Gibson Dunn Explained

Gibson Dunn
Headquarters:	Wells Fargo Tower Los Angeles, California
Num Offices:	21
Num Attorneys:	1,900+^[1]
Practice Areas:	Litigation^[2], General Practice.
Key People:	Barbara L. Becker, Managing Partner^[3]
Revenue:	US$$3.07 billion (2023)^[4]
Date Founded:	1890
Company Type:	Law firm

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1890, the firm has more than 1,900 attorneys and 1,000 staff in 21 offices across the world, including North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.^[5] It is one of the largest^[6] and most profitable^[7] law firms in the world. The firm is known for its litigation practice, and in particular its strength in appellate law.^{[8] [9] [10]}

History

The firm was founded in May 1890 by Republican corporate attorney John Bicknel and Democratic litigator Walter Trask. In 1897, Judge James Gibson joined the firm. Six years later, the firm merged with another law firm, belonging to former Los Angeles city attorney William Ellsworth Dunn and assistant city attorney Albert Crutcher. The merger gave the firm its name, which it still uses today.^[11]

In November 2023, amid a wave of antisemitic incidents at elite U.S. law schools, Gibson Dunn was among a group of major law firms who sent a letter to top law school deans warning them that an escalation in incidents targeting Jewish students would have corporate hiring consequences. The letter stated: "We look to you to ensure your students who hope to join our firms after graduation are prepared to be an active part of workplace communities that have zero tolerance policies for any form of discrimination or harassment, much less the kind that has been taking place on some law school campuses."^[12]

Notable cases

The firm is best known for its litigation practice, which has been named the top "Litigation Department of the Year" in the United States by The American Lawyer in several biannual rankings, most recently in 2020.^[13] The firm is also known for its land use and real estate practices.^[14] The firm's attorneys have argued more than 100 cases before the United States Supreme Court.^[15]

Some of the firm's notable cases include:

• The firm is representing Chevron in its long-running, $27 billion environmental dispute in Ecuador.^{[16] [17]} According to The Intercept, Gibson Dunn has hired private investigators to track Steven Donziger and created "a team of hundreds of lawyers to fight him".^[18] This resulted in a boycott launched in April 2021 by the student group Law Students for Climate Accountability.^[19]
• Gibson Dunn is also actively involved in homeless encampments-related cases.^[20] In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the firm represented West Side Community Organization (Westco), an organization that advocated for the relocation of homeless persons from Upper West Side to a downtown hotel in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.^[21] Randy Mastro, a partner of the firm who represented it, was criticized for taking up the lawsuit and his home was vandalized in protest in October 2020.^[21]
• The firm represented George W. Bush in Bush v. Gore, the litigation contesting certification of Florida's results in the 2000 United States presidential election.^[22] Theodore Olsen, the partner who argued the case for Bush in the Supreme Court,^[23] went on to serve as solicitor general in the Bush administration.^[24]
• In 2009, Theodore B. Olson, a partner of the firm, successfully argued the case Citizens United v. FEC (2010) in its favor.^[25] The verdict sanctioned businesses' limitless campaign spending, which, according to nonpartisan legal organization Campaign Legal Center, promoted corruption and black money.^[26]
• The firm represented Apple, Inc. in its patent infringement suit against Samsung (Apple v. Samsung) relating to the Galaxy Nexus smartphone, and won an injunction in June 2012 blocking the sale of the Galaxy Nexus phone in the United States.^[27] The injunction was vacated in October 2012 based on the results of the trial.^{[28] [29]} It also represented Apple in Epic Games v. Apple, a lawsuit related to Apple's practices in the App Store and the removal of Fortnite from the App Store.^[30]
• The firm is representing Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, in a $17 billion contract dispute with purported seed money financier Paul Ceglia.^[31]
• The firm is defending Intel against several multibillion-dollar antitrust lawsuits filed by AMD and the European Union.^[32]
• The firm is representing CNN in its lawsuit against President Trump and many of his staff on the basis of Jim Acosta's right to a "hard pass", a clearance to enter the White House.^[33]
• The firm is representing the Dole Food Company in a multibillion-dollar toxic tort suit in Nicaragua involving allegations of farmworker sterility stemming from Dole's use of certain pesticides. After the firm uncovered substantial evidence of fraud and a conspiracy between the plaintiffs and Nicaraguan judges to extort Dole out of billions with manufactured claims, courts in the United States dismissed multiple related suits against Dole and refused to enforce several Nicaraguan judgments.^[34]
• In 2009, the firm represented NBC Universal in its contract dispute with Conan O'Brien.^[35]
• The firm represented Viacom in its billion-dollar copyright infringement lawsuit against Google and YouTube in Viacom International Inc. v. YouTube, Inc.^[36] After multiple rulings at the District Court and Appellate Court, the case was settled in 2014.^[37]
• Governor Chris Christie hired Gibson Dunn attorney Randy Mastro to conduct an internal investigation of the circumstances surrounding the Fort Lee lane closure scandal and representing the Governor in a later federal investigation.^[38] The firm was later criticized by U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton for its methods of record keeping, and accused the firm of "opacity and gamesmanship."^[39]
• Gibson Dunn provided advice to the private prosecutor responsible for conducting the criminal contempt case against Steven Donziger. Since Gibson Dunn also acts for Chevron, The Nation wrote that the collaboration raised issues of fairness.^[40]
• Gibson Dunn represented the plaintiffs in Haaland v. Brackeen pro bono in seeking to overturn the Indian Child Welfare Act. This has led to accusations that Gibson Dunn is seeking to weaken federal protections for Native American tribes overall, opening the way for corporate exploitation of natural resources or Native American gaming.

