The Pro Bono Committee is thrilled to announce the winners of this year’s Frank Wheat Memorial Awards. This year’s winners demonstrated an unfailing dedication to pro bono, a commitment to excellence, and a passion for service, exemplifying the very best of Gibson Dunn. As in previous years, this year’s winners and nominees worked on a wide variety of matters—including both high-stakes individual pro bono representations and large-scale projects with far-reaching impacts—that reflect the breadth of Gibson Dunn’s pro bono practice.
Frank Wheat, a former Los Angeles partner, was a superb transactional lawyer, SEC commissioner, and president of the Los Angeles County Bar. He was also a giant in the nonprofit community, having founded the Alliance for Children’s Rights in addition to serving as a leader of the Sierra Club and as a founding director of the Center for Law in the Public Interest. He exemplified the commitment to the community and to pro bono service that has always been a core tenet of the Gibson Dunn culture. The Frank Wheat Award is given annually to individual lawyers and teams that have demonstrated leadership and initiative in their pro bono work, obtained significant results for their pro bono clients, and served as a source of inspiration to others. Recipients of the Frank Wheat Memorial Award each receive a $2,500 prize to be donated to pro bono organizations designated by the recipients.
In 2021, a year that presented countless challenges, Gibson Dunn remained committed to pro bono work, devoting more than 140,000 pro bono hours valued at approximately $128 million to hundreds of projects firmwide. Our attorneys averaged more than 90 pro bono hours per attorney in the United States and more than 80 pro bono hours per attorney worldwide.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP advised Ovintiv Inc., an oil and gas producer, on the financing of its $4.275 billion acquisition of Midland Basin Assets from EnCap Investments L.P., an energy-focused private equity firm.
The Gibson Dunn team included Houston partners Cynthia Mabry and Shalla Prichard, Dallas partner Doug Rayburn, and Houston associates Justine Robinson, Laura Edwards, Malakeh Hijazi, Mason Gauch, William Bald and Adri Langemeier.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is advising Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. on its $5.4 billion merger with NexTier Oilfield Solutions Inc.
The Gibson Dunn corporate team is led by Houston partner Tull Florey and includes associates Dallas associates Jonathan Sapp and William Altabef and Houston associates Michael Holmes and Gerald Kimani. Dallas partner Michael Cannon and associate Josiah Bethards are advising on tax aspects, and Dallas partner Krista Hanvey and New York associate John Curran are advising on benefits. Washington, D.C. partner Stephen Weissman and of counsel Ryan Foley are advising on antitrust aspects.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP represented GE HealthCare Technologies on its secondary offering of 25,000,000 shares, priced at $78.00 per share.
The Gibson Dunn corporate team consists of New York partner Andrew Fabens, of counsel Marie Kwon and associate Tom Caruso. New York partner Pamela Lawrence Endreny is advising on tax aspects
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP advised Kennedy-Wilson Holdings, Fairfax Financial Holdings and other purchasers in the acquisition of a $5.4 billion real estate construction loan portfolio from Pacific Western Bank.
The Gibson Dunn real estate team included Century City partner Farshad Morè, Los Angeles partners Danielle Katzir and Deborah Cussen, Orange County of counsel Jon MacDonald, San Francisco associate Prerna Soni, Houston associate Andrea Siso, Los Angeles associates Lynne Howard and Zak Baron, and San Francisco associate Samantha Noh. New York partner Jason Cabral advised on financing. New York partner Brian Kniesly advised on tax aspects. Los Angeles partner Jeffrey Krause advised on restructuring aspects. Los Angeles partner Abbey Hudson advised on environmental aspects.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that L. Kieran Kieckhefer will join the firm’s San Francisco office as a partner.
“We are delighted to welcome Kieran to Gibson Dunn,” said Ernest Hsin, Co-Chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. “She is an accomplished first-chair trial lawyer whom clients regularly hire to handle their most important patent and trade secret cases, particularly in the tech industry.”
“I am thrilled to join one of the best IP litigation trial teams in the country,” said Kieran. “I look forward to working with my new colleagues in high-stakes and cutting-edge patent, trade secret, and copyright cases that arise in the tech industry in the Bay Area and elsewhere.”
The firm’s Bay Area offices have recently added some of the most sought-after litigation talent in the country, including many in the technology industry. Recent additions to these offices include Ashlie Beringer, who returned to Gibson Dunn after serving as Facebook’s Deputy General Counsel and is now Co-Chair of the firm’s Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data Innovation Practice Group and its FinTech and Digital Assets Practice Group; Elizabeth McCloskey, a litigator focused on complex litigation and white collar matters, with a concentration in tech investigations; Vivek Mohan, who previously worked at Apple Inc., where he was a senior attorney on the company’s global privacy law & policy team and head of information security law, and now serves as Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Artificial Intelligence and Automated Systems Practice Group; Rosemarie Ring, a nationally recognized litigator who represents leading technology companies; and Jessica Valenzuela, a well-known securities litigator.
