Gibson Dunn Expands Investment Funds Practice with Leading Regulatory Lawyer Marian Fowler
Firm News | January 12, 2026
Gibson Dunn announced today that Marian Fowler has joined the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as a partner in its world-class Investment Funds Practice Group. Marian will play a key role in expanding the firm’s investment funds regulatory capabilities. She most recently served as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Thrive Capital Management, LLC. She also brings deep U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) experience, having served in the Division of Investment Management where she worked on a variety of matters impacting asset managers and fund vehicles and collaborated closely with the Division of Examinations and Division of Enforcement.
Commenting on her arrival, Shukie Grossman, Global Chair of the Investment Funds Practice Group, said: “Marian brings a rare combination of regulatory insight, in-house perspective, and private practice experience. Her work advising senior SEC leadership gives her an unparalleled understanding of the policy and enforcement dynamics shaping today’s asset-management industry. Her arrival strengthens our ability to guide clients through increasingly complex regulatory challenges and evolving SEC priorities across the investment-funds landscape, and positions us to continue to deliver sophisticated, forward-looking counsel as fundraising activity is expected to be active in 2026.”
“I’m excited to return to private practice and join Gibson Dunn’s globally recognized Investment Funds Practice Group,” said Marian. “I’m truly impressed by the strength of the firm’s platform, and I look forward to enhancing our regulatory offering for clients seeking sophisticated guidance. With exceptional investment funds, SEC enforcement, and securities regulation and corporate governance practitioners who work seamlessly together, we are extremely well positioned to bring strategic thinking and market insight to help clients anticipate and navigate what’s ahead.”
Gibson Dunn’s Investment Funds Practice Group is a top-tier practice that advises sponsors across all geographies, asset classes, and matter types. With extensive experience and a deep bench, the team provides the full scope of fund services needed to navigate the challenges and opportunities facing investment fund managers in today’s market. From fund formation to fund servicing and tax planning, complex secondaries, management company transactions, and regulatory and compliance matters, Gibson Dunn delivers top-of-the-market knowledge and senior-level, commercial counsel across the lifecycle of a fund. The practice includes a leading global team of regulatory practitioners with deep experience in the regulatory and compliance needs of investment advisors. The practice most recently welcomed Duncan McKay in New York, James O’Donnell and Hannah Watson Fanin in London, and Carolyn Abram in Dubai.
About Marian Fowler
Marian’s practice is focused on counseling investment advisers and the funds they manage, including private equity, credit, venture, real estate, and registered funds. She advises clients on the full spectrum of regulatory and legal issues involved in creating and running an advisory business, registering with the SEC, developing and implementing compliance programs, forming funds, marketing funds, structuring complex transactions, and navigating SEC examinations.
Before joining Gibson Dunn, she was the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Thrive Capital Management, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser to private funds with more than $23 billion in assets under management in 2025.
Marian has spent over ten years collectively in private practice at two major international law firms. She also is a former regulator, having served as Senior Special Counsel to the Director of the Division of Investment Management at the SEC and Senior Counsel in the Investment Company Rulemaking Office.