Mara Abera is a corporate associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn.

Mara earned her Juris Doctor from University of Southern California Gould School of Law, where she served as a student attorney with the International Human Rights Clinic, a member of Hale Moot Court Honors Program, and a Writing Fellow for the first-year law students. While at Gould, she received the Transnational Law and Business certificate. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Health & Societies with a minor in Africana Studies and her Master of Public Health, both from the University of Pennsylvania.

Mara is admitted to practice in the State of New York.

Josh Leopold is a litigation associate in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

Prior to joining the firm, he clerked for the Honorable Danny J. Boggs of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Josh earned his law degree with Honors from the University of Chicago Law School in 2024, where he served as an Articles Editor of the University of Chicago Law Review and published his academic note, Searching for Standing, 90 U. Chi. L. Rev. 2261 (2023). He received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy and English from Washington University in St. Louis.

Before law school, he worked as an Investigations Paralegal in the Public Corruption Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Josh is admitted to practice in the State of New York.

Rachel S. Brass is a partner in the San Francisco office of Gibson Dunn and Global Co-Chair of the firm’s Antitrust and Competition Practice Group. She is a member of the firm’s Litigation Department where her practice focuses on litigation and investigations in the antitrust, class actions, and employment areas. Rachel has extensive experience representing international and domestic clients in high-stakes appellate litigation in the Supreme Court, as well as federal and state appellate courts throughout the United States.

Rachel’s antitrust and competition experience includes litigation and trial of indirect and direct purchaser class actions, trial of price fixing, collusion and monopolization claims, international and domestic cartel investigations, mergers and acquisitions, and other antitrust investigations by the Federal Trade Commission, United States Department of Justice, the States Attorney Generals, European Commission, Canadian Competition Bureau, Korean Fair Trade Commission, Japan Fair Trade Commission, Administrative Council for Economic Defense – CADE, and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Rachel has represented clients in a number of industries, including semiconductors, health care, insurance, hardware, software, telecommunications, and other high technology, auto parts, package delivery, transportation, logistics, agriculture, and retail, among others. She has significant experience in international matters and for seven years taught an upper-level course in International Antitrust Law at Berkeley Law School.

In addition to her international competition practice, Rachel has successfully represented companies in single plaintiff and class action Title VII, ADA, FEHA, and Unruh Act discrimination claims, as well as wage and hour class actions. Representative matters include persuading the United States Supreme Court to reverse the certification of the largest class action brought under Title VII; litigating the scope of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower protections; persuading the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to vacate the certification of the largest class action brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act on interlocutory review; obtaining clarification of the standards for the business necessity defense and vacatur of a district court’s adverse post-trial rulings under the Americans with Disabilities Act from the en banc Ninth Circuit; and obtaining and sustaining a favorable district court ruling rejecting plaintiffs’ counsel’s claim for attorney’s fees in a California Fair Employment & Housing Act case.

Rachel is consistently recognized for her outstanding antitrust work by leading professional publications. In 2022, Law360 named her a Competition MVP, highlighting her successful defense at the class certification stage in major “no poach” litigation involving fast-food franchises, as well as her victory for Apple in the Epic Games litigation. Legal 500 U.S. recognized Rachel as a “Leading Lawyer” for Antitrust: Civil Litigation/Class Action Defense. Additionally, she was named to Who’s Who Legal Competition in 2023 and 2024. Expert Guides included her in its 2022 Guide to the World’s Leading Women in Business Law. Global Competition Review listed Rachel among its “Top 100 Women in Antitrust” in 2021, while the Daily Journal has recognized her on its “Top Antitrust Lawyers” list every year from 2020 to 2023. She was also featured in Lawdragon‘s “500 Leading Litigators in America” (2023-2026) and “500 Leading Antitrust and Competition Lawyers” for 2025. In 2019, Women Competition Professionals in the Americas honored Rachel as one of their “40 in Their 40s.” In its annual Top Verdicts of California 2018 feature, the Daily Journal recognized Rachel for her complete defense jury verdict, a first of its kind class action trial of direct and indirect purchaser antitrust claims. In 2018, she was selected by The American Lawyer as a “Litigator of the Week” in connection with that same win. Rachel has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America® in Litigation-Antitrust since 2013, identified in the Antitrust category by Super Lawyers, and ranked in Band 1 in the California Antitrust category by Chambers USA. Concurrences Review recognized Rachel at its 2017 Antitrust Writing Awards for her article “Practical Advice for Avoiding Hub-and-Spoke Liability,” which was selected as the winner in the Business category, Concerted Practices section. The article originally appeared in the October 2016 issue of The Antitrust Source.

Rachel speaks regularly on antitrust and complex class action issues, including programs for the United States Department of Justice, The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the American Bar Association, the State Bar of California, the State Bar of Arizona, the Association of Business Trial Lawyers, and the Bar Association of San Francisco. She is the past-President of the Northern California Chapter of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers and serves on the Board of Directors of Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), an organization that protects unaccompanied children who enter the U.S. immigration system alone to ensure that no child appears in court without an attorney. She is on the Advisory Board of the University of Minnesota Law School. She served as Editor-in-Chief of the Antitrust Report from 2008 to 2016.

Rachel received her law degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Minnesota in 2001. She was Editor-in-Chief of the Minnesota Journal of Global Trade, a member of the Order of the Coif, and recipient of the Ralph M. McCareins Antitrust Prize. Prior to joining the firm, Rachel served as a law clerk for the Honorable James M. Rosenbaum, United States District Court, District of Minnesota. Rachel graduated summa cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Rachel is admitted to practice in the State of California. She is a member of the firm’s Hiring, Professional Development, and Bay Area Diversity Committees, and maintains an active pro bono practice representing clients in cases involving civil rights, immigration, and other matters.

Valeri Bozhikov is an of counsel in the London office of Gibson Dunn. He is a member of the firm’s Antitrust and Competition Group. He is currently on secondment.

Valeri has extensive experience advising clients from a diverse range of industries on EU, UK, and international competition law, with a particular focus on merger control and foreign investment. He has routinely represented clients before the European Commission, the UK CMA, and the German Federal Cartel Office.

