Laura O’Boyle is a litigation partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Laura focuses her practice on complex commercial and business disputes, including securities and M&A litigation, fraud and breach of contract matters, and media & technology-related investigations and disputes. She is a first chair trial lawyer who has tried numerous cases in New York courts, the Delaware Court of Chancery and private arbitration. Laura has been named a Rising Star in Securities Litigation by Law360.
Representative matters include:
- Ongoing representation of the National Football League in separate tortious interference cases pending in New York and Nevada
- Ongoing representation of Estée Lauder in a putative shareholder class action involving alleged violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act against the company and former executives
- Trial counsel to Star America Rail Holdco in an expedited proceeding before the Delaware Court of Chancery relating to the termination of portfolio company CEO; secured complete judgment in Star America’s favor and an award of fee shifting for opposing party’s bad faith conduct
- Trial counsel to The Nielsen Company in two expedited litigations before the Delaware Court of Chancery relating to a business divesture; secured permanent injunction in Nielen’s favor
- 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; secured $441M public settlement for clients after a nearly four-week jury trial
- Secured final award in favor of publicly traded company in confidential arbitration relating to interpretation of operating agreement with affiliate
- Secured significant trial verdict for Susquehanna Growth Equity in Delaware Chancery Court action alleging fraud in connection with sale of portfolio company
- Won dismissal of securities class action and parallel derivative litigation against Marriott arising from data breach
- Represented PepsiCo in breach of contract action brought by two independent bottlers
- Secured summary judgment in favor of Blink Health in dispute with investor attempting to claim a significant stake in the company
- Represented board of major pharmaceutical company in connection with shareholder demand investigation
- Represented hedge fund in proxy contest in New Jersey Chancery Court, resulting in successful settlement
- Represented Merck in derivative action challenging company’s tax disclosures, securing dismissal at the pleading stage; affirmed on appeal by New Jersey Appellate Division
- Represented well-known comedian in high-profile defamation action, securing complete dismissal of lawsuit at the pleading stage
- Represented celebrity author and publishing company in copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit, securing victories at both the trial and appellate level
- Represented television production company in lawsuit alleging breach by network of distribution contract, securing favorable settlement for client
- Represented international technology company in Delaware Chancery Court action alleging breach of product development agreement, securing favorable settlement on the eve of trial
- Represented Fortune 500 company in an SEC investigation of financial reporting issues; SEC staff closed the investigation with no enforcement action or penalty
- Represented international staffing company in successful effort to enjoin former employees and a competitor from violating non-compete and misappropriating trade secrets
- Represented leading technology company in regulatory inquiry relating to online products, which was ultimately closed without action
- Represented Big 4 accounting firm in wage-and-hour class actions pending in multiple jurisdictions
Laura also maintains a robust pro bono practice, and has successfully represented multiple individuals in asylum proceedings, as well as numerous clients through Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.
Laura graduated with distinction from Stanford Law School, where she served as vice-president of the Stanford Public Interest Law Foundation, a research assistant for the Stanford Law School Center for E-Commerce, and a member of the Stanford Journal of International Law and the Stanford Judicial Review. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, in Public Policy from Brown University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Laura has served tenures on the firm’s Hiring, Diversity and