About L. Kieran Kieckhefer
Kieran practices intellectual property litigation, with a focus on patent, technical trade secret and copyright litigation in federal district courts. She is an experienced first-chair trial litigator whose work spans a variety of technologies, including semiconductors, software, consumer electronics, networking, and cybersecurity.
Kieran graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2007 and received a B.S. in Mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2002.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that it has strengthened its Antitrust and Competition Practice Group with two new lawyers in the Washington, D.C. office: Ryan Foley has joined the firm as of counsel, and Zoë Hutchinson is a new lateral associate.
Before joining Gibson Dunn, Ryan served as Senior Counsel, Antitrust Americas, at Novartis, where he managed antitrust and competition law issues for both North and South America, counseling on complex transaction, litigation, government investigation, and compliance strategies across the company’s branded, generic, and retail businesses. Prior to that, Ryan worked as an antitrust associate at two other international law firms, specializing in complex merger clearances, including Boehringer Ingelheim’s $8 billion asset swap with Sanofi. He received his law degree from the George Washington University Law School, where he was a Thurgood Marshall Scholar.
Zoë comes to Gibson Dunn as a seasoned antitrust associate who was previously at Latham & Watkins LLP and before law school was a senior consultant at FTI Consulting. She focuses on representing companies in antitrust investigations by the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, and was part of the team defending GRAIL in its acquisition by Illumina, Inc. and American Airlines in defense of its North East Alliance with JetBlue. Zoë graduated cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center, where she served as online editor of the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics.
“We are excited to have Ryan and Zoë on our team,” said Rachel Brass, a San Francisco partner and Co-Chair of the firm’s Antitrust and Competition Practice Group. “Each is a well-rounded antitrust lawyer who can pivot readily from investigations, to mergers, to counseling, and will bring depth of skill and experience to our clients.”
“Gibson Dunn’s antitrust team is experiencing unprecedented demand across all of our offices and the hiring of top-notch talent like Ryan and Zoë reflects our commitment to remaining well-equipped to guide our clients through this aggressive antitrust climate,” said Stephen Weissman, global Co-Chair of the Antitrust and Competition Practice Group.
Gibson Dunn’s worldwide Antitrust and Competition Practice Group handles leading-edge competition matters on U.S. and international competition issues, including government review of mergers and acquisitions, cartel investigations and the defense of cartel prosecutions, class action treble damage litigation, private antitrust litigation in the United States and Europe, and defense of private sector clients in antitrust actions before government authorities. Our antitrust team includes former high-ranking officials from the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Solicitor General’s Office and the European Commission, as well as Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that Rahul Vashi has joined the firm as a partner in the Houston office, where Rahul will serve as Co-Chair of the firm’s Oil and Gas Practice Group.
“We are excited to welcome Rahul to the firm,” said Michael P. Darden, Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Oil and Gas Practice Group. “Having worked across from him on a number of complex transactions, I have been impressed not only with Rahul’s technical skills and creative problem solving, but also with his proficiency in the substantive oil and gas field and in energy M&A, including in the carbon capture and sequestration area, which is a growing practice within our firm. He is a fantastic addition to, and will be a valuable leader for, our global oil and gas group.”
“We are thrilled to have Rahul on board,” said Hillary H. Holmes, Co-Partner-in-Charge of the firm’s Houston office. “He is a natural fit for our Houston based team and the complex energy transactions we are regularly handling. I am proud of the incredible team we have built in Houston, and Rahul’s addition will further strengthen our impressive corporate bench in Texas and firmwide.”
“Gibson Dunn has a stellar reputation in the market. The firm is known for its collegiality and exceptional client service,” said Rahul. “I am looking forward to working with my new colleagues to continue the success of the firm’s preeminent oil and gas practice.”
Rahul’s arrival builds upon substantial growth in the firm’s corporate team in Houston, including with private equity partners Michael Piazza and Jesse Myers, capital markets partner Cynthia Mabry, investment funds partner James Hays, and bankruptcy partner Chad Nichols.
Rahul is also the latest addition to Gibson Dunn’s energy practices, which span offices in the U.S., London, Asia, and the Middle East. Over the past several months, the firm has also invested in these practices with the opening of an office in Abu Dhabi and the addition of partners Renad Younes, Samuel Ogunlaja, and Laleh Shahabi there, along with Marwan Elaraby and Jade Chu in Dubai.
About Rahul Vashi
Rahul’s practice focuses on M&A in the energy industry, with an emphasis on acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures involving the upstream and midstream oil and gas industry. He has substantial experience in the formation of drilling partnerships, joint development arrangements, farmout and participation agreements, and other joint venture arrangements, the acquisition and divestiture of oil and gas assets and companies, mergers of companies, oil and gas special situations and alternative financing transactions.