He is recognised in the Legal 500 UK 2024 directory as a Key Lawyer for EU and Competition and in the category Ones to Watch for Competition Law in the 2025 Best Lawyers edition.

Valeri graduated with a Master of Law (LLM) from Kings College London and a Magister Juris from Sofia University. He is admitted to practice in England and Wales, Belgium and Bulgaria. 

As of 2023, Valeri is a visiting professor at Queen Mary, University of London. 

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, he was a Special Counsel in the Competition practice group at another major international law firm. 

Valeri’s select representations include:*

  • Thoma Bravo in numerous transactions, including its acquisitions of Ping Identity for $2.8 billion and Darktrace for $5.3 billion, its portfolio company Ping Identity’s acquisition of ForgeRock for $2.3 billion, its portfolio company Proofpoint’s acquisition of Hornetsecurity, its portfolio company Flexera’s acquisitions of Snow Software and the USU GmbH, and its portfolio company LogRhythm’s merger with Exabeam.
  •  Viavi’s attempted $1.3 billion public takeover of Spirent Communications plc. 
  • AEA Investors in numerous transactions, including its acquisition of Excelitas, Scan Global Logistics, Process Sensing Technologies, Scio Automation. 
  • Aleris Corporation in its acquisition by Novelis for $2.8 billion, which resulted in Phase 2 (in-depth) reviews in the EU and China. 
  • $2.7 billion definitive agreement for Soho House & Co. Inc. to be taken private. 
  • Leidos in its acquisition of L3Harris’ Security, Detection and Automation business for $1 billion.
  • New Mountain Capital in numerous transactions, including sale of its portfolio company Blue Yonder to Panasonic for $8.5 billion and its disposal of Zep Inc. to Truelink Capital. 
  • RedBird Capital Partners and Compass Datacenters LLC in the acquisition of Compass by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners. 
  • Towebrook Capital Partners on the investment in GMC Group, the acquisition of IDAK Food Group and the $8.9 billion acquisition of R1 RCM (together with CD&R). 
  • Cambridge Information Group and its portfolio company ProQuest  in the acquisition of Innovative Interfaces. 
  • Allergan (now part of AbbVie) before the UK CMA in the hydrocortisone investigation and the subsequent appeals before the Uk Competition Appeal Tribunal. 
  • A financial institution in relation to two separate cartel investigations before the European Commission and various national competition authorities, including the UK, France and Germany. 

*Some of these representations occurred prior to Valeri’s association with Gibson Dunn. 

Attila Borsos is a partner at Gibson Dunn based in the Brussels office. He is a member of the firm’s Antitrust and Competition, International Trade, Litigation, and Government Contracts Practice Groups and has 15 years of experience advising on antitrust and competition as well as international trade matters.

Attila was recognized as one of the leading competition lawyers of his generation in the 2020 edition of Global Competition Review‘s prestigious “40 Under 40.” He has also been named a Future Leader in Competition by Lexology (formerly Who’s Who Legal) since 2017. Additionally, he is recommended in the Competition section of The Legal 500 EMEA 2022 for Belgium, as well as in The Legal 500 UK 2024 for EU and Competition Law. Most recently, he was included in Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Antitrust and Competition Lawyers” for 2025.

Attila advises on a wide range of antitrust issues, including merger control, vertical arrangements, and cartel investigations, both before the European Commission and national competition authorities. He regularly advises international companies on their global merger control strategy and co-ordinates merger control and other regulatory filing approvals in order to get the deal through and meet clients’ strategic objectives. He has particular experience in advising companies in the IT, consumer goods, construction materials, and chemical industries sectors.

Attila has significant experience in State aid proceedings before the European Commission and subsequent litigation before the European Courts. He has successfully advised investors on the State aid aspects of the privatization a flag carrier airline of one of the EU member states and subsequently represented that airline with State aid complaints regarding Alitalia, Croatian Airlines, and Air Serbia. He has particular expertise in the application of the market economy investor principle, rescue and restructuring aid, the rules regarding direct business taxation, the guidelines on regional aid, and the sale of public property.

In the field of international trade, Attila represents both complainants and importers in anti-dumping and anti-subsidy proceedings before the European Commission. He regularly advises importers, exporters and downstream users on the implications of trade defence measures, the impact of Brexit on customs tariffs and trade defence instruments, tackling technical barriers to trade in third countries and on the EU sanctions regime.

Attila received his law degree, summa cum laude, from the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. He earned his master’s degree in WTO Law and International Trade Law at the University of Rennes 1, which he attended with the scholarship of the French Government. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Attila trained and practiced as an associate in the competition group of a Magic Circle firm in Brussels. He completed internships at the European Commission (DG Trade), the General Court of the European Union and the Hungarian Competition Authority.

Attila taught EU competition law and EU State aid law at the Pázmány Péter University in Budapest and EU competition law and international trade law at the University Paris Dauphine in Paris. Since 2019, he has been a guest lecturer on EU State aid law for LLM students at the University of Toulouse.

Attila is qualified in Belgium and is also a member of the “EK” list of the Budapest Bar in Hungary. A native Hungarian speaker, he is fluent in English and French and proficient in German.

Alana Tinkler is Of Counsel in the London office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and a member of Antitrust and Competition Practice Group.

She advises on a wide range of UK and European competition law, spanning complex merger control matters (including in the contexts of strategic M&A, financial investments and restructurings), foreign investment & national security, and antitrust investigations.

Her experience covers a variety of industry sectors including: Biotechnology, Communications, Consumer Goods, Critical Infrastructure (including Water and Energy), Enterprise and Infrastructure Software, Financial Services, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Space & Defence.

Alana is a dual qualified solicitor in England & Wales and New Zealand, having previously practised in the competition law departments of leading international firms in both countries.