Notable transactions

• The firm represented VMware in its $61 billion acquisition by Broadcom. ^[41]
• The firm represented Pioneer Natural Resources in its $59.5 billion acquisition by ExxonMobil. ^[42]
• The firm has represented tobacco companies.^[43]
• The firm advised Hewlett-Packard in its £7 billion bid for Autonomy Corporation.^[44]
• The firm advised Kraft in its $19.7 billion bid for Cadbury.^[45]
• The firm advised Heineken in its $7.6 billion buyout of Mexican brewing conglomerate FEMSA.^[46]
• The firm worked for Harlan Crow amid a controversy over his extensive and undisclosed gift-giving to Supreme Court Clarence Thomas.^[47]

Political contributions

According to OpenSecrets, Gibson Dunn was one of the top law firms contributing to federal candidates during the 2012 election cycle, donating $1.45 million, 55% to Democrats.^[48] Since 1990, Gibson Dunn contributed $6.15 million to federal campaigns.^[49]

Controversies

In 2007, the Montana Supreme Court found that Gibson Dunn "acted with actual malice"^{[50] [51]} in suing an art expert Steve Seltzer, who said that a painting signed by Charles Marion Russell was actually created by his grandfather Olaf Carl Seltzer, thus reducing its value. The Supreme Court said "GDC's use of the judicial system amounts to legal thuggery"^[51] and found that Gibson Dunn "blatantly and maliciously tried to intimidate Seltzer with the apparent power, prestige, and resources of a large, nationally prominent law firm coupled with an ominous lawsuit that they knew threatened to ruin and devastate him professionally, personally, and financially".

