Matt Benjamin

Matt Benjamin is a trusted advisor and trial lawyer in Gibson Dunn's New York office. Matt is an integral member of the firm’s General Commercial Litigation, White Collar Defense and Investigations, Crisis Management, and Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data Innovation Practice Groups. Matt's practice sits at the cross-section of complex litigation, criminal defense, and crisis management. He also has deep experience counseling prominent individuals and companies in sensitive and often confidential defamation and reputational recovery matters and investigations.

Matt was recognized by Lawdragon as one of 500 Global Leaders in Crisis Management in 2025.  Matt’s dedication to his clients also has earned him recognition as a leading Criminal Defense: White-Collar attorney in The Best Lawyers® in America's 2024 and 2025 guides. 

General Commercial Litigation and Trials Experience

Matt’s litigation practice focuses on high-profile complex commercial litigation and trials. He has represented companies and individuals in technology-focused litigation, including at trial. For example, Matt successfully represented the founders and early employees of the popular dating app Tinder in multibillion-dollar litigation against InterActiveCorp and Match Group, Tinder’s parent companies, in New York State Supreme Court. After a nearly four-week jury trial and days before the case was scheduled to go to verdict, the defendants agreed to pay $441 million to settle. Matt also represented Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg in a high-profile federal breach of contract case brought by Paul Ceglia alleging a significant ownership interest in Facebook. After Matt and the Gibson Dunn team proved the alleged ‘contract’ was a forgery and got the case dismissed as a fraud on the court, Ceglia was criminally prosected by federal authorities.

Matt’s recent litigation clients include BNP Paribas, in a civil class action and six-week jury trial arising out of the bank’s historical activities in Sudan; Churchill Downs Incorporated, in defeating horse trainer Bob Baffert’s lawsuit to force his entry into the Kentucky Derby after having been suspended for multiple failed drug tests; PepsiCo, in a breach of contract action brought by two of its independent bottlers; and Esperion Therapeutics, in a $300 million payment battle in the SDNY against global pharma company Daiichi Sankyo Europe.  

White Collar Criminal Defense and Internal Investigations

Matt has also developed a distinguished practice in white-collar criminal defense and investigations, representing clients in high-stakes investigations and regulatory matters. He has defended companies like Polymarket in criminal and civil investigations and litigation; represented multibillion-dollar online retailer in a bet-the-company internal investigation; represented the Office of the Governor of the State of New Jersey in a high-profile internal investigation related to allegations concerning the George Washington Bridge toll lane realignment in, including preparation of an exhaustive 340-page public report of findings and recommendations; and represented DraftKings in wide-ranging internal investigation, numerous criminal and regulatory investigations, and civil actions related to compliance with federal and state gaming laws, including enforcement action brought by New York Attorney General seeking to enjoin DraftKings from operations. 

Crisis Management and Communications

Clients turn to Matt when they face a media armed with misinformation, often by a competitor. Through a combination of proactive media engagement and litigation strategy, Matt helps clients navigate these high-pressure communications crises.  Given the confidential nature of these reputational engagements, a list of corporate and individual clients is available upon request.

Pro Bono Experience and Board Affiliations

Matt is dedicated to his robust pro bono practice. Most recently, Matt was proud to partner with the Anti-Defamation League to launch an unprecedented, coordinated network of law firms to provide free legal assistance to victims of antisemitism--ADL Legal Action Network, powered by Gibson Dunn.  In addition, Matt partnerned with the ADL, Hillel International, and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law to launch the Campus Antisemitism Legal Line (CALL), a free legal protection helpline for students and professors on college campuses who have experienced antisemitic violence, hate, and discrimination. Since its founding in November 2023, CALL has received nearly 1,000 incident reports from students and faculty at over 260 college campuses across the country. 

The Federal Bar Council selected Matt to receive the Thurgood Marshall Award for Exceptional Pro Bono Service, recognizing his “extraordinary contribution to public service and persistent dedication to enhancing access to justice for those most in need.” In particular, Matt was honored for his efforts in developing Gibson Dunn’s groundbreaking pro bono programs in support of the Alternatives to Incarceration programs of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Through this program, Gibson Dunn attorneys have provided pro bono civil legal services, including representation in housing, public assistance benefits, immigration, professional licensing, transactional, and family law matters, to dozens of defendant participants in the ATI programs.  Under Matt’s leadership, Gibson Dunn attorneys have expanded their pro bono program to the RISE Court in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

For the last decade, Matt has also represented the family of the late Professor Dan Markel in law enforcement and related matters arising from Professor Markel’s tragic murder. 

Matt has a particular expertise in federal sentencing law and policy. Matt was appointed a non-voting member of the United States Sentencing Commission's Practitioners Advisory Group, through which the national defense bar provides the Commission with input on a variety of sentencing-related issues, including proposed amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and legislative initiatives. Matt was also appointed a member of the Federal Bar Council's Committee on Sentencing and Alternatives to Incarceration. He has written numerous articles about federal sentencing policy, including in the Federal Sentencing Reporter, and is an annual contributor to the ABA's two-volume treatise, “Practice Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines,” a comprehensive sentencing resource.

Matt serves on the Board of Directors of Classic Stage Company (CSC), a leading Off-Broadway theater.

Matt graduated from New York University School of Law, where he served as an Executive Articles Editor for the Annual Survey of American Law and research and teaching assistant to Professor Amy Adler. He graduated cum laude from Yale College with a Bachelor of Arts in the History of Art. Matt served as a law clerk to the Honorable George Z. Singal in the United States District Court for the District of Maine.

Matt is admitted to practice in the State of New York, and before the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

Capabilities

• Litigation
• Anti-Corruption & FCPA
• Crisis Management
• Media, Entertainment, and Technology
• Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Data Innovation
• Tech and Innovation
• Technology Litigation
• Trials
• White Collar Defense and Investigations

Credentials

Education:

• New York University - 2006 Juris Doctor
• Yale University - 2003 Bachelor of Arts

Admissions:

• New York Bar

Clerkships:

• USDC, Maine, Hon. George A. Singal, 2008 - 2009