Marian Fowler is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the Investment Funds Practice Group.
Her practice focuses on the regulation of investment advisers and the funds they manage, including private equity, credit, venture, real estate, and registered funds. She counsels clients on the full spectrum of regulatory and legal issues involved in creating an advisory business, registering with the SEC, developing compliance programs, forming funds, marketing funds, structuring complex transactions, and navigating SEC examinations.
Marian has spent over ten years collectively in private practice as a partner and associate 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, 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.
Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Marian served as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Thrive Capital Management, a venture capital firm managing over $26 billion AUM in 2025.
Marian earned a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center. She graduated summa cum laude from University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Arts and earned a Master of Public Policy, with Honors, from University of California, Los Angeles. Marian is an adjunct lecturer at Howard University Law School where she co-teaches a course on the regulation of private funds and their advisers.
Marian is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Massachusetts.
Capabilities
- Investment Funds
- Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice
- Emerging Companies / Venture Capital
- Financial Regulatory
- Private Equity
- Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)
- Securities Enforcement
- Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance
Credentials
Education:
- Georgetown University - 2007 Juris Doctor
- University of California, Los Angeles - 2004 Master of Public Policy
- University of Oregon - 2001 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- District of Columbia Bar
- Massachusetts Bar