Gibson Dunn has been accused of unethical litigation tactics, and has been covered in the legal press for facing nearly one-million dollars in punitive sanction fees for facilitating discovery misconduct by Facebook.^[52] Gibson Dunn, defending Facebook for its illegal disclosure of data to Cambridge Analytica, engaged in objective "bad faith" and continued to do so notwithstanding federal judge Vincent Chhabria's discussion that Gibson Dunn should behave more ethically.^[52]

Gibson Dunn has been criticized for its pro bono representation in Haaland v. Brackeen seeking to overturn the Indian Child Welfare Act.^{[53] [54] [55]} Matthew McGill, a partner at the firm, argued that the Indian Child Welfare Act discriminates against non-Native people who wish to adopt Native children.^{[54] [56]} The United States Supreme Court ultimately ruled against Gibson Dunn's clients 7-2, rejecting all of the challenges either on their merits or for lack of standing.^[57]

Notable former and present attorneys and staff

• Richard Bierschbach, Dean of Wayne State University Law School
• Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2009 to 2017.^[58]
• Robert C. Bonner, former Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.^[59]
• David W. Burcham, former president of Loyola Marymount University
• Aileen Cannon, Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
• Gregg Costa, former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.^[60]
• Tom Cotton, former associate and current U.S. Senator.^[61]
• Stuart Delery, former White House Counsel^[62]
• Michael J. Desmond, 48th Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service.
• Miguel Estrada, U.S. Supreme Court practitioner and former nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
• Charlie Falconer, former Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice under Prime Minister Tony Blair^[63]
• George J. Hazel, former Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.^[64]
• James C. Ho, Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
• Theodore Olson, former United States Solicitor General from 2001 to 2004 under President George W. Bush.
• Kelly Perdew, former associate and reality television star on The Apprentice.
• Jennifer H. Rearden, Judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
• Eugene Scalia, former Solicitor for the U.S. Department of Labor and former United States Secretary of Labor in the Donald Trump administration.
• Róbert Ragnar Spanó, former President of the European Court of Human Rights.^[65]
• Benjamin B. Wagner, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California from 2009 to 2016.
• Debra Wong Yang, former L.A. Superior Court Judge and U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California.

