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. It is one of the largest and most profitable law firms in the world. The firm is known for its litigation practice, particularly in appellate law.

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

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. The firm is also known for its land use and real estate practices. The firm's attorneys have argued more than 100 cases before the United States Supreme Court. Some of the firm's notable cases include:

Notable transactions

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. Since 1990, Gibson Dunn contributed $6.15 million to federal campaigns.

Controversies

In 2007, the Montana Supreme Court found that Gibson Dunn "acted with actual malice" in suing 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" 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. 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. Gibson Dunn has been criticized for its pro bono representation in Haaland v. Brackeen seeking to overturn the Indian Child Welfare Act. 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. 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.

Notable former and present attorneys and staff