Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Crisis Management Group offers an essential resource in today’s complex legal environment. The right response to a crisis – whether it is a whistleblower’s surprise allegation, a significant and unexpected accounting problem, a product recall, or a government investigation – requires a cohesive team equipped to take immediate action on multiple fronts. Gibson Dunn’s Crisis Management Group is composed of skilled lawyers, including former prosecutors, judges, and government officials, with experience assisting clients facing major, company-threatening crises. Our lawyers have demonstrated their effectiveness in dealing with all three branches of the federal government, state law enforcement and regulatory officials, and international regulators. Members of this team also are experienced in developing and implementing prompt and effective media strategies to address any situation, and they frequently counsel executives and boards of directors in preparing for and avoiding crisis situations before they arise.
Gibson Dunn’s lawyers are known for their ability to turn around crises and guide clients through difficult events. The American Lawyer named Gibson Dunn to an unprecedented, consecutive term as the 2012 Litigation Department of the Year in recognition of the firm’s “stack of victories of some of the country’s thorniest cases.” The publication observed that Gibson Dunn’s extraordinary efforts on behalf of its clients extend beyond the courtroom: “Its litigators aren’t shy when it comes to engaging the media . . . . the firm’s media savvy is just one way these litigators distinguish themselves.”
The Crisis Management Group is led by Theodore B. Olson, former Solicitor General of the United States, former Assistant United States Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel, and a confidant of two U.S. Presidents. Members of the Crisis Management Group have experience in all manner of issues that can arise in a corporate crisis situation, including criminal law, complex civil litigation, media relations and media legal issues, securities and corporate governance, antitrust, environmental regulation, banking and currency, accounting, insurance, international trade, employment disputes, homeland security, transportation, energy, immigration and border issues, and election law and ballot measures. The group’s litigators can handle suits wherever they are filed–and, if necessary, all the way to the Supreme Court. Gibson Dunn’s crisis management expertise also extends to congressional investigations, with a bipartisan team, including former members of Congress and former federal and high-ranking state officials, experienced in providing advice to the business community.
Some of our recent crisis management matters include:
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Successfully persuaded Judge Mary H. Strobel of the Los Angeles Superior Court that the $34 million punitive damages award entered against affiliates of The Common Fund for Nonprofit Organizations (the “Commonfund Group”) was unconstitutionally excessive. In remitting the award to $16.4 million, the court adopted Gibson Dunn’s argument that “due process requires that the amount of punitive damages be limited to a 1:1 ratio” with the substantial compensatory damages award. The case involves a claim that the Commonfund Group breached its fiduciary duty by purportedly repudiating a joint venture agreement with Newport Capital Advisors LLC. Following a three week trial, the jury entered a $50.4 million verdict against the Commonfund Group. Gibson Dunn was then retained by The Common Fund for Nonprofit Organizations to handle the post-trial motions and appeal of the verdict entered against its affiliates. CFRI-NCA Palladium Venture, L.L.C. v. NCA Argyle LP (L.A. Superior Court 2012)
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Obtaining a confidential global settlement in 2012 for client Dole Food as a result of litigation victories in a series of toxic tort lawsuits involving thousands of Latin American workers claiming personal injuries from exposure to the pesticide DBCP. An L.A. Superior Court judge dismissed two test cases as a sanction for pervasive fraud. (Mejia v. Dole Food Company; Rivera v. Dole Food Company, Inc.) Prior to Gibson Dunn’s representation, a Los Angeles jury had award $2.3 million in damages in another DBCP case. The L.A. Superior Court threw out the verdict, finding it was tainted by fraud. (Tellez v. Dole) In another L.A. Superior Court action, Gibson Dunn secured the dismissal of wrongful death and other tort claims by Colombian plaintiffs alleging that a former Columbian subsidiary of Dole Food made payments to a Colombian paramilitary group during that country’s civil war on the ground that they were time-barred. (Perez v. Dole) In Miami, a federal court denied enforcement of a $97 million judgment by a Nicaraguan court against Dole Food Company, the first decision on the merits involving the $2.1 billion in judgments that Nicaraguan courts have issued against Dole and other companies in DBCP litigation. Sanchez Osorio v. Dole (S.D. Fla. 2009, aff’d 11th Cir. 2011).
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Obtained a landmark victory for the world’s largest retailer when the Supreme Court unanimously reversed class certification of the biggest employment discrimination class in history. Rejecting a 6-5 decision by the en banc Ninth Circuit, the Court held that a class plaintiff must come forward with “significant proof” that an employer operated under a “general policy of discrimination.” In a case where such proof “is entirely absent” and plaintiffs’ evidence is “worlds away” from the required significant proof, the case lacks commonality and cannot proceed as a class action.
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Representing Facebook in an investigation by the New York Attorney General into online safety of underage visitors to the site. Gibson Dunn attorneys moved quickly to craft a settlement under which Facebook agreed to issue sterner warnings to minors and revise its method for handling complaints. At a nationally televised press conference, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Facebook’s chief privacy officer stood together to announce the settlement, which created a new model for the industry.
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Representing Chevron Corp. in U.S. litigation related to a fraudulent $18.2 billion judgment in the Lago Agrio environmental litigation in Ecuador. In 2010, the firm defeated a petition by the State of Ecuador to stay an international treaty arbitration that Chevron filed to have its claims decided in a neutral forum. Seeking to uncover evidence of fraud on the part of the plaintiffs in the Ecuadorian litigation, Gibson Dunn obtained discovery in the United States, including documentary film outtakes, where the Second Circuit ordered a filmmaker to turn over raw footage from “Crude,” a film that revealed pervasive fraud on the part of the plaintiffs’ counsel. The firm also persuaded the Southern District of New York to require the plaintiffs’ lead U.S. counsel to produce all hard drives in his possession on the basis of his discovery violations and waivers of privilege. Forensic examination uncovered evidence that the judgment was ghostwritten with the assistance of the Ecuadorian plaintiffs’ lawyers. Recently, the Southern District of New York upheld Chevron's complaint against the Ecuadorian plaintiffs and their lawyers and representatives alleging claims under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The firm is also pursuing discovery in multiple courts related to the Ecuadorian appellate proceedings and arbitration against the Republic of Ecuador.