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Gibson Dunn

American law firm From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is an American multinational white-shoe law firm. 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.[6]

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History

The firm was founded in May 1890 by John D. Bicknel and Walter Trask. In 1897, Judge James Gibson joined the firm. Six years later, the firm merged with the law firm of former Los Angeles city attorney William Ellsworth Dunn and assistant city attorney Albert Crutcher, giving the firm its name.[7]

Barbara Becker joined the firm with mentor Dennis Friedman in 2000, moving from an M&A partnership at Chadbourne & Parke.[8] She was elected chair and managing partner in 2021.[9]

Amid clashes at some college campuses, following the onset of the 2023 Israel-Hamas war; on November 1st, 2025, Gibson Dunn was one of two dozen law firms that submitted a letter to 14 American law school deans, denouncing anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and racism, and advising those mentoring future law graduates of entrenched workplace policies against harassment or discrimination at their firms.[10] The firm was also one of 17 global law firms that signed a public statement denouncing growing anti-Semitic attacks in the U.S., published in The American Lawyer on May 27, 2021.[11][12]

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Notable cases

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The firm's attorneys have argued more than 160 cases before the United States Supreme Court.[13]

Some of the firm's notable cases and clients include:

  • 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.[14]
  • American Foundation for Equal Rights, in its litigation challenging California's Proposition 8 and supporting marriage equality. The litigation ultimately led to the overturning of Proposition 8.
  • The firm represented U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in their suit against the federal government seeking a restoration of federal support for the church's immigration programs.
  • Mother and child victims of domestic violence at the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
  • 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.[15] The injunction was vacated in October 2012 based on the results of the trial.[16][17] 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.[18]
  • Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, in a $17 billion contract dispute with purported seed money financier Paul Ceglia in 2011[19] The case was thrown out and Ceglia was charged with fraud in 2012; he became a fugitive.[20]
  • Gibson Dunn is actively involved in homeless encampments-related cases.[21] 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.[22] 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.[22]
  • George W. Bush, in Bush v. Gore, the litigation contesting certification of Florida's results in the 2000 United States presidential election.[23] Theodore Olsen, the partner who argued the case for Bush in the Supreme Court,[24] went on to serve as solicitor general in the Bush administration.[25]
  • In 2009, Theodore B. Olson, a partner of the firm, successfully argued the case Citizens United v. FEC (2010) in its favor.[26] The verdict sanctioned businesses' limitless campaign spending, which, according to nonpartisan legal organization Campaign Legal Center, promoted corruption and black money.[27]
  • Intel, in its defense against several multibillion-dollar antitrust lawsuits filed by AMD and the European Union.[28]
  • NBC Universal in its 2009 contract dispute with Conan O'Brien.[29]
  • Viacom, in its billion-dollar copyright infringement lawsuit against Google and YouTube in Viacom International Inc. v. YouTube, Inc.[30] After multiple rulings at the District Court and Appellate Court, the case was settled in 2014.[31]
  • 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.[32] 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".[33]
  • Plaintiffs in Haaland v. Brackeen, pro bono litigation 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.[34]
  • VMware, in its $61 billion acquisition by Broadcom.[35]
  • Pioneer Natural Resources, in its $59.5 billion acquisition by ExxonMobil.[36]
  • Hewlett-Packard, in its £7 billion bid for Autonomy Corporation.[37]
  • Kraft. in its $19.7 billion bid for Cadbury.[38]
  • Heineken, in its $7.6 billion buyout of Mexican brewing conglomerate FEMSA.[39]
  • Collaboration with the Center for Individual Rights and the Election Law Center in representing Arnold Davis in Davis v. Guam, successfully challenging Guam's race-based voting restrictions.[40][41]
  • International Paper, in relation to its use of PFAS ("forever chemicals").[42]
  • Dole Food Company, in a multibillion-dollar tort suit in Nicaragua involving allegations of farmworker sterility stemming from Dole's use of certain pesticides.[43] 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.[44]
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Criticism

In 2023, the firm was sanctioned by a San Francisco District Court and ordered to pay $925,000 for its efforts to make litigation unnecessarily expensive and difficult for the plaintiffs in a consumer privacy lawsuit against Meta Platforms.[45]

In 2024, ProPublica published an expose, '"The Law Firm Helping Big Oil Weaponize the First Amendment", characterizing Gibson Dunn as "'playing both sides' of free speech, using it to defend fossil fuel companies and silence the industry's critics"[42] It has filed numerous lawsuits against industry critics,[43] and litigated for numerous fossil fuel companies, including the American Petroleum Institute; Energy Transfer; Enbridge; ConocoPhillips; Occidental;[43] and Chevron, in its long-running, $27 billion environmental dispute in Ecuador.[46][47]

Recognition

  • Law360: The firm has been named “Firm of the Year” ten times, most recently in the 2024 award cycle—the highest total in the honor’s 15-year history.[48] In 2024 Gibson Dunn also collected Practice Group of the Year trophies in ten categories: Appellate, Trials, Competition, White-Collar, Employment, Environmental, Cybersecurity & Privacy, Real Estate, International Arbitration, and Securities.[49] Earlier Appellate Practice Group of the Year wins were recorded in 2020, 2021 and 2023.[50]
  • The American Lawyer: Gibson Dunn is the only firm to win the biennial “Litigation Department of the Year” competition four times (2010, 2012, 2016 and 2020).[51] The firm has appeared on The American Lawyer “A-List” nine times (2013, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025), a composite ranking based on financial performance, pro-bono work, diversity and associate satisfaction.[52]
  • Chambers USA 2025: The firm earned 130 Band-1 rankings—43 practice areas and 87 individual lawyers—along with 425 total listings, the second-highest Band-1 count of any firm.[53]
  • Global Investigations Review: Gibson Dunn’s investigations practice has been ranked #1 worldwide in the “GIR 30” for seven consecutive editions (2018–2024).[54]
  • Vault: Gibson Dunn has placed in the Top 10 of the Vault Law 100 for seven consecutive years (2019–2025).[55][56][57][58][59][60][61] In regional prestige tables Gibson Dunn currently ranks #1 in the Mountain States,[62] #2 in Southern California,[63] #4 in Texas,[64] and #5 in Washington, DC.[65]
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Notable firm alumni

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See also

References

External links

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