Rahul received his J.D. from the New York University School of Law in 2010.
About Gibson Dunn’s Oil and Gas Practice Group
Gibson Dunn’s Oil and Gas Practice Group advises the world’s leading oil and gas exploration, development and production companies, oil-field services and equipment companies, pipeline and other midstream companies, and downstream entities. The firm also represents financial institutions, private equity firms and government entities active in the oil and gas sector. Our internationally recognized team brings multidisciplinary, multijurisdictional knowledge and experience to a full spectrum of oil and gas assignments. The lawyer in the group are experienced in handling legal and business issues across all segments of the oil and gas value chain. These include upstream exploration and production (conventional, unconventional, onshore and offshore); midstream (gathering, storage, transportation and processing); downstream (storage, refining, marketing and petrochemicals); oilfield services; LNG; and infrastructure.
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP advised Spanish clean energy engineering company Técnicas Reunidas on its capital increase of approximately €150 million.
The transaction will consist of the issue of 24,405,265 new shares, equivalent to 43.7% of the current share capital. The capital increase has the support of the Lladó family and Cobas Asset Management, which together account for 43% of the company’s share capital and have already made an irrevocable commitment to participate in the capital increase.
The Gibson Dunn team acted as US counsel to Técnicas Reunidas, with London partners Hugo Hernández-Mancha and Federico Fruhbeck leading the team. London associate Magdalena Augé supported the team on this capital increase.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that Christopher Rosina has joined the firm’s New York office as an of counsel. Rosina serves as a member of the firm’s Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data Innovation and Artificial Intelligence and Automated Systems Practice Groups.
Before joining Gibson Dunn, Rosina worked as a senior member of Apple’s legal team, where he was the principal architect of Apple’s global privacy compliance program, including in preparation for GDPR and CCPA, and served as the primary counsel to Apple’s Data Protection Officer. In this capacity, Rosina provided strategic counsel across Apple’s business units, relating to almost all of Apple’s products and services, in addition to managing global regulatory responses and filings. In addition to his role advising Apple’s consumer-facing business, Rosina provided extensive guidance to the company’s internal teams on matters related to corporate infrastructure and employee privacy. Prior to his work at Apple, Rosina was Global Privacy and Security Counsel at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, where he served as the legal department’s principal adviser on privacy and cybersecurity issues and led development of the company’s privacy compliance programs.
At Gibson Dunn, Rosina advises clients on all aspects of privacy and cybersecurity, including product counseling, compliance, advocacy, policy issues, and regulatory response in a dynamic legal landscape.
Rosina graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2011.
Rosina’s arrival further builds on Gibson Dunn’s talent magnet effect, as demonstrated by the firm’s recent additions from the ranks of key growth industries, including Ron Hauben (formerly Americas Vice Chair and General Counsel at Ernst & Young), Jane Horvath (formerly Apple’s Chief Privacy Officer), Kira Idoko (formerly Senior Vice President, Private Funds at Brookfield Asset Management), and David Woodcock (formerly Assistant General Counsel – Corporate at ExxonMobil Corporation).
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that Jason Cabral and Sara Weed have joined the firm’s New York and Washington D.C. offices, respectively. Cabral and Weed will continue their individual practices in regulatory and transactional matters for traditional financial services and FinTech clients, as well as advising clients in the development of payments, lending, and deposit products and services.
“Sara has deep domain experience on the counseling and supervisory side of cryptocurrency and FinTech, as well as an excellent read on regulatory dynamics,” said Ashlie Beringer, Co-Chair of the FinTech and Digital Assets Practice Group. “She is a talented and well regarded FinTech practitioner, and her skillset will be highly valuable to our clients as the both the FinTech and traditional financial services spaces continue to evolve. Her addition will further bolster our FinTech and Digital Assets group, particularly in highly regulated FinTech advisory work and, with her experience as a former state regulator, in government engagement and investigations.”
“Jason will be a fantastic addition to the firm”, said Stephanie Brooker, Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Financial Institutions Practice Group. “He has a unique mix of knowledge and experience of both traditional bank regulatory issues and fast-moving FinTech matters, but his experience also extends into transactional, policy and enforcement matters. His substantive experience will support our multiple practices across the firm.”
“I am very excited to join Gibson Dunn,” said Cabral. “I look forward to leveraging my financial services regulatory experience to support our preeminent financial services regulatory practices and complement our existing areas of strength in litigation, investigations and transactional work.”
“I’ve long admired Gibson Dunn and have followed the firm’s expansion in its FinTech practice nationally and internationally,” said Weed. “I look forward to the opportunity to join my new colleagues in bringing together a range of deep expertise — advisory, transactional, and enforcement — to drive value on this premier platform.”
