Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr., a partner in the Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. offices of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, is Co-Chair of the firm's Appellate and Constitutional Law Group and its Media and Entertainment Group and Vice-Chair of the Crisis Management Group. He is a member of the firm's Executive and Management Committees.
Mr. Boutrous has represented clients in the federal and state appellate courts throughout the nation in a wide spectrum of cases, including punitive damages, employment, class action, environmental, insurance, product liability, antitrust, business torts, securities, privacy, arbitration, criminal and constitutional litigation. He is responsible for the nationwide appellate strategy for several major companies, and has successfully persuaded courts to overturn some of the largest jury verdicts in history. See below for a representative list of appellate cases he has handled.
Mr. Boutrous also represents media organizations, reporters, and others in a wide array of First Amendment, access, subpoena, defamation, freedom of information, prior restraint, newsgathering and copyright matters. See below for a representative list of media cases he has handled.
As both a crisis management strategist and a seasoned appellate and media lawyer, Mr. Boutrous has wide-ranging experience handling high-profile litigation, media relations and media legal issues. He routinely advises clients in planning how to respond, and in responding, to crises and other especially significant legal problems that attract the media spotlight and provides strategic counseling to address legal, legislative, regulatory and public relations aspects of such matters.
In 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005, the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals named Mr. Boutrous one of the 100 best lawyers in California. The American Lawyer has called him "a media law star." He was named among the "Best of the Bar" for Media and Entertainment by the Los Angeles Business Journal in 2007. Mr. Boutrous received a "Legal Reform Champion" award from the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) and the Los Angeles Business Journal has called him "one of the nation's most prominent appellate attorneys." In 2002 Mr. Boutrous received the ACLU of Southern California's First Amendment Award. He is Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the International Women's Media Foundation and a member of the Board of Directors of the California Supreme Court Historical Society.
Numerous profiles of Mr. Boutrous and his practice have appeared in the media. Prominent mentions include: "Litigator of the Week, " Am Law Litigation Daily (February 20, 2009); "He's a Hired Gun of the Highest Caliber," The Los Angeles Times (June 24, 2007); "Special Appeal," Los Angeles Business Journal (July 26, 2004); "Jackson Case Stirs First Amendment Guru," Daily Journal Extra (February 23, 2004); and "45 under 45," The American Lawyer (January 2003).
Mr. Boutrous is a frequent commentator on legal issues. His articles on appellate issues include "Due Process for Exxon," Wall Street Journal (October 23, 2007); "Successfully Challenging Punitive Damage Awards: Winning Strategies After State Farm v. Campbell" (2003 Monograph, National Legal Center for the Public Interest); "What's Next for Punitive Damage Awards," Wall Street Journal (May 29, 1996); and "Constitutional Challenges to Punitive Damages after BMW v. Gore" (1998 Monograph, National Legal Center for the Public Interest).
His extensive writings on First Amendment and media law issues include "The Four Myths Surrounding The Common Law Reporter's Privilege," Media Law Resources Center (January 2007); "Memory Abuse," Wall Street Journal (January 13, 2007); "First Amendment on Trial," Wall Street Journal (August 19, 2006); "Rule 6(e) and the Public's Right to Know," Wall Street Journal (August 17, 1998); "Judicial Proceedings and Records 'Ancillary to the Grand Jury' in High-Profile Cases," Media Law Resource Center (January 2005); "Celebrity Justice: A New Double Standard," ABA Communications Lawyer (Fall 2004), at 3; "Retooling the Federal Common-Law Reporter's Privilege," Communications Lawyer, Vol. 17, No. 1 (Spring 1999); and "Why an Expanded Common-Law Privilege Should Also Protect the Media," Communications Lawyer, Volume 15, Number 1 (Spring 1997).
Mr. Boutrous received his law degree, summa cum laude, from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1987, where he was Valedictorian and Editor-in-Chief of the San Diego Law Review.
Representative Appellate Cases [PDF]
Representative Media Cases [PDF]