021.
- 12/3/2020Nici Workman moderated a webinar on the use of hedging strategies as a responsible and effective way to manage financial risk.
- 10/30/2019Nici Workman, a partner in the Vorys Columbus office and co-chair of the firm’s finance practice, was a panelist at The Future of Free Trade for Ohio Companies on October 30, 2019.
- 7/30/2019Vorys partner Nici Workman and associate Zach Brumfield held a webinar titled, “LIBOR Discontinuance: What You Need To Know,” on July 30, 2019.
- 9/6/2017Vorys Partners Travis Wahl and Nici Workman were speakers at the 8th Law of Shale Plays Conference hosted by the Institute for Energy Law and The Energy & Mineral Law Foundation on September 6, 2017.
- 3/4/2015Vorys presented a Financial Institutions Summit on March 4, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Insights
- 3/11/2021On Wednesday, March 10th, the House passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the third major federal COVID-19 relief act following the CARES Act and the December 2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act. President Biden is expected to sign it into law Friday.
- 2/2/2021The ICE Benchmark Administration Limited (IBA), the administrator of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), published a consultation on December 4, 2020 requesting public feedback on its intention to cease the publication of (1) the 1-Week and 2-Month USD LIBOR on December 31, 2021 and (2) the Overnight and 1, 3, 6 and 12 Month USD LIBOR on June 30, 2023 (the IBA Consultation).
- 12/27/2020Late on December 27, the President signed a $900 billion relief package that will provide aid to individuals and businesses still struggling with the economic impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Both the House and the Senate passed the proposal last week.
- 12/4/2018On October 31, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of the Treasury released proposed regulations under Section 956 of the Internal Revenue Code (Proposed Regulations) that, for certain U.S. corporate shareholders, generally undo the “deemed dividend” rules that have applied to foreign corporate subsidiaries for decades.
- Winter 2016Recently five federal agencies, The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Farm Credit Administration and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (collectively, the Agencies), issued much-anticipated joint final rules (the Final Rules) that establish minimum margin and capital requirements for registered swap dealers, major swap participants, security-based swap dealers and major security-based swap participants (Swap Entities) for which one of the Agencies is the prudential regulator (Swap Entities regulated by one or more of the Agencies are referred to as Covered Swap Entities).
- 11/17/2015Recently five federal agencies, The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Farm Credit Administration and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, issued much-anticipated joint final rules that establish minimum margin and capital requirements for registered swap dealers, major swap participants, security-based swap dealers and major security-based swap participants for which one of the Agencies is the prudential regulator.
- 3/21/2014In November of 2013, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued Final Rules on the Protection of Collateral of Counterparties to Uncleared Swaps (the Final Rules).
- April 2010
- January/February 2010