See also

• List of largest law firms by profits per partner

Notes and References

1. Web site: Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
2. News: Dayal . Mahira . Gibson Dunn Climbs Energy Deal Leader Board on Texas Bet . 29 November 2023 . Bloomberg Law . 20 November 2023.
3. Web site: Becker, Barbara L..
4. News: Gibson Dunn . 31 March 2024 . ALM.
5. Web site: About the Firm . Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. 2024-05-26.
6. Web site: The 2024 Am Law 100 Ranked by Gross Revenue . The American Lawyer . 2024-05-26.
7. Web site: The 2024 Am Law 100 Ranked by Profits Per Equity Partner . The American Lawyer . 2024-05-26.
8. Web site: Ranking Tables USA - Nationwide Appellate Law . Chambers and Partners . 2022-11-30 . [Gibson Dunn] [m]aintains its premier standing in the appellate arena....
9. Web site: Best Law Firms for Appellate Litigation. 2021-09-15. Vault. en.
10. Web site: Appellate Group of the Year: Gibson Dunn. 2021-09-15. Law360. en.
11. Web site: Our Story. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. 5 May 2021.
12. News: Sorkin . Andrew Ross . Mattu . Ravi . Warner . Bernhard . Kessler . Sarah . Merced . Michael J. de la . Hirsch . Lauren . Livni . Ephrat . Law Firms Warn Universities About Antisemitism on Campus . 2 November 2023 . The New York Times . 2 November 2023.
13. https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2019/12/29/challenge-accepted-gibson-dunn-litigation-department-of-the-year-winner/ "Challenge Accepted: Gibson Dunn, Litigation Department of the Year Winner ", The American Lawyer via Law.com, December 29, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
14. http://www.law360.com/articles/502160/real-estate-group-of-the-year-gibson-dunn "Real Estate Group Of The Year: Gibson Dunn", The American Lawyer via Law.com, January 17, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
15. Web site: "Gibson Dunn Attorneys Argue Their 100th Case Before The U.S. Supreme Court", GibsonDunn.com. . 2009-04-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170329142124/http://www.gibsondunn.com/news/Pages/GibsonDunnAttorneysArgueTheir100thCaseBeforeTheUSSupremeCourt.aspx . 2017-03-29 . dead .
16. Web site: Law.com. Law.com.
17. http://westlawnews.thomson.com/Securities_Litigation/News/2011/02_-_February/Chevron_accuses_Ecuadorean_plaintiffs_of_extortion/ Chevron accuses Ecuadorean plaintiffs of extortion
18. Web site: Law Students Denounce Chevron's Law Firm Over Steven Donziger case. Lerner. Sharon. April 7, 2021. The Intercept. https://web.archive.org/web/20210422080812/https://theintercept.com/2021/04/07/chevron-steven-donziger-law-gibson-dunn-boycott/. April 22, 2021. live.
19. News: Law Student Climate Change Activists Target Gibson Dunn. April 7, 2021. Sloan. Karen. Law.com. American Lawyer Media. subscription.
20. Web site: A legal powerhouse takes on homeless encampments. Los Angeles Times.
21. Web site: Gibson Dunn's Randy Mastro says vandals 'picked the wrong guy' as NYSBA decries atty harassment. WestLaw Today.
22. Web site: 2021-03-18 . The Two Teds - Episode 2 - Bush v Gore and Election Litigation . 2022-04-11 . Gibson Dunn . en-US.
23. Web site: 2015-09-24 . oyez html5 player . 2022-04-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924124721/http://www.oyez.org/sites/default/libraries/OyezPlayer-html5/player.php?transcript=/sites/default/files/transcripts/1987/87-1279_19880426-argument.xml . 24 September 2015 . dead.
24. Web site: Olson, Theodore B. . 2022-04-11 . Gibson Dunn . en-US.
25. Web site: U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Restrictions on Corporate and Union Campaign Speech. January 22, 2010.
26. Web site: How Does the Citizens United Decision Still Affect Us in 2022?. Campaign Legal Center.
27. Web site: Judge Blocks Sales of Samsung Phone That Apple Says Infringes Patents. 2012-06-29. 2014-09-28.
28. https://thenextweb.com/mobile/2012/08/27/samsung-tipped-appeal-us-galaxy-tab-10-1-injunction-tablet-ruled-innocent/ Samsung to appeal US Galaxy Tab 10.1 injunction after tablet ruled innocent [Update: Request filed]
29. News: U.S. court clears Samsung phone, setback for Apple . Diane Bartz . Reuters . Oct 11, 2012 . Oct 11, 2012 .
30. Web site: Apple enlists Gibson Dunn to fight Epic Games suit, law firm previously retained in Samsung battle. 2021-05-07. AppleInsider. en.
31. Web site: Gibson Dunn Goes Medieval on Facebook Plaintiff - Above the LawAbove the Law. Kashmir. Hill. May 27, 2011.
32. News: A.M.D. and Its War With Intel . New York Times . 21 June 2008 .