 

Alana’s experience includes advising:

  • Elliott Investment Management L.P. and its affiliates in relation to various acquisitions and dispositions, including the $7.1 billion take private acquisition of Syneos Health, Inc. by a private investment consortium, the acquisition of a majority ownership stake in American Greetings, and the sale of Gardant S.p.A. to Italian listed doValue S.p.A. for an aggregate value of €460 million.
  • Luxembourg-based satellite company SES to achieve global unconditional Phase 1 clearances on its $3.1 billion acquisition of satellite communications provider Intelsat.
  • SpaceX on its $17 billion acquisition of EchoStar’s full portfolio of AWS-4 and H-block 50 MHz spectrum licences, along with certain international rights and priorities related to that spectrum.
  • Hologic, Inc., a global leader in women’s health, in its acquisition of Endomagnetics Ltd, a developer of breast cancer surgery technologies, for approximately $310 million.
  • John Laing on its acquisition of a portfolio of five UK assets from HICL Infrastructure plc, including Hornsea II offshore transmission assets, the Oxford John Radcliffe Hospital PFI Project, the Queen’s Hospital PFI Project in Romford, the South Ayreshire Schools PFI Project, and the Priority Schools Building Programme North East Batch.
  • Various lenders and asset managers in complex, cross-border restructuring transactions, including an ad hoc group of cross-holders and DIP lenders in the prepackaged chapter 11 case of Venator Materials plc.
  • Micro Focus International plc, the global enterprise software company, on its $8.8 billion merger with Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s software business segment (HPE Software).*
  • Bridgepoint on the sale of Oasis Dental Care, the UK’s leading private dental services provider, to BUPA, in a transaction valuing the business at £835 million.*
  • A leading investment bank in relation to global antitrust investigations in the financial services sector.*

 

* Some of these representations occurred prior to Alana’s association with Gibson Dunn.

Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr. is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Executive and Management Committees. He is a member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.

As The New York Times has noted, Mr. Boutrous has “a long history of pushing the courts and the public to see the bigger picture on heated issues.” The American Lawyer named Mr. Boutrous the 2019 “Litigator of the Year, Grand Prize Winner” and the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals in 2021 named him a “Top Lawyer of the Decade.” According to The National Law Journal, which in 2013 named him one of the “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America,” he “is known for his wise, strategic advice to clients in crisis and is a media law star.”

Mr. Boutrous has represented clients in federal and state appellate courts throughout the nation in a wide spectrum of cases. He has argued hundreds of appeals, including before the Supreme Court of the United States, 12 different federal circuit courts of appeals, and 11 different state supreme courts (including 14 arguments in the California Supreme Court), and he has led a multitude of other complex civil, constitutional and criminal matters. Mr. Boutrous has successfully persuaded courts to overturn some of the largest jury verdicts and class actions in history, and prevailed in many cutting-edge cases. In 2011, he successfully represented Walmart before the Supreme Court of the United States in the Dukes case, which unanimously reversed what had been the largest employment class action in history and established important standards governing class actions (Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes). In 2013, he successfully represented the prevailing party in obtaining a unanimous Supreme Court decision enforcing the Class Action Fairness Act (Standard Fire Insurance Co. v. Knowles). Also in 2013, Mr. Boutrous successfully represented plaintiffs in the Supreme Court in a case invalidating California’s prohibition on same-sex marriage, Proposition 8 (Hollingsworth v. Perry), in which he also served as one of the lead trial lawyers and architects of the legal strategy that led to this landmark victory. In 2018, Mr. Boutrous successfully represented CNN and its reporter Jim Acosta in bringing First Amendment and due process claims against then-President Donald Trump and other White House officials, forcing the White House to restore Mr. Acosta’s press credentials. “Litigators of the Week: Gibson Dunn’s Two Teds Score for the Free Press,” The AmLaw Litigation Daily (November 30, 2018). And in 2021, he secured a major victory for Hewlett-Packard Company when the California Court of Appeal affirmed a more than $3 billion verdict in HP’s long-running contract dispute with Oracle Corporation. “Litigators of the Week: Gibson Dunn Protects Its $3B Trial Win for HP Against Oracle on Appeal,” The AmLaw Litigation Daily (June 18, 2021).

As both a crisis management strategist and a seasoned appellate and media lawyer, Mr. Boutrous has extensive 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.

Mr. Boutrous has also received the 2021 Freedom of the Press Award from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Distinguished Leadership Award from PEN America in 2019 for his leadership in advancing First Amendment rights and protecting freedom of expression. As The Hollywood Reporter noted in naming him to its 2022 “Power Lawyers” list, “When issues of free speech are in play, Boutrous is the attorney on speed dial.” Hollywood’s Top 100 Attorneys (March 2022). Mr. Boutrous was also named a “First Amendment Rights Trailblazer” by The National Law Journal in 2020.

Numerous profiles of Mr. Boutrous and his practice have appeared in the media. Prominent mentions include: “Mr. Boutrous, You Have 4 Minutes’: On Rebuttal With Ted Boutrous of Gibson Dunn,” The AmLaw Litigation Daily (August 25, 2022); “Litigator of the Week: How Gibson Dunn Helped Hit Print on Mary Trump’s Best-Seller,” The AmLaw Litigation Daily (July 17, 2020); “Litigation Department of the Year,” The American Lawyer (January 2020); “Litigator of the Week: Gibson Dunn’s Theodore Boutrous Jr. Scores Another Win for the Fourth Estate,” The AmLaw Litigation Daily (September 6, 2019); “Lawyer of the week: Theodore Boutrous Jr, attorney in White House press pass victory,” The Times of London (November 29, 2018); Ted Boutrous, CNN’s Champion, Is Fired Up,” Law.com (November 30, 2018); “Litigator of the Week: From Zero to Hero in Seven Days” The AmLaw Litigation Daily (April 27, 2017); “Litigator of the Week” The AmLaw Litigation Daily (September 8, 2016); “Practice Group Performs In Spotlight and Under Pressure,” Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal (March 14, 2012); “Litigator of the Week,” The AmLaw Litigation Daily (June 23, 2011); “Lawyer of the Week,” The Times of London (June 30, 2011); “Appellate Lawyer of the Week,” National Law Journal (March 23, 2011); “Litigation Department of the Year,” The American Lawyer (January 2016); “Litigation Department of the Year,” The American Lawyer (January 2012); “Litigation Department of the Year,” The American Lawyer (January 2010); and “He’s a Hired Gun of the Highest Caliber,” The Los Angeles Times (June 24, 2007).

