Michael Kahn is a litigation associate in the San Francisco office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.  Mr. Kahn’s practice focuses on securities litigation, shareholder disputes, and corporate law matters.  Mr. Kahn also represents clients as both plaintiffs and defendants in a broad range of other commercial litigation, including contract, fraud, trade secrets, unfair competition, defamation, and false advertising disputes.

Representative Matters

• Defending Meta (Facebook) in securities and derivative litigation arising out of news of Cambridge Analytica’s misappropriation of user data
• Defending Slack in the first securities and derivative suits relating to going public through a direct listing
• Defending HP in multiple securities suits regarding its printer supplies business
• Defending Wish.com in securities and derivative litigation relating to its IPO
• Defending loanDepot in securities and derivative litigation relating to its IPO
• Defending crypto company against securities and consumer claims, including claim that it should have registered its token as a security
• Successfully dismissed multiple derivative actions against USAA relating to its investment in TrueCar
• Successfully dismissed securities suit against Elliott Management relating to the acquisition of Gigamon
• Represented Welltower in suit against former executive for allegedly violating non-compete agreement. Defeated defamation counterclaim, and then secured favorable settlement the night before trial
• Defeated attempted hostile takeover of Depomed (Assertio) after securing a preliminary injunction based on misuse of Depomed’s confidential information in breach of NDA
• Represented venture capital firm in securities litigation arising out of collapse of private start-up company
• Successfully dismissed defamation claim based on my clients’ allegations that a CEO committed sexual assault, including convincing the Ninth Circuit to adopt a broad view of the fair report privilege
• Represented technology company as plaintiff (and defendant in countersuit) in sprawling fraud, breach of contract, trade secrets, false advertising, and unfair competition litigation arising out of data hosting contract
• Represented PG&E Board committee in investigation of alleged breaches of fiduciary duty by directors and officers in connection with fatal San Bruno pipeline explosion

In his pro bono practice, Mr. Kahn represented a death row inmate in the successful reversal of his conviction and death sentence after proving that juror misconduct corrupted client’s trial.  He also successfully vacated on constitutional grounds the felony conviction of a non-citizen, legal resident who otherwise faced the threat of deportation.  Additionally, Mr. Kahn played a lead role in working with a civil rights organization to draft a report on police reform.

Mr. Kahn also is active in the community, and serves on the board of the JCC of the East Bay.

Mr. Kahn received his Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law in 2012, where he was a Robert McKay scholar.  He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 2009, where he graduated with High Honors in History and High Distinction in General Scholarship, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Mr. Kahn is admitted to practice in California and New York.