The arrival of Weed and Cabral comes after several recent additions to Gibson Dunn’s robust bench of technology regulatory and transactional partners, including Jane Horvath (former Chief Privacy Officer at Apple) in Washington, D.C., Vivek Mohan (former Head of Information Security Law at Apple) in Palo Alto, Stephenie Gosnell Handler (former Director for Cybersecurity Strategy and Digital Acceleration at McKinsey & Company) in Washington, D.C., and Joel Harrison and Alison Beal in London.
About Jason Cabral
Cabral focuses his practice on federal and state financial services regulatory matters and complex transactions and regularly advises banks and non-bank financial services providers on a broad range of policy, legislative, regulatory, transactional, corporate governance, enforcement and other matters. He has substantial experience advising U.S. and non-U.S. banks and financial services companies, FinTechs, payments companies, lending companies, and companies in the digital asset space, as well as their service providers, regarding the application of federal and state banking, consumer protection, lending, money transmission and related laws and regulations to their investments, activities, products and services.
He regularly represents clients before the federal financial services regulatory agencies and state banking departments on a variety of matters, including regulatory applications, notices and other submissions in connection with mergers, acquisitions, minority investments and other transactions, chartering or licensing initiatives, and enforcement matters. He also regularly advises clients in the establishment of commercial relationships to offer products and services, either independently or in partnership with banks or non-bank financial services providers, and related regulatory and consumer compliance matters.
Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Cabral practiced with Paul Hastings LLP, Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.
About Sara Weed
Weed has a blended regulatory and transactional FinTech practice that supports companies throughout their life cycles, spanning product development; regulatory strategy, including chartering, licensure, and partnerships; support specific to supervisory examinations and other regulatory inquiries; regulatory diligence incidental to acquisitions, investments, and exit events; and defense of regulatory enforcement actions. She has extensive experience representing clients in supervisory engagements and regulatory investigations, including in New York State Department of Financial Services and multi-state banking investigations. Her clients range from traditional financial institutions to non-bank financial services companies and technology companies that are seeking to offer payments, lending, and depository products delivered exclusively through digital channels and often augmented by technology.
Before joining Gibson Dunn, Weed practiced with Paul Hastings LLP. Prior, she worked as Director and Counsel in the North Carolina Office of the Commissioner of Banks, where she oversaw the supervision of non-bank mortgage lenders and brokers, money services businesses and consumer finance companies. She also previously served in-house as Operations & Regulatory Counsel at IBM and as Policy Counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending.
About Gibson Dunn’s FinTech and Digital Assets Practice
Gibson Dunn’s FinTech and Digital Assets Practice Group advises traditional and emerging companies on a wide range of regulatory, policy, enforcement, transactional and litigation matters world-wide. The practice also includes FinTech, payments, open banking, digital assets (including cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), stablecoins and security tokens) and blockchain technology. Gibson Dunn’s lawyers have a substantive and technical understanding of the ever-evolving world of FinTech and digital assets – a competence that sets the team apart and is essential for comprehensive client counselling.
Our team members have a wealth of extensive experience in private practice, in-house and at senior government levels, bringing knowledge from different disciplines and perspectives. This allows us to address seamlessly all significant issues – from counseling on regulatory and policy impacts to licensing and registration to product development and implementation. As relevant laws develop globally, we are effective client advocates before legislative bodies including the U.S. Congress, EU Parliament and EU Council. Accordingly, we can guide our clients through the implementation and registration processes that cut across regulatory agencies at state, federal and cross-border levels.
When matters turn contentious, we regularly represent clients in responding to some of the most sophisticated investigations brought by an array of financial regulators in the United States (at the state and federal level), Europe, and Asia.
About Gibson Dunn’s Financial Institutions Practice
Gibson Dunn’s Financial Institutions Practice Group offers services in all disciplines, including across-the-board regulatory advice; transactional design, planning and execution; advocacy before U.S. regulatory agencies and Congress; representation in connection with criminal and regulatory enforcement actions; litigation counseling and defense; and strategic advice and crisis management.
Our regulatory experience includes counseling and representing U.S. and international banks and financial holding companies before U.S. federal and state regulatory agencies. We advise on compliance with all aspects of regulation mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act, including enhanced capital and liquidity standards, heightened corporate governance expectations and the Volcker Rule. Our derivatives regulatory lawyers, who have significant Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) expertise, handle the full range of issues raised by Title VII of Dodd-Frank.
We advise all types of financial institutions, including banks, securities broker-dealers, mutual funds, private equity funds, insurance companies and money services businesses, on compliance with U.S. federal and state anti-money laundering laws and regulations and OFAC requirements.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce the firm has appointed new Partners-in-Charge in its Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York offices.
“These outstanding partners have demonstrated leadership qualities and dedication to advancing the firm’s strategic vision,” said Barbara Becker, Chair and Managing Partner of Gibson Dunn. “We look forward to working with them in these new roles, as well as continuing our work with the Partners-in-Charge of the firm’s other offices around the world.”