In 2025, The Daily Journal recognized Mr. Boutrous with its inaugural Distinguished Counsel award, which honors lawyers “whose consistent excellence and enduring influence in California’s legal community have earned them a place among the Top 100 lawyers for 15 years or more,” and has repeatedly named him to its list of “Top 100 Lawyers” and “Leading Commercial Litigators” in California for over two decades. The Hollywood Reporter, featuring him in Power Lawyers 2021: Hollywood’s Top 100 Attorneys, declared that “Boutrous is there when an industry’s future rides on a big argument.” He has been named a California “Litigation Star” in Benchmark Litigation, as well as a “National Practice Area Star.” Chambers USA ranks him as a leading lawyer in five different categories, describing him as “an absolute star,” with clients praising his skills as “an amazing orator” and his “incredible knack of picking the winning argument and his oral advocacy skills are peerless. He picks the right point in response to every question without even blinking.” The Legal 500 named Mr. Boutrous a “Leading Lawyer” for Supreme Court and Appellate litigation, calling him a “renowned advocate” and “the preeminent authority on punitive damages defenses in the U.S.” Lawdragon routinely names Mr. Boutrous to its lists of the 500 Leading Litigators in America, Leading Global Litigators, and 500 Leading Lawyers in America.

Mr. Boutrous is a frequent commentator on legal issues. His articles include: Spare the ‘Dreamers’ a Nightmare by According Them Due Process,” The Wall Street Journal (May 2, 2017); “Poor Children Need a New Brown v. Board of Education,” The Wall Street Journal (August 28, 2016); “A First Amendment Blind Spot,” The Wall Street Journal (May 27, 2014); “California Kids Go to Court to Demand a Good Education,” The Wall Street Journal (January 28, 2014); “A Radical Departure on Press Freedom,” The Wall Street Journal (May 23, 2013); “A Killer’s Notebook, a Reporter’s Rights,” The New York Times (April 9, 2013); and “Broadcast ‘Indecency’ on Trial,” The Wall Street Journal (January 17, 2012).

Mr. Boutrous is a member of the Steering Committee of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and was a recipient of its 2021 Freedom of the Press Awards. He also is a member of the Advisory Board of the International Women’s Media Foundation and was named its 2015 Leadership Honoree.

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.

Mr. Boutrous is admitted to practice in California, New York, and the District of Columbia.

Nick Hanna, who served as the Presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed United States Attorney for the Central District of California during the first Trump Administration, is a litigation partner in Gibson Dunn’s Los Angeles office and co-chairs the firm’s global White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Group. Nick represents Fortune 500 companies and executives in high-stakes civil litigation, white collar crime, and regulatory and securities enforcement – including internal investigations, False Claims Act cases, and compliance counseling.

A highly experienced trial lawyer, Nick has first-chaired civil and criminal cases in state and federal courts and is one of the select few to be inducted as a Fellow in both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, two of the most prestigious invitation-only organizations of preeminent trial lawyers in the country. Nick was also recently recognized in the Daily Journal’s 2023 “Top Verdicts” for obtaining a complete jury defense verdict, after less than three hours of deliberation, in a federal trademark infringement suit brought against TikTok, Inc. and ByteDance Ltd. Nick is also frequently ranked among the best white collar attorneys in the nation. In both 2024 and 2025, the Daily Journal recognized Nick as one of California’s Top White Collar Lawyers. Nick is also ranked Band 1 in California by Chambers USA Guide for white collar defense, listed in Best Lawyers in America®, recommended for class actions and white-collar crime in Institutional Investor’s Benchmark Litigation Guide, routinely named a Southern California “Super Lawyer” for white collar defense by Los Angeles Magazine, recognized in Who’s Who Legal as a leading white-collar practitioner in its 2024 Investigations guide, and has been recognized by Lawdragon in their “500 Global Leaders in Crisis Management” and “500 Leading Litigators in America” guides.

From 2018 to 2021, Nick served as the United States Attorney for the Central District of California in Los Angeles, where he represented the United States in all criminal, civil, national security and tax matters within the district, an area encompassing seven counties and nearly half the state’s population. In that capacity, Nick led a team of over 280 Assistant U.S. Attorneys – the largest U.S. Attorney’s Office outside of Washington D.C. – and oversaw some of the most significant public corruption, fraud, money laundering, cybercrime, economic espionage, and civil rights cases in the country.

As U.S. Attorney, Nick served for three years as the Chair of the White Collar Fraud Subcommittee of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, responsible for helping guide DOJ’s nationwide corporate enforcement strategy. He also served as a member of the President’s Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud, and as a member of the Corporate Enforcement and Accountability Working Group. During his tenure, Nick partnered with DOJ’s Antitrust Division to start the Procurement Collusion Strike Force in Los Angeles – focused on investigating antitrust crimes in public contracting, such as bid-rigging – created a Financial Crimes Task Force, and oversaw one of the largest Health Care Strike Force’s in the country.

Prior to becoming U.S. Attorney, Nick was a litigation partner with Gibson Dunn for almost 20 years, focusing on white collar defense, regulatory enforcement, and commercial litigation. Nick has significant experience handling Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters, is one of the few attorneys to have litigated FCPA cases with both DOJ and the SEC, and has conducted sensitive cross-border internal investigations around the globe, including in Argentina, China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Russia, UAE, and Venezuela.

Early in his career, Nick served as a federal prosecutor in Southern California for eight years. Nick was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California in Los Angeles from 1990 to 1994, handling matters involving illegal export of high-technology computer equipment, money laundering, financial structuring, narcotics, and other violent and economic crimes. From 1995 to 1998, Nick was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California in San Diego, where he served as Deputy Chief of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and handled cases involving transnational narcotics trafficking organizations, criminal tax and money laundering violations, and international chemical diversion. As an Assistant United States Attorney, Nick has represented the government in numerous federal court jury trials and has briefed and argued cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Nick received his law degree magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 1987, where he served as Associate Editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. He earned his B.A. degree from the University of California, San Diego in 1984.

Dorkas Medina is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. She practices in the firm’s Litigation Department.

Dorkas received her Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was involved with the Latin American Law Students Association and the Georgetown International Economic Law Society.

