Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Website

Headquarters	Wells Fargo Tower Los Angeles, California
No. of offices	18
No. of attorneys	Approximately 1,200
Major practice areas	General Practice
Key people	Kenneth M. Doran, Managing Partner^[1]
Revenue	US$1.47 billion (2014)^[2]
Date founded	1890
www.gibsondunn.com

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher is a global law firm, founded in Los Angeles in 1890. It has over 1,000 attorneys and 2,000 staff located in 18 offices around the world, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm is best known for its litigation practice, and in 2012 was named as the top "Litigation Department of the Year" for an unprecedented second consecutive time by The American Lawyer. The firm won this honor again in 2016.^[3] On the transactional side, the firm is particularly known for its land use and real estate practice.^[4]^[5]

The American Lawyer ranks Gibson Dunn second among national law firms on the "A-List," which measures firms' ability to balance financial success with associate satisfaction, pro bono commitment, and diversity. The 2016 Vault Law Firm Rankings place Gibson Dunn as the number one law firm in Southern California and the top firm in the country for appellate litigation.^[6]

Awards and recognition

Gibson Dunn's headquarters in the Wells Fargo Center, Los Angeles

Gibson Dunn ranks as the number one firm in Southern California, the number one firm in appellate litigation, and within the top ten firms in seven different practice areas on Vault's 2016 law firm rankings.^[7]^[8]^[9] According to Vault's branche-internal survey in 2015, it is also considered one of the most selective law firms in the country.^[10]

In 2012, American Lawyer named Gibson Dunn the "Top Litigation Department" of the year for a second consecutive time.^[11] Gibson Dunn received this distinction yet again in 2016.^[12]

In a branche-internal survey by vault.com in 2015, the company was ranked 11th in the top 100 most prestigious law firms to work for.^[13]

American Lawyer recognized Gibson Dunn as the "Top Litigation Department of the Year" for 2010, explaining that "when other firms and conventional strategies come up short, clients in deep trouble turn to Gibson Dunn for fresh, aggressive thinking and innovative rescues."^[14] In 2012, American Lawyer bestowed this honor on Gibson Dunn for the second consecutive time, stating that the firm possesses "The Complete Game," having "racked up another stack of victories in some of the country's thorniest cases."^[11]
Gibson Dunn ranks 5th nationally in the 2011 Corporate Board Member / FTI Consulting survey of 300 corporate legal directors asking which national law firm they would most want representing their companies on national matters.^[15]
Chambers & Partners ranks more than 120 Gibson Dunn lawyers among the leading lawyers in their respective practices. In 2011, the firm achieved a total of 35 first-tier rankings in the fields of antitrust, appellate litigation, general commercial litigation, securities regulation, real estate, labor & employment, sports & entertainment, corporate mergers & acquisitions, and private equity.^[16]
The Chambers USA Guide ranks more than 120 Gibson Dunn lawyers among the leading lawyers in their respective practices. In 2011, the firm achieved a total of 35 first-tier rankings in the fields of antitrust, appellate litigation, general commercial litigation, securities regulation, real estate, labor & employment, sports & entertainment, corporate mergers & acquisitions, and private equity.^[16]
The Chambers USA Guide ranks Gibson Dunn as one of four firms in Band 1 for California Real Estate Law. Of the top four firms for California Real Estate Law, Gibson Dunn is the only firm also in Band 1 for California Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use. ^[17]
U.S. News ranked Gibson Dunn in the first tier for Real Estate Law. ^[18] Vault ranked Gibson Dunn as the #4 law firm for Real Estate Law in the nation. Gibson Dunn is the only law firm headquartered in California that is in the top 15 for Real Estate Law.^[19]
Vault has ranked Gibson Dunn as the #1 law firm for Appellate Litigation since 2011.^[20]

Notable cases

The firm's attorneys have argued more than 100 cases before the United States Supreme Court.^[21]
The firm represents Apple, Inc. in its patent infringement suit against 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.^[22]
The firm is representing Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, in a $17 billion contract dispute with purported seed money financier Paul Ceglia.^[23]
The firm is representing Chevron in its long-running, $27 billion environmental dispute in Ecuador.^[24]^[25]
The firm is defending Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in the landmark $11 billion employment discrimination class action Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Partner Theodore Boutros, Jr. argued the case before the U.S. Supreme Court in March 2011. In June 2011, the Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Ninth Circuit's order certifying the plaintiff class.^[26]
The firm is representing the Dole Food Company in a multi-billion 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.^[27]
The firm is defending Intel against several multi-billion dollar antitrust lawsuits filed by AMD and the European Union.^[28]
Gibson Dunn is currently defending Amazon.com against patent infringement claims relating to the company's development of the Kindle.
Partner Ted Olson represented the NFL Players Association during the 2011 NFL lockout.
The firm's attorneys sued for the right of same-sex couples to marry by arguing in the case of Perry v. Schwarzenegger that California's Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. Theodore B. Olson acted for two gay couples against Proposition 8. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker ordered the ban to be lifted, and that decision stands because the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal by supporters of the Proposition for lack of standing.
In 2009, the firm represented NBC Universal in its contract dispute with Conan O'Brien.^[29]
The firm represents Viacom in its billion-dollar copyright infringement lawsuit against Google and YouTube.^[30]
The firm defended a conglomerate of domestic and international auto manufacturers—including Honda, Toyota, General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, and Nissan—against a multi-billion dollar global warming lawsuit filed by the State of California. A federal court granted Gibson's motion to dismiss in 2007. Gibson attorneys also represented a coalition of automakers, engine manufacturers, and dealers before the United States Supreme Court in Massachusetts v. EPA.
Current partner Theodore Olson served as lead counsel for George W. Bush in Bush v. Gore, which secured Bush's election as President of the United States. Olson subsequently served as United States Solicitor General during Bush's first term, 2001-2004.
In January 2014 it was reported that Governor Chris Christie had hired Gibson, Dunn attorney Randy Mastro to conduct an internal investigation of the circumstances surrounding the so-called "Bridgegate" incident.^[31]

Notable transactions

The firm advised Hewlett-Packard in its £7 billion bid for Autonomy Corporation.^[32]
The firm advised Kraft in its $19.7 billion bid for Cadbury.^[33]
Gibson attorneys advised Heineken in its $7.6 billion buyout of Mexican brewing conglomerate FEMSA.^[34]
The firm represented a conglomerate of investment companies in the formation of a joint venture to acquire property in the largest UK acquisition deal of 2009.
Advised long-standing client Vivendi parent company of subsidiary Vivendi Games in its $19 billion merger with Activision to form Activision Blizzard.
Provided legal counsel to PeopleSoft after Oracle launched an unsolicited $6.3 billion tender offer (hostile takeover).

Notable attorneys

References

External links

Official website

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