The firm’s new Partner-in-Charge appointees are as follows:
- Renad Younes was named as the founding Partner-in-Charge of the firm’s Abu Dhabi office, which was opened in January. For more information about Gibson Dunn’s recent expansion in the region, please click here.
- Marwan Elaraby was named as Partner-in-Charge of Gibson Dunn’s Dubai office.
- Collin Cox and Hillary Holmes were appointed as Co-Partners-in-Charge of the Houston office, following Michael P. Darden in the Partner-in-Charge role.
- Candice Choh and Kahn Scolnick have been named as Co-Partners-in-Charge of the firm’s Los Angeles and Century City locations, following Jay Srinivasan and Peter Wardle’s tenures in these roles.
- Andrew Fabens has been named Co-Partner-in-Charge of the firm’s New York office, succeeding Andrew Lance in the role. Fabens will co-lead the office alongside Mylan Denerstein, who will continue her service in this role.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP advised Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) P.J.S.C. and ADNOC Gas plc (ADNOC Gas) in connection with the initial public offering (IPO) of ADNOC Gas, marking the largest-ever listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the largest IPO globally to date in 2023.
The IPO, which raised gross proceeds of approximately $2.5 billion, was more than 50 times oversubscribed in aggregate. The retail offering, which attracted the largest-ever demand in a MENA IPO, was over 58 times oversubscribed. ADNOC Gas’ debut on the ADX implied a market capitalization of approximately $50 billion.
ADNOC Gas was formed as part of the consolidation of the operations of ADNOC Gas Processing, ADNOC LNG and ADNOC Industrial Gas. The company became operational on 1 January 2023 as a new world scale entity, responsible for operations, maintenance and marketing across ADNOC’s downstream gas processing, liquified natural gas (LNG) and industrial gases businesses.
The Gibson Dunn team was led by Dubai partners Marwan Elaraby and Jade Chu, and of counsel Cason Moore; and included associates Thomas Barker, Omar Morsy, Gisele Zouein, Huw Thomas and Luisa de Belgique.
Plaintiff Deon Jones achieved a historic victory this morning, when a federal jury in California delivered a unanimous verdict in his favor. The jury found that a Los Angeles Police Officer used excessive force in violation of Mr. Jones’ Fourth Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution when the officer shot Mr. Jones in the face with a rubber bullet on May 30, 2020. The jury awarded Mr. Jones $250,000 in damages for the injuries he sustained and $125,000 in punitive damages.
Following a seven-day trial, the jury found that the police officer’s shooting was malicious, oppressive, or in reckless disregard of Mr. Jones’ rights. The trial featured extensive evidence, including body-worn camera videos that captured the events of the day. The evidence included videos showing the police officer on trial using excessive force against Mr. Jones and other innocent protesters. The trial also included testimony from eyewitnesses of the shooting as well as LAPD officers and other witnesses who testified that the officer violated LAPD’s use of force and other official policies.
Today’s verdict puts law enforcement on notice that there will be serious consequences if they abuse their authority by using their weapons against innocent protesters in violation of their Fourth Amendment rights.
We invite you to view this video offering a preview of his perspective, along with some highlights of the Gibson Dunn team’s winning strategy.
Orin Snyder of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, the lead attorney for Mr. Jones, said:
“Deon Jones filed this case to hold the defendant accountable for shooting him in the face with a rubber bullet at a protest without any justification on May 30, 2020. Justice has now been done. The defendant is being held accountable. We are grateful to the Court and the jury for their time and attention to this important case. We are proud to have stood with Mr. Jones during this long-fought battle to vindicate his constitutional rights. The jury today sent a strong message that there will be consequences if the police abuse their authority and commit acts of violence against innocent protesters.”
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that Chad Nichols has joined the firm as a partner in the Houston office, where he will continue his finance practice.
“We are excited to bring Chad on board,” said Scott J. Greenberg, Global Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Business Restructuring and Reorganization Practice Group. “Much of what we do has a heavy emphasis on finance. Chad has significant experience in financings in the rescue and distressed space and his skill set will strengthen the talent and experience we currently have to keep up with the inflow of new work in this area.”
“Chad is a talented lawyer with finance analytical skills and market experience,” said Aaron F. Adams, Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Global Finance Practice Group. “In particular, he will enhance our capacity in three distinct areas that are becoming increasingly critical in finance transactions: distressed financing, sponsor-side acquisition financing, and direct lending and private credit transactions. Chad’s capabilities across these important areas will continue to position the firm well into the future.”
“Chad is a terrific addition to the firm,” said Hillary Holmes, Co-Partner-in-Charge of the Houston office of Gibson Dunn. “He is a versatile finance lawyer with a diverse practice that will work well with our busy Texas-based Corporate and Private Equity practices and strengthen the finance capabilities of our thriving Business Restructuring and Reorganization group.”
