Kelsey Matevish is an associate in the San Francisco office of Gibson Dunn, where she practices in the firm’s Litigation Department.
Kelsey has helped clients across a variety of industries litigate complex commercial matters, conduct internal investigations, and respond to regulatory inquiries and enforcement actions. Kelsey's representative matters include:
- Secured dismissal of shareholder lawsuit arising out of e-commerce company’s initial public offering as well as separate derivative suit alleging oversight failures by the company’s board of directors
- Successfully defended biotechnology company against Securities and Exchange Commission investigation of alleged insider trading and securities fraud
- Obtained favorable arbitral decision for biotechnology company resolving claims by former joint venture partner of $800 million breach of research and development agreement
- Retained by the California Legislative Counsel Bureau to conduct independent investigations of allegations of sexual harassment and other workplace misconduct by Members and senior staff of the state legislature
- Represented company facing Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry into executive compensation and perks disclosures
- Advised board member regarding allegations of misconduct and fraud against company
Kelsey maintains an active pro bono practice. She has represented local community members in state court at trial, advocated for domestic violence survivors in appellate court, and authored an amicus brief on behalf of United States Conference of Catholic Bishops before the Supreme Court. She also recently completed a three-year term on the Ninth Circuit’s Workplace Environment Committee, which aims to implement policies and procedures that promote and safeguard a healthy working environment throughout the Ninth Circuit.
Kelsey previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Honorable Beth Labson Freeman on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Before becoming a lawyer, Kelsey worked five years at the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a lead analyst on national security cyber matters. Her work focused on the GRU, the Russian Federation’s military intelligence agency, and contributed to the indictment of twelve Russian officers for committing federal crimes that were intended to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Kelsey earned her Juris Doctor cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 2019 and concurrently earned a Master of Computer and Information Technology. She graduated summa cum laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and from the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Capabilities
- Litigation
- Appellate and Constitutional Law
- Media, Entertainment, and Technology
- National Security
- Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Data Innovation
- Securities Litigation
- Tech and Innovation
- Trials
- White Collar Defense and Investigations
Credentials
Education:
- University of Pennsylvania - 2019 Master of Science
- University of Pennsylvania - 2019 Juris Doctor
- University of Pennsylvania - 2014 Bachelor of Science
- University of Pennsylvania - 2014 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- California Bar
Clerkships:
- USDC, Northern District of California, Hon. Beth Labson Freeman, 2020 - 2021
- US Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, Hon. M. Margaret McKeown, 2019 - 2020