Jordan Estes

Jordan Estes is a partner in Gibson Dunn’s New York office. A seasoned trial attorney and former federal prosecutor, she has been lead or co-lead counsel in 14 federal jury trials. She represents corporations and individuals in high-stakes criminal and regulatory matters and complex civil litigation, including securities litigation and class actions. Jordan brings over 15 years of litigation experience to her practice, including more than eight years with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Her extensive experience and proven track record make her a formidable advocate for her clients in the most challenging legal environments.

Jordan’s defense practice spans high-stakes criminal matters, government investigations, and complex civil litigation. Her recent experience includes leading the defense of Josh Wander, founder of 777 Partners, who resolved his wire and securities fraud case in the Southern District of New York on the eve of trial, and representing an AI executive who obtained a favorable resolution in an insider trading matter. She also defended Bill Hwang of Archegos Capital Management in a highly publicized 10-week trial that laid the groundwork for appeal on novel legal issues related to market manipulation. Jordan has also secured favorable results for clients under investigation, including an entrepreneur in a securities fraud investigation in the Southern District of New York and a parallel SEC investigation, each of which resulted in no charges, and a public company executive in a DOJ Antitrust investigation that likewise closed without charges. On the civil side, she was named a Litigator of the Week runner-up by The American Lawyer after obtaining dismissal of an $840 million supplier suit upon proving that the plaintiff had committed fraud on the court. Jordan has been repeatedly recognized by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in the area of White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations in New York, and was recently named a 2026 “Next Generation Partner” for Corporate Investigations: Advice to Individuals by The Legal 500. She also serves as a court-appointed defense attorney on SDNY’s Criminal Justice Act Panel, representing individuals charged with a range of federal criminal offenses.

As a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Jordan was lead or co-lead counsel in high-stakes criminal trials that received national news coverage. She represented the government in the month-long trial of former Nikola Corporation CEO Trevor Milton for securities fraud and the two-week trial of former Congressman Stephen Buyer for insider trading. Her jury addresses have been covered by The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, and the New York Post, among other news outlets, and her closing argument in United States v. Milton was featured in a Law360 article entitled “How Trial Attorneys Can Craft a Winning Closing Argument.”

During her tenure at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Jordan served as co-chief of the General Crimes Unit and was a senior member of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Jordan led investigations and prosecutions of cryptocurrency fraud, accounting fraud, insider trading and bank fraud across various industries. She also managed relationships with stakeholders at the SEC, the CFTC, the FBI, and other federal agencies. In her role as co-chief of the General Crimes Unit, she supervised dozens of attorneys and managed hundreds of cases, including those involving money laundering, tax fraud, health care fraud, cybercrime, threats, cyberstalking, and sex trafficking. She supervised over a dozen trials and conducted the Office’s trial training program for junior prosecutors. She tried 13 cases to verdict, securing convictions in all of them on charges including securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, health care fraud and racketeering offenses. Jordan also argued multiple cases before the Second Circuit.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Jordan was a partner in the New York office of a major law firm. She began her legal career in the litigation practice of a leading global law firm, following prestigious clerkships with both the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Jordan earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Harvard Law School and her Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, from the University of Mississippi.

Representative Experience

Criminal

• Defended Bill Hwang of Archegos in a 10-week trial for market manipulation and wire fraud in the Southern District of New York.  Although Bill Hwang was convicted, the trial team won rulings excluding some of the most damaging evidence in the case and laid the groundwork for Mr. Hwang’s appeal on novel legal issues related to market manipulation.
• Defending 777 Partners founder Josh Wander on securities and wire fraud charges arising out of alleged fraud against private credit lenders in Southern District of New York and parallel SEC case.
• Represented entrepreneur in securities fraud investigation in Southern District of New York and parallel SEC investigation, each of which resulted in no charges.
• Obtained favorable resolution for CEO of artificial intelligence company in insider trading investigation.
• Represented public company executive in DOJ Antitrust investigation, which resulted in no charges.
• Representing former public company executive in bribery investigation in Eastern District of New York.
• Representing victim-witness in sex trafficking trial of the Alexander brothers in the Southern District of New York.
• Prosecuted the two-week insider trading trial of former Congressman Stephen Buyer in the Southern District of New York, delivering the closing argument that led to conviction.*
• Prosecuted the month-long securities fraud trial of Trevor Milton, the former Chairman of Nikola Motor, in the Southern District of New York, delivering the closing argument that led to conviction.*
• Prosecuted a three-week securities fraud trial in the Southern District of New York involving a $200 million bond fraud scheme, delivering the opening statement and rebuttal argument that led to conviction.*
• Prosecuted the month-long wire fraud trial of a former KPMG executive and a former PCAOB employee in the Southern District of New York, delivering the opening statement.*
• Prosecuted a three-week racketeering and gambling trial in the Southern District of New York involving the Genovese Crime Family, delivering the closing argument that led to conviction.*
• Prosecuted a two-week healthcare fraud and narcotics trial against a pharmacist in the Southern District of New York, delivering the opening statement and rebuttal argument that led to conviction.*

Civil

• Obtained complete dismissal of $840 million contract dispute after sanctions motion for fraud on the court (Gilimex v. Amazon.com, S.D.N.Y. 2026).
• Representing the former CFO of Silicon Valley Bank in connection with securities litigation and multiple governmental investigations concerning the bank’s failure in March 2023.
• Representing Churchill Downs in a putative class action asserting RICO and related claims in the Eastern District of New York.
• Representing public company in putative class action asserting securities fraud claims in the Northern District of California.
• Obtained favorable settlement for an individual in a civil fraud action brought by the Federal Trade Commission in the Southern District of New York related to a cryptocurrency exchange.
• Represented major UK bank in LIBOR-related class action litigation in the Southern District of New York.*
• Won ICC arbitration for a university related to a contract dispute.*

*Prior to Gibson Dunn

Capabilities

• White Collar Defense and Investigations
• Anti-Money Laundering
• Litigation
• Robotics
• Securities Enforcement
• Securities Litigation
• Trials

Credentials

Education:

• Harvard University - 2008 Juris Doctor
• University of Mississippi - 2005 Bachelor of Arts

Admissions:

• New York Bar

Clerkships:

• US Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit, Hon. Priscilla Richman, 2009 - 2010
• USDC, Eastern District of Louisiana, Hon. Sarah Vance, 2008 - 2009