33. News: CNN sues President Trump and top White House aides for barring Jim Acosta . CNN . 13 November 2018 .
34. Web site: Law.com. Law.com.
35. Web site: 'Bye, everybody, bye!': An End in Sight for the Conan-Leno-NBC Debacle? - Above the LawAbove the Law. Kashmir. Hill. January 19, 2010.
36. Web site: Viacom Taps Ted Olson for YouTube Appeal. amlawdaily.typepad.com.
37. News: Google, Viacom settle landmark YouTube lawsuit. March 18, 2014. Stempel. Jonathan. Reuters.
38. News: Hiring by Christie Suggests He May Be on the Defensive . New York Times . 16 January 2014 .
39. News: Porter. David. GWB Closure Defendants Want to Put Christie Lawyers on Stand. 9 August 2016. NBC 4 NY. 8 August 2016.
40. Web site: North . James . Chevron's Prosecution of Steven Donziger . The Nation . 28 January 2022 . 27 January 2022.
41. News: Deal Diary: Gibson, Wachtell Lead VMware Sale to Broadcom. The Deal. 12 June 2022.
42. News: Big Deal in Big Oil: Davis Polk, Gibson Dunn Lead Exxon’s $59.5B Buy of Pioneer Natural Resources. The American Lawyer. 11 October 2023.
43. Web site: October 16. Zach Lowe . AM. 2008 at 12:00. Tobacco litigation means work for Gibson Dunn, Jones Day, others. 2021-04-13. National Law Journal. en.
44. News: H-P Plans to Spin Off PC Business - WSJ. Wall Street Journal. 19 August 2011.
45. Web site: Dealmakers of the Week:Barbara Becker of Gibson Dunn and Sarah Jones of Clifford Chance. The American Lawyer.
46. Web site: Cleary, Gibson Dunn Slake M&A Thirst With $7.6 Billion Beer Deal. amlawdaily.typepad.com.
47. News: 2023-05-23 . Billionaire Harlan Crow, Benefactor to Justice Thomas, Rebuffs Senate on Ethics Probe . en . Bloomberg.com .
48. Web site: Lawyers & Lobbyists: Top Contributors to Federal Candidates, Parties, and Outside Groups . OpenSecrets.org. OpenSecrets.
49. Web site: Organizations: Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. OpenSecrets.org . OpenSecrets. 9 June 2016.
50. Web site: W. Steve Seltzer v. Steve Morton, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP, and Dennis A. Gladwell.
51. News: Paul . March 13, 2007 . Gibson Dunn Used 'Legal Thuggery,' Say Montana Supremes . The Wall Street Journal . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210224210830/https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-LB-3471 . February 24, 2021.
52. News: Facebook, Gibson Dunn face $854K sanctions demand in Cambridge Analytica class action . Reuters . 4 April 2022 . Frankel . Alison .
53. Web site: Most Firms Don't Advocate Cultural Genocide Pro Bono, But This Biglaw Firm Will! - Above the LawAbove the Law. Joe. Patrice. November 8, 2022.
54. Web site: Gibson Dunn Pro Bono Case Draws Ire of Some Native Americans. news.bloomberglaw.com.
55. Web site: The Supreme Court May Ensure Native Kids’ Ancestry Is Erased—Just Like Mine Was. Michele. Kriegman. November 8, 2022. slate.com.
56. Web site: Why Gibson Dunn’s ‘Best Interest of the Child’ Has a Dark Side. news.bloomberglaw.com.
57. News: Supreme Court preserves law that aims to keep Native American children with tribal families . AP NEWS . 15 June 2023 . en.
58. Web site: Preet Bharara - Biography . live . https://archive.today/20230113232413/https://its.law.nyu.edu/facultyprofiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=profile.biography&personid=46421 . 2023-01-13 . 2023-01-13 . NYU School of Law.
59. Web site: Bonner, Robert . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20061021030648/http://www.gibsondunn.com/insidegdc/whoswho/bio/?contactId=b97f85845ca1282c . 2006-10-21 . 2023-01-13 . Gibson Dunn.
60. News: Curriden . Mark . Gregg Costa traded judge's robes for Gibson Dunn's Houston office . 20 November 2023 . Houston Chronicle . 26 December 2022.
61. Web site: Chen . Vivia . 2021-11-23 . Gibson Dunn Pro Bono Case Draws Ire of Some Native Americans . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230113233420/https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/gibson-dunn-pro-bono-case-draws-ire-of-some-native-americans . 2023-01-13 . 2023-01-13 . . en.
62. News: Goudsward . Andrew . Top White House lawyer to step down, no replacement named . 20 November 2023 . Reuters . 17 August 2023.
63. News: Fisher . Lucy . Labour drawn into Greensill row as it emerges key Starmer ally works for lobbying firm . 20 November 2023 . The Independent . 18 April 2021.
64. Web site: Former U.S. District Judge George Hazel to Join Gibson Dunn in Washington, D.C. . March 1, 2023. January 6, 2024.
65. Web site: Spano, Robert . 2023-08-09 . Gibson Dunn . en-US.