Dorkas graduated summa cum laude from Florida International University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations and Political Science, and an Undergraduate Certificate in National Security Studies. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Before attending law school, Dorkas worked in the business development and government contracts space of a national engineering firm located in Miami, FL. She is a native speaker of both English and Spanish.

Dorkas is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia.

Elisabeth “Betsy” Ojo is an associate in Gibson Dunn’s New York office where she currently practices in the firm’s Litigation Department.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Elisabeth received her Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Management from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Elisabeth received her J.D. from University of Chicago Law School in 2022.

Elisabeth is admitted to practice in New York, Illinois, and Washington, D.C.

Michael Skouras is an of counsel in the London office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Private Equity Practice Group.

Michael focuses on advising private equity sponsors and other financial investors on a range of complex cross-border acquisitions, divestitures, co-investments, and minority and growth capital investments.

In 2020, Michael was seconded to Bain Capital Private Equity’s European legal team. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Michael worked at another leading international law firm in London.

Selected experience:*

  • Oaktree Capital Management and its co-investor on the sale of a majority controlling stake in OEG Energy Group to funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management
  • Oaktree Capital Management and its co-shareholders on the sale of a controlling stake in OSM Thome to funds advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s Global Transportation Group
  • KKR on its investment in Lighthouse, a leading data analytics and commercial intelligence platform
  • CVC Capital Partners on its acquisition of Partner in Pet Food Group
  • CVC Capital Partners on its acquisition of Packeta
  • The Carlyle Group on its acquisition of intelliflo from Invesco
  • The Carlyle Group on its acquisition of Meopta
  • The Carlyle Group on its acquisition of Tescan
  • The Carlyle Group on its on-going investments in Phrase, Disguise and the Unifrutti Group
  • The Carlyle Group and its portfolio company (LiveU) on the acquisition of EasyLive
  • Oaktree Capital Management on its sale of the Avenga Group
  • Oaktree Capital Management on its on-going investment in atomos
  • Providence Equity Partners on its acquisition of d&b
  • PSG Equity and its portfolio company (Sport Alliance) on its acquisition of Perfect Gym
  • Goldman Sachs Asset Management on its acquisition of Norgine
  • Howden (a portfolio company of General Atlantic, CDPQ and Hg) on its acquisition of Aston Lark from Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Bowmark Capital
  • Bain Capital Private Equity on its acquisition of Valeo Foods Group
  • Bain Capital Private Equity and its portfolio company (Kantar) on the acquisition of Numerator from Vista Equity Partners
  • General Atlantic on its minority investment in Visma
  • General Atlantic on its acquisition of a majority interest in Kiwi.com
  • Generation Investment Management on its strategic investment in Octopus Energy
  • Advent International and its portfolio company (Culligan) on its acquisition of Harvey Water Softeners
  • Providence Equity Partners and its portfolio company (Node4) on the acquisition of TNP
  • Verallia on its acquisition of Allied Glass from Sun European Partners LLP
  • CVC Capital Partners on its acquisition of a majority stake in Metropolitan Hospital Group

* Some of these representations occurred prior to Michael’s association with Gibson Dunn

Alex Hoyer is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn. He practices in the firm’s Litigation Department.

Alex earned his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was inducted to the Order of the Coif, served as a Staff Editor on the Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy, and published a student note on constitutional stare decisis. During law school, he also served as a judicial intern to the Honorable G. Michael Harvey of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

He received a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Washington University in St. Louis, graduating with High Distinction. Prior to law school, he worked in financial services.

Alex is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.

Alec F. Mouser is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn. He practices in the firm’s Litigation Department.

Before joining Gibson Dunn, Alec served as a law clerk to the Honorable Julius N. Richardson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and to the Honorable Howard C. Nielson, Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah.

Alec earned his law degree with high honors from the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as a Comments Editor of the University of Chicago Law Review. Before law school, he graduated summa cum laude from William & Mary, where he majored in History and Government.

Alec is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Fifth, and DC Circuits.

Joy Wang is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn. She practices in the firm’s Litigation Department.

Joy graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she received the Joseph H. Beale Prize. She graduated with a B.A. in Economics and International Studies from Johns Hopkins University.

Joy is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia.

Winston Y. Chan is a litigation partner in Gibson Dunn’s San Francisco office, and serves as co-chair of both the firm’s global White Collar Defense and Investigations practice group, and also its False Claims Act/Qui Tam Defense practice group. In addition, he is a member of the firm’s State Attorneys General Task Force. 

Winston leads matters involving government enforcement defense, internal investigations, and compliance counseling, and regularly represents clients before and in litigation against federal, state, and local agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, and State Attorneys General.

Winston is a Chambers-ranked attorney in White Collar Crime and Government Investigations, and has been recognized by the Daily Journal as a Top White Collar Lawyer for being one of “California’s most influential and effective white collar practitioners of the year,” and by Benchmark Litigation as a Litigation Star for being “recommended consistently as a reputable and effective litigator by clients and peers.” He is regularly listed in Best Lawyers, The Legal 500, and Who’s Who Legal for Investigations, with The Legal 500 highlighting his work on False Claims Act matters. Winston is also featured in Global Investigations Review’s annual Global Guide of Recommended Investigations Counsel, and is recognized as a “Star” in White Collar and Government Investigations by LMG Life Sciences and as a Leading Litigator in America by Lawdragon.

Winston is co-chair of the ABA’s White Collar Crime Committee for Northern California. Prior to joining the firm, Winston served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, where he investigated a wide range of corporate and financial matters as part of that office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section. Winston additionally prosecuted cases in the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, for which the Attorney General awarded Winston one of the DOJ’s highest awards for his “exemplary and historic work.” As a senior prosecutor, Winston served in a number of supervisory roles, including as Deputy Chief of the General Crimes section, where he led and trained that office’s line prosecutors, as well as Health Care Fraud Coordinator, where he oversaw health care fraud and qui tam matters.