“Gibson Dunn is a world-class firm in finance, energy, private equity and restructuring, and this integrated platform is a perfect fit for the next chapter of my career,” said Nichols. “I look forward to working alongside my exceptional colleagues at Gibson Dunn and continuing to build a broad-based finance practice, both in Texas and nationally.”
Nichols’ addition to Gibson Dunn’s partnership further strengthens our top-flight finance and bankruptcy practices and follows on the heels of a number of other recent high-profile partner hires in the restructuring and distressed finance space, including bankruptcy litigator Lee Wilson, bankruptcy partner AnnElyse Gains, and finance partners Frederick Lee and Jim Hee Kim. Gibson Dunn’s Business Restructuring and Reorganization Practice Group brings extensive experience to companies in financial distress, their creditors and investors, and parties interested in investing in distressed debt and equity, such as hedge funds, private equity funds and financial institutions, in a rapidly evolving global economy. The firm excels in the innovative use of Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to implement restructuring of highly complicated, multijurisdictional, non-U.S. companies and is a leader in U.S., European and cross-border insolvencies and workouts. Additionally, the group is well-known for crafting innovative and practical solutions, including complex out-of-court workouts and in-court restructuring.
About Chad Nichols
Nichols represents credit funds, hedge funds, private equity funds and other alternative capital providers, as well as companies (both public and sponsor-backed) in a wide range of financing transactions. He focuses on stressed, distressed, rescue and other special situations financings and transactions, and in-court and out-of-court restructurings, as well as bespoke private credit transactions and high yield bond deals.
Nichols earned his J.D. cum laude from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. He also received a Master of Accounting with honors from the University of Southern California.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that George Hazel will join the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as a partner. Hazel, formerly a U.S. District Judge for the District of Maryland, will serve as a member of the firm’s Litigation and White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Groups.
“We are thrilled to welcome Judge Hazel to Gibson Dunn,” said Helgi C. Walker, Co-Chair of the firm’s global Litigation Practice Group. “His exceptional reputation precedes him, and he brings remarkable experience from his time on the bench and as a former prosecutor that will be invaluable to our clients.”
“Judge Hazel is a wonderful addition to the firm,” said Stephanie Brooker, Co-Chair of the firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Group. “He is a stellar legal talent, and we are delighted that our teams, including the next generation of Gibson Dunn lawyers and leaders, will benefit from working alongside him.”
“I am excited to begin the next chapter of my career at Gibson Dunn,” said Hazel. “The firm is known for fostering a collaborative culture, attracting the best teams, and getting results for its clients, and I look forward to growing my practice on the firm’s excellent litigation platform.”
Recently, the firm’s renowned litigation platform has attracted high caliber talent from the judiciary, including the additions of Gregg Costa (former Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals judge) in Texas and Robert Spano (former President of the European Court of Human Rights) in London. Further, the firm is building on its talent magnet effect, as demonstrated by the recent additions from the senior in-house counsel ranks in key areas, including Ron Hauben (formerly Americas Vice Chair and General Counsel at Ernst & Young), Jane Horvath (formerly Apple’s Chief Privacy Officer), Kira Idoko (formerly Senior Vice President, Private Funds at Brookfield Asset Management), and David Woodcock (formerly Assistant General Counsel – Corporate at ExxonMobil Corporation).
About George Hazel
Hazel will be based in Gibson Dunn’s Washington, D.C. office, and he will be a member of the firm’s Litigation and White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Groups. Hazel has a broad range of trial experience, having previously presided over approximately 50 jury trials in federal court and handled 20 jury trials and 30 bench trials as an attorney in federal and state court.
Hazel just concluded an 18-year public service career, most recently serving as a U.S. District Judge for the District of Maryland. Previously, he served as the Chief Deputy State’s Attorney for the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, Maryland; as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland; and an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. He began his legal career at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.
Hazel graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1999, where he served on the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy. He graduated cum laude from Morehouse College in 1996.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP has announced the hire of banking and finance partner Laleh Shahabi, who will join the firm’s newly opened Abu Dhabi office.
The news comes as part of significant investment and expansion for Gibson Dunn in the Middle East. Last month the firm announced the opening of its Abu Dhabi office and the hire of partners Renad Younes and Samuel Ogunlaja (Abu Dhabi) and Jade Chu (Dubai). The firm also hired capital markets partner Marwan Elaraby in Dubai last October, and promoted two additional Dubai lawyers – private equity lawyer Hanna Chalhoub and international arbitration lawyer Nooree Moola – to its partnership this year.
Commenting on the hire, Renad Younes, Partner-In-Charge of Gibson Dunn’s Abu Dhabi office, said: “We are seeing tremendous client demand and opportunities in the region and the hiring of Laleh, who is an accomplished banking and finance partner with experience working with corporate sponsors, financial institutions, and government entities, is a continuation of the investment the firm is making in the region to further strengthen our offering on the ground.”
