Matt Aidan Getz

Matt Aidan Getz is a litigation associate in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Appellate and Constitutional Law group. His practice focuses on appellate matters, typically involving complex commercial or constitutional litigation. He has argued multiple appeals and drafted briefs in over fifty appeals and in other cases in federal and state courts across the country. Matt has been recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for Appellate Practice and as an appellate “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers.

Highlights include:

• Persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court to hold unanimously that plaintiffs suing under Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 must plead and prove that they bought shares registered under the allegedly misleading registration statement. Slack Technologies, LLC v. Pirani (U.S. No. 22-200). On remand, secured a unanimous, published decision from the Ninth Circuit holding that the same requirement applies to claims under Section 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act. Pirani v. Slack Technologies, Inc. (9th Cir. No. 20-16419).
• Argued before and persuaded the California Court of Appeal to reverse, by published opinion, an order denying a motion to compel arbitration in a case involving California Health & Safety Code disclosure requirements. Dougherty v. U.S. Behavioral Health Plan (Cal. Ct. App. No. E079741).
• Secured unanimous Supreme Court decision vacating an adverse profits-disgorgement award in a landmark case involving the presumption of corporate separateness and available remedies for trademark infringement under the Lanham Act. Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers Inc. (U.S. No. 23-900).
• Convinced the Ninth Circuit to affirm denial of class certification in a case of first impression involving claims challenging Liberty Mutual’s methods of settling insurance claims for totaled vehicles. Lara v. First National Insurance Co. of America (9th Cir. No. 21-35126).
• Secured reversal of class certification for State Farm in a published Fifth Circuit opinion similarly involving claims challenging the insurer’s method of estimating the actual cash value of totaled vehicles. Bourque v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. (5th Cir. No. 22-30126).
• Won a landmark victory for Reddit in the first case of any federal court of appeals to address the scope of FOSTA’s exception to immunity under section 230 of the Communications Decency Act for certain civil sex-trafficking claims. Does 1-6 v. Reddit, Inc. (9th Cir. No. 21-56293).
• Secured reversal of a judgment against a major construction company in a case presenting important questions involving the claim-presentation requirement of California’s Government Claims Act. Stronghold Engineering Inc. v. City of Monterey (Cal. Ct. App. No. H050157).
• Persuaded the Ninth Circuit to affirm summary judgment in favor of AIG and other insurers in a first-of-its-kind decision among federal courts of appeals finding no duty to defend with respect to opioid lawsuits brought by local and state governments. AIU Insurance Co. v. McKesson Corp. (9th Cir. No. 22-16158).
• Persuaded the Ninth Circuit to vacate summary judgment against a Corebridge Financial subsidiary in a closely watched appeal involving California Insurance Code provisions governing the termination of life insurance policies for nonpayment of premiums. Moriarty v. American General Life Insurance Co. (9th Cir. No. 23-3650).

Matt also maintains an active pro bono practice. Highlights include:

• Represented a variety of amici in briefing before the U.S. Supreme Court in cases involving constitutional criminal procedure, Lesh v. United States (U.S. No. 24-654); Anibowei v. Mayorkas (U.S. No. 23-199), justiciability, FBI v. Fikre (U.S. No. 22-1178), and the takings power, Brinkmann v. Town of Southold (U.S. No. 23-1301).
• Represented a Louisiana man sentenced to 125 years’ imprisonment for a single count of armed robbery after being convicted by a nonunanimous jury vote throughout his state postconviction and federal habeas proceedings, eventually resulting in a favorable resentencing.
• Represented a coalition of former prosecutors and public defenders as amici curiae in a case before the California Supreme Court, which later endorsed amici’s views and issued an important opinion reinforcing the rights of noncitizens who seek relief under California Penal Code section 1473.7 on the ground that they were not properly advised of the immigration consequences of guilty pleas. People v. Espinoza (Cal. No. S269647).
• Represented a coalition of current and former prosecutors in original proceedings before the California Supreme Court involving the constitutionality of the state’s death-penalty system.
• Served as appointed counsel of record in a Sixth Circuit habeas appeal involving a man convicted in violation of Ohio’s castle doctrine governing self-defense in the home.

Matt joined Gibson Dunn after serving as a law clerk to Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and Judge Cheryl Ann Krause of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Matt earned his Juris Doctor, with pro bono distinction, from Stanford Law School in 2018. At Stanford, he served as managing editor of the Stanford Law Review, was a semifinalist and awarded Best Respondent’s Brief in the Marion Rice Kirkwood Moot Court Competition, and worked on cert.-stage and merits briefing with the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic. He also interned for Judge L. Felipe Restrepo of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Before attending law school, Matt graduated summa cum laude from Columbia University, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, and spent several years as a paralegal at a large law firm in New York.

Matt is a member of the California and Virginia bars and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits, and the U.S. District Courts for the Central and Northern Districts of California and the Eastern District of Virginia.

Capabilities

• Appellate and Constitutional Law
• Antitrust and Competition
• Class Actions
• Insurance and Reinsurance
• Litigation

Credentials

Education:

• Stanford University - 2018 Juris Doctor
• Columbia University - 2012 Bachelor of Arts

Admissions:

• California Bar
• Virginia Bar

Clerkships:

• US Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit, Hon. Cheryl Ann Krause, 2019 - 2020
• USDC, Eastern District of Virginia, Hon. Leonie M. Brinkema, 2018 - 2019