Recent significant engagements involving government enforcement defense include: 

  • Representing a technology company in connection with federal investigations into alleged tariff evasion relating to goods exported to the United States.
  • Representing a financial institution in connection with civil and criminal investigations by the DOJ and multiple U.S. Attorney’s Offices into alleged fraud relating to federal guaranteed loan programs (PPP, SBA, USDA).
  • Defended a technology company in connection with parallel investigations by the DOJ, U.S. Attorney’s Office, SEC, and State Attorney General’s Office relating to purported deficiencies in cybersecurity practices, controls, and disclosures, successfully convincing authorities to close all investigations across the board.
  • Defended a pharmaceutical company in connection with a False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute investigation by the DOJ, U.S. Attorney’s Office, and HHS-OIG into the company’s medical affairs initiatives, and successfully obtained a non-intervention and dismissal of the sealed qui tam complaint.
  • Defended a health care services system in connection with a nationwide False Claims Act investigation by the DOJ, U.S. Attorney’s Office, and HHS-OIG relating to alleged medical necessity and billing violations, successfully resulting in a full declination of charges.
  • Defended a technology company in connection with a sanctions enforcement investigation by the DOJ and U.S. Attorney’s Office, which was successfully closed without further action.
  • Defended a technology company in connection with a FCPA investigation by the SEC relating to alleged sales, marketing, and third-party practices abroad, successfully obtaining a no-action letter.
  • Defended a transportation company in connection with multiple state and federal government investigations relating to alleged Clean Water Act and Refuse Act violations.

Recent significant engagements involving internal investigations include:

  • Served as the independent investigator appointed by a national professional sports team in connection with allegations of sexual abuse involving the team’s youth development program.
  • Conducted an internal investigation on behalf of an investment firm in connection with Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) whistleblower allegations relating to fraud, kickbacks, and self-dealing, as well as purported employment discrimination and retaliation.
  • Conducted an internal investigation on behalf of a technology company into alleged criminal trade secrets and criminal copyright violations.
  • Conducted an internal investigation on behalf of a technology company in connection with revenue recognition and accounting misconduct allegations.
  • Conducted an investigation on behalf of a private equity firm into alleged consumer protection violations and investor fraud involving a portfolio company.

Winston earned his undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Yale University, and his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School, where he was on the Yale Law Journal. Following law school, Winston served as a law clerk for the Honorable Leonard B. Sand of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and then for the Honorable Chester J. Straub of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. While a federal prosecutor, Winston taught a clinical course at Columbia Law School on the principles of federal prosecution, as well as a first-year lawyering course at Fordham University School of Law.

Winston is a Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese speaker.

Cody Wilson is an associate in the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He advises public and private companies on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, growth and venture investments, minority investments, leveraged acquisitions, exits, complex strategic and commercial agreements, operating agreements and with respect to general corporate matters. His experience spans a wide range of industries, including consumer and retail, business services, financial services, healthcare, industrials and technology, with transactions ranging in size from several hundred thousand to billions of dollars.

In 2025, Cody was recognized by his peers as a “Rising Star” in mergers and acquisitions by Super Lawyers. He also serves as an adjunct professor at the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, where he co-teaches a course concerning private equity investments and exits. He maintains an active pro bono practice, and, from 2023 to 2025, he served on the firm’s global Associate Committee.

Cody graduated summa cum laude from the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in 2020, where he was a member of Order of the Coif, a Hatton W. Sumners Scholar, an editor of the SMU Law Review, a teaching assistant for Professor Gregory Crespi and a research assistant for Professor Christopher Hanna.

Before law school, Cody gained extensive sales and sales management experience in the automotive industry and earned an undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering, with distinction, from the University of Oklahoma, where he was awarded departmental honors in recognition of his distinguished academic record.

Cody is admitted to the State Bar of Texas.

Representative Matters

  • Counsel to Lone Star Funds on its agreement to sell SPX FLOW, Inc., a leading provider of highly engineered equipment and process technologies for industrial, health and nutrition end markets, to ITT Inc. for $4.775 billion.
  • Counsel to SpaceX on its $17 Billion acquisition of EchoStar’s full portfolio of AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licenses and on its separate acquisition of Akoustis Technologies pursuant to Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
  • Counsel to IPCO, owned by Wallenberg Investments AB, in connection with its acquisition of New Era Converting Machinery, a web converting equipment manufacturer.
  • Counsel to CenterOak Partners, LLC on acquisitions of numerous businesses, including Entomo Brands, HK Solutions Group, SurfacePrep, Hometown Services, CollisionRight, Village Green, Guardian Access, Solid Ground and NOW CFO.
  • Counsel to CenterOak Partners, LLC its dispositions of Cascade Windows to Cornerstone Building Brands, Inc. and Vivify Specialty Ingredients to Gryphon Investors.
  • Counsel to Trive Capital on numerous acquisitions by OWL Services, a provider of integrated solutions for petroleum convenience and electric vehicle markets, and NCB Management Services, an accounts receivable management firm.
  • Counsel to Keystone Group, a privately held investment firm, on several investments.
  • Counsel to American Airlines on its partnership with JetSMART, an ultra-low-cost carrier operating in South America.
  • U.S. counsel to Astorg on its acquisition of hg medical from Nord Holding.
  • Counsel to an affiliate of Lone Star Funds on its acquisition of CentroMotion, a leading designer and manufacturer of highly engineered products and systems for the industrial and transportation markets.
  • Counsel to an affiliate of Lone Star Funds on its $3.8 billion acquisition of SPX Flow, Inc, a leading provider of process solutions for the nutrition, health and industrial markets.
  • Counsel to an affiliate of Lone Star Funds on its sale of Arclin, Inc., a chemistry‐based provider of highly technical, engineered products for the residential building products market and other industries, to The Jordan Company, L.P.
  • Counsel to Satori Capital, a Texas-based multi-strategy investment firm on its minority investment in Torani, a leading manufacturer and distributor of multi-flavor syrups used in Italian ice drinks, café lattes and other food and beverages.
  • Counsel to the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation in connection with numerous matters related to its management of Klyde Warren Park.

Publications

Taylor Hathaway-Zepeda is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn. Her practice focuses on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, equity investments, restructuring transactions, and general corporate governance. She works with companies in a broad array of industries, and has extensive experience working with media, entertainment and technology companies and private equity sponsors.