About Laleh Shahabi
Laleh Shahabi advises on a wide range of banking and financing transactions, including project financing and refinancing, leveraged and acquisition financing, direct lending, and investment grade corporate financing. She is experienced in representing corporate sponsors, governments, government related entities, and financial institutions in a wide range of financing transactions in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. She has a particular focus on the transitional energy, renewables and oil and gas sectors.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that David Woodcock has joined the firm’s Dallas office as a partner. Woodcock, formerly Assistant General Counsel – Corporate at ExxonMobil Corporation, will serve as Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Securities Enforcement Practice Group.
“We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome David to the firm,” said Trey Cox, Co-Partner-in-Charge of Gibson Dunn’s Dallas office. “David possesses unique and extraordinary experience as a former CPA, senior officer at the SEC, and senior counsel at a Fortune 10 company. His skills and experiences will prove invaluable in guiding public companies, officers and directors, and audit and special committees through a vast array of complex issues, including investigations, securities enforcement, ESG, corporate governance, and shareholder-related matters. He will be a tremendous asset to our clients. He also represents an important component in the build-out of our capabilities in Texas.”
Recently, the firm has expanded our renowned litigation platform in Texas with the additions of former Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals judge Gregg Costa and noted Texas trial lawyers Collin Cox and Sydney Scott. Woodcock’s arrival also represents the latest of several pivotal hires from high-level in-house counsel ranks in key areas, including, most recently, Jane Horvath, formerly Apple’s Chief Privacy Officer, Kira Idoko, formerly at Brookfield Asset Management, and Ron Hauben, former Americas general counsel at Ernst & Young.
“David is a splendid addition to the firm,” said Richard Grime, Co-Chair of the Securities Enforcement Practice Group. “His background and credentials are impressive. His government and in-house counsel experience give him a diverse business and regulatory perspective that will benefit clients dealing with critical issues. Additionally, as the former head of the Fort Worth office of the SEC, David will add even more depth to our robust bench of white collar and SEC enforcement attorneys.”
“I am excited to join Gibson Dunn,” said Woodcock. “I look forward to returning to private practice and working with the firm’s top-notch securities enforcement team to guide clients through their most complex enforcement matters.”
About David Woodcock
Woodcock will be based in Gibson Dunn’s Dallas and Washington, D.C. offices. He will focus on internal investigations and securities enforcement, with an emphasis on accounting and financial reporting, corporate compliance, and audit/special committee investigations. He will also advise on corporate securities and governance, shareholder activism, and ESG-related issues and opportunities, which include the energy transition, climate disclosures, enterprise risk management practices, cybersecurity, and related U.S./European regulations.
Woodcock previously served as Assistant General Counsel – Corporate at ExxonMobil Corporation, where he led all aspects of corporate, securities, ESG/sustainability, and governance for the law department. During his tenure, he served as secretary of the Audit and Finance Committees and lead lawyer for the Corporate Secretary function, Sustainability Organization, Investor Relations, Public and Government Affairs, Controllers, Finance and Treasurers. From 2011 to 2015, he served as the Director of the Fort Worth Regional Office at the SEC. In this role, he oversaw all aspects of the SEC’s enforcement and examination activities in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kansas and served as chair of the Financial Reporting and Auditing Task Force. He practiced with Jones Day in Dallas and Washington, D.C. from 2015 to 2020 and with Vinson & Elkins from 2001 to 2011.
He serves as an adjunct law professor at Texas A&M School of Law, Fort Worth, teaching securities enforcement, compliance, and ethics. Woodcock graduated with honors from the University of Texas School of Law in 2000. He clerked for Judge Howell Cobb in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas. Prior to law school, he worked for Ernst & Young LLP and Price Waterhouse LLP.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that C. Lee Wilson has joined the firm as a partner in the New York office. Wilson will continue to focus his practice on bankruptcy, M&A, and shareholder-related litigation.
“We are delighted to welcome Lee to the firm,” said Scott J. Greenberg, Global Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Business Restructuring and Reorganization Practice Group. “We are already seeing accelerated growth in the bankruptcy practice and do not expect that to subside any time soon. With his deep experience and sophistication in this field, Lee is well-suited to help us meet this demand and will enhance our Business Restructuring and Reorganization Practice Group’s position as a market leader. I am excited to be reunited in working with Lee, and look forward to welcoming him to the Gibson Dunn family.”
“Not only is Lee deeply knowledgeable in bankruptcy litigation, but he also has significant M&A litigation experience. Lee is extremely well-versed in complex commercial transactions and financial instruments,” said Reed Brodsky, Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Litigation Practice Group. “He will be a tremendous asset to our transactional disputes practice, and will also support our transactional practices more broadly, both in New York and firmwide.”