In 2025, Taylor was selected by the LA Times Studios as part of the Inspirational Women Forum & Leadership Awards, named a Leading Global Entertainment, Sports & Media Lawyer by Lawdragon, and recognized as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers. In 2024, the Los Angeles Times recognized Taylor on its list of “Entertainment Business Visionaries,” which honors “uniquely talented visionaries” whose “expertise fuels the engines that drive the industry forward.” She was also named a leader in mergers and acquisitions, as well as corporate governance, in the 2024 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation, which highlights “the future leaders of the law.” Additionally, Taylor was recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal in its 2024 “Women of Influence: Attorneys” feature, which spotlights the region’s noteworthy women legal professionals.

Taylor currently serves on the Board of Directors of the California Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, where she is also Chair of the Governance Committee. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Children’s Center at Caltech, where she is a member of the Executive Committee. Additionally, she is a member of Gibson Dunn’s Hiring Committee. She has also served on the Corporations Committee of the California Lawyers Association, and on the Board of Directors of the Harvard Law School Association of Los Angeles.

Taylor is admitted to practice in the State of California and the State of New York.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Taylor served as managing law clerk to Chief Judge Sandra Lynch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. She received her law degree from Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review and a finalist in the 100th Ames Moot Court Competition. Prior to law school, she earned a master’s degree with a focus on international economics from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom as a recipient of the Frank Knox Memorial Fellowship. Taylor received her undergraduate degree magna cum laude in Economics from Harvard University, where she was also elected to Phi Beta Kappa and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard International Review.

Selected Transactions

  • The North Road Company, a global, multi-genre studio, in its formation and various transactions including:
    • the investment of up to $500 million by Providence Equity Partners
    • the acquisition of Words + Pictures
    • the investment of $150 million by Qatar Investment Authority
  • Universal Pictures in its investments and partnerships with:
    • Amblin Partners
    • Blumhouse Productions
  • Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.) in its acquisition of a majority stake in Tidal, the streaming and entertainment platform founded by Jay-Z
  • Chernin Entertainment in its formation of content studio Words + Pictures with former ESPN executive Connor Schell
  • SpringHill Entertainment, a production company founded by LeBron James, in a capital raise from investors including Guggenheim Partners and Sister, the production company founded by Elisabeth Murdoch, Stacey Snider and Jane Featherstone
  • Epygenix Therapeutics in its sale to Harmony Biosciences
  • Ahern Rentals in its acquisition by United Rentals
  • WndrCo in its formation of Quibi, a short-form premium content distribution platform, including the raising of $1 billion of capital commitments
  • The Chernin Group in various investments and transactions, including:
    • the sale of its controlling interest in Otter Media, an internet video joint venture between The Chernin Group and AT&T
    • the sale of The Action Network to Better Collective
    • its partnership with Providence Equity Partners, Qatar Holding, and other investors
  • Oak View Group in its redevelopment of the Seattle Key Arena and bringing an NHL team to Seattle
  • Azoff MSG Entertainment in the formation of LaneOne, a joint venture with Live Nation Entertainment
  • Platinum Equity Advisors in its acquisition of:
    • Cision Ltd., a global provider of software and services to public relations and marketing communications professionals
    • The water care business of Lonza Group AG
    • Highway Toll Administration, an electronic toll collection and technology company
  • F45 Training in its acquisition agreement with Crescent Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company
  • La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company in its acquisition of Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals
  • AmaWaterways, a luxury river cruising company, in its partnership with travel and hospitality investor group Certares LP
  • Array Technologies in its sale to Oaktree Capital’s GFI Energy Group
  • Otter Media, an internet video joint venture between The Chernin Group and AT&T, in its acquisition of a majority stake of Fullscreen, a multichannel network
  • Aurora Capital Partners in its acquisition of:
    • Petroleum Service Corporation, a product handling and site logistic services provider
    • Zywave, a provider of insurance brokerage software solutions
    • National Technical Systems, a provider of environmental simulation testing, inspection, and certification solutions
  • Technicolor in:
    • the sale of the transactional streaming service M-Go to online ticketing service Fandango
    • the acquisition by TiVo of Digitalsmiths, a provider of TV and movie content discovery recommendation services
  • Group Health Cooperative in its acquisition by Kaiser Permanente
  • The Sports Authority in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, including the sale of its IP portfolio and e-commerce platform to Dick’s Sporting Goods
  • CVC Capital Partners and Leonard Green & Partners in the sale of Leslie’s Holdings, Inc. to a group led by L Catterton
  • The Artémis Group, parent company of Château Latour and Christie’s Auction House, in its acquisition of Araujo Estate Wines
  • GI Partners in the sale of Duckhorn Wine Company to TSG Consumer Partners
  • The Rubicon Project in its acquisition of iSocket, Inc., a provider of automated online advertising solutions
  • Motorsport Aftermarket Group in its merger with Tucker Rocky/Biker’s Choice, a motorsport distribution company
  • Leslie’s Poolmart in e-commerce and retail acquisitions including:
    • Nationwide Group Service, Inc. and NPS Pool Supply, LLC, online retailers of pool and spa products
    • Pool Supply World, Inc., an online pool and spa retailer
    • Warehouse Pools, Inc., a pool and spa retailer
  • March Capital in its investment in Morty
  • Eminence Capital in its investments in:
    • xAD d/b/a GroundTruth, a location-based marketing and advertising platform
    • Quartzy, a laboratory management platform
    • Comprehend Systems, a clinical intelligence and cloud software company
  • Alpha Edison in its investments in:
    • The Baby Box Company, a provider of newborn starter kits and parent education programs
    • Emagispace, a modular construction company
  • Acumen Fund in its investment in:
    • Sanergy, a provider of waste management services in East Africa

Saee Muzumdar is a partner in the New York office of Gibson Dunn and Co-Chair of the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Group. Saee is a corporate transactional lawyer whose practice focuses on representing strategic companies and private equity clients (including their portfolio companies) and their boards of directors in connection with all aspects of their domestic and cross-border M&A activities and general corporate counseling.

Saee has significant experience with acquisitions and divestitures of public and private entities (including both negotiated transactions and contested takeovers), and board and special committee representations, both with respect to transactional matters and in crisis counseling.  She also works on proxy contests, tender and exchange offers, recapitalizations, spinoffs, carveouts, joint ventures, LBOs, growth equity and other investments, and other complex corporate transactions. In addition, Saee has represented a number of major investment banks as financial advisors in M&A transactions and financial institutions in connection with their investment activities.

Saee is ranked by Chambers USA as a leading corporate M&A lawyer with clients noting she “is a brilliant lawyer who has a great work ethic and is super responsive” as well as “practical, business-oriented and efficient.” She has been recognized as a leading corporate attorney by The Best Lawyers in America® and as one of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America,” by Lawdragon, as well as a “Rising Star” in M&A by the International Financial Law Review, New York Law Journal and Law360. She was named 2022 Dealmaker of the Year in the Consumer, Retail, Food & Beverage category by The Deal and “Corporate Rising Star Attorney of the Year” by Euromoney Legal Media Group at its 2020 Women in Business Law Awards.

Saee received her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, in 2008 from the University of Michigan Law School, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from McGill University in 2005. Saee is an active member of the firm’s Diversity Committee.

Saee is admitted to practice in the State of New York.

Connor Sullivan is a partner in the New York office of Gibson Dunn. He is a member of the firm’s Media, Entertainment, and Technology; Technology Litigation; Tech and Innovation; and Appellate and Constitutional Law practice groups, among others.

He represents technology and media companies in high-stakes complex litigation in state and federal court, including multiple jury trials involving billions of dollars in potential damages. His experience includes founders’ disputes, breach of contract litigation, tort claims, and copyright and trademark issues, involving products ranging from social media platforms to artificial intelligence and fintech applications.

Connor also has significant experience in litigation involving the First Amendment, especially defamation defense. He has been involved in some of the firm’s major recent First Amendment victories, including winning a complete victory at summary judgment in defeating the first-ever defamation claim arising from generative artificial intelligence output. He has also played a key role on teams that successfully represented members of the White House press corps suing to secure the return of suspended press credentials and represented Mary Trump, the niece of President Donald Trump, in successfully opposing the Trump family’s attempt to enjoin the publication of her bestselling family memoir. Before joining the firm, Connor served as a member of the trial team in one of the largest defamation suits ever tried. He is a co-author of “Defamation and Reputation Management in the United States” for the global research platform Lexology and co-hosts the firm’s regular webinar on developments in First Amendment jurisprudence. Connor has also worked on behalf of pro bono clients in connection with immigration and First Amendment rights.

Connor was a member of the team honored with the Financial Times’ Innovative Lawyers North America 2025 award for Disputes and Litigation.  For his role in securing a precedent-setting victory based on “hallucinated” AI output, The American Lawyer recognized Connor in its “Litigators of the Week” feature. He has been repeatedly recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America in Entertainment and Sports Law and Appellate Practice, and named to Super Lawyers New York Metro “Rising Stars” for litigation since 2020. 

Significant representations include:*

  • Secured a complete defense victory at summary judgment against the first-ever defamation claim arising from generative artificial intelligence output.
  • Represented the founders, early executives, and employees of the online dating application Tinder in a four-year multibillion-dollar litigation, which settled at the conclusion of a month-long jury trial with the defendants paying Gibson Dunn’s clients $441 million.
  • Defending NBCUniversal Media and its production company partner against a defamation claim brought by the music industry executive Sean Combs arising from a streaming documentary.
  • Represented an AI developer in successfully enforcing a non-competition and non-solicitation agreement against a former employee.
  • Represented a major grocery retailer and wholesaler in a $125 million breach of contract lawsuit arising from a failed merger.
  • Defending two global media companies against a defamation claim brought by a prominent television producer arising from a streaming documentary.
  • Defended multiple consumer products manufacturers against trademark infringement litigation.
  • Defending a global entertainment company against a breach of contract claim arising from production of an Emmy-winning streaming drama.
  • Representing the MSNBC host Joy Reid in defending against a defamation claim.
  • Defended a national news network against multibillion-dollar defamation and product disparagement claims seeking billions of dollars in damages, including a month-long jury trial.
  • Successfully represented White House in First Amendment and Due Process Clause challenges to obtain the return of their press credentials after they were suspended by the White House Press Office.
  • Defended a global news agency against defamation claims involving international financial fraud.
  • Represented Mary Trump, the niece of President Donald Trump, in successfully defeating an attempt by the Trump family to prevent the publication of her bestselling family memoir Too Much and Never Enough.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Connor was an associate at a prominent firm in Washington, D.C., where he focused on defending news organizations in defamation actions. He was also involved in significant copyright, product liability, and breach of contract actions.

He clerked for the Honorable Thomas B. Griffith of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and the Honorable Katherine Polk Failla of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. In the summer after law school, he served as what is now called a Phillips Fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General at the Department of Justice.

Connor graduated from Yale Law School in 2013, where he was a director of the law school’s Supreme Court clinic, an editor of the Yale Law Journal, the Executive Editor of the Yale Journal on Regulation, and a winner of the Morris Tyler Moot Court competition. He published an academic comment entitled A First Amendment Approach to Generic Drug Manufacturer Tort Liability, 123 Yale L.J. 495 (2013). Prior to law school, Connor was a strategy and operations consultant for McKinsey & Company. He graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia in 2008, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Connor is admitted to practice in New York and the District of Columbia, and before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, Fourth, Sixth, Ninth, and District of Columbia Circuits, and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the District of Columbia.

* Includes matters Connor handled prior to joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

Paul Rafla is an associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn where he currently practices in the firm’s Finance and Capital Markets Practice Groups. He represents private equity sponsors, corporations and lenders in a variety of banking and other debt financing transactions, as well as in a variety of equity and debt capital markets transactions, including initial public offerings, secondary equity offerings, and investment grade and high-yield debt offerings, among others.

Paul received his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center in 2018, where he served as the Managing Editor of The Tax Lawyer. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from Villanova University in 2012.

Paul was previously a Certified Public Accountant in the Assurance and Audit practice of a Big Four accounting firm.