“I am excited to join the team at Gibson Dunn,” said Wilson. “I look forward to collaborating with practices across the firm’s platform, and am delighted to once again be working alongside Scott Greenberg, whom I have long regarded as one of the preeminent practitioners in the restructuring bar.”
About C. Lee Wilson
Wilson focuses on bankruptcy-related litigation, M&A-related litigation, shareholder litigation, corporate governance disputes, and contractual litigation. He also frequently advises on securities and regulatory investigations and litigation, arbitrations, and other matters. He regularly advises on contractual drafting and interpretation and potential litigation exposure in advance of M&A, private equity, and finance transactions.
In 2006, he graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he served on the Harvard Journal of Law & Technology. He served as law clerk for Chief Judge Danny Julian Boggs on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP announced today that Apple Inc.’s Chief Privacy Officer, Jane Horvath, has joined the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as a partner. Horvath will become Co-Chair of the Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data Innovation Practice Group alongside Ahmed Baladi in Paris, Ashlie Beringer in Palo Alto and Alexander Southwell in New York.
“As the Chief Privacy Officer at Apple, Jane led the company’s regulatory, policy and product strategy on all privacy and cybersecurity related legal matters,” said Ashlie Beringer, Co-Chair of the firm’s Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data Innovation Practice Group. “She is an industry powerhouse with deep relationships with global regulators and policymakers. Her experience and relationships are second to none, and she will further cement Gibson Dunn’s position as the market-leading platform for privacy, cybersecurity, data innovation and technology counsel.”
“Jane is a recognized thought leader with incredible strategic and technical depth, global policy and regulatory relationships, and hands-on practical experience building privacy, cybersecurity and data solutions on a global scale and at the very edge of innovation,” said Greta Williams, Co-Partner in Charge of the D.C. office. “She adds extraordinary technical expertise to our D.C. and global platform, and her decision to join our team reflects that our firm is the premier destination practice for clients at the forefront of next generation technologies.”
“I joined the legal profession as an associate in Gibson Dunn’s D.C. office and have had the pleasure of working with the Gibson Dunn team throughout my career. In many ways, this feels like a homecoming,” said Horvath. “This is an exciting time for anyone who has a passion for both technology and the law, and as I look to begin the next phase of my career, I look forward to working alongside my Gibson Dunn colleagues to help clients develop and implement critical business strategies at scale.”
Horvath’s arrival follows on the heels of several recent additions in the last year that expand Gibson Dunn’s Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data Innovation Practice Group, including Lauren Goldman in New York, Stephenie Gosnell Handler (former Director for Cybersecurity Strategy and Digital Acceleration at McKinsey & Company), Svetlana Gans (former Vice President and Associate General Counsel at the NCTA – The Internet & Television Association and former Chief of Staff for Acting Federal Trade Commission Chair Maureen K. Ohlhausen) and Gustav Eyler (former Director of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch) in D.C., Vivek Mohan (former Head of Information Security Law at Apple Inc.) in Palo Alto, Joel Harrison in London and Rosemarie Ring in San Francisco. Beringer added, “Their addition to our partnership further strengthens our platform and expands our capabilities. Gibson Dunn’s collaborative approach leverages the firm’s talent across multiple practice areas to ensure the highest quality service, and Jane joins our partners in providing exceptional legal acumen and delivering results to our clients on their most critical matters.”
Gibson Dunn’s tech regulatory practice brings extensive legal expertise and experience to a wide range of technology-related matters in a rapidly evolving global economy. The firm’s top-ranked lawyers advise the world’s most dynamic tech companies on cutting-edge issues that often disrupt traditional business models. The collective experience of our attorneys uniquely positions Gibson Dunn to partner with clients in exploring new opportunities and finding innovative solutions when faced with challenges inherent in emerging areas of business and law.
About Jane Horvath
Horvath will focus her practice on advising companies on privacy, cybersecurity and data strategies, particularly those at the forefront of new regulation. She will also guide clients on advocacy and strategy with global regulators and policy makers on these issues.
She will advise company management and product teams on developing product and business strategies that involve privacy and data architecture, encryption and offensive security and data location. She will counsel public boards and audit committees on cybersecurity oversight and risk. She will also advise clients on legislative and policy strategy relating to privacy, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and technology.
Horvath worked at Apple from 2011 to 2022, most recently serving as Chief Privacy Officer. During her 11-year tenure at Apple, she built and led the privacy legal team, gaining substantial experience in worldwide data protection laws, including in jurisdictions with omnibus privacy laws, surveillance laws and encryption and related laws. Prior to that, she served as Global Privacy Counsel at Google from 2007 to 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice’s first Chief Privacy Counsel and Civil Liberties Officer from 2006 to 2007 and the General Counsel at Digital City, an America Online subsidiary, from 1995 to 2001. She began her legal career as an associate at Gibson Dunn.
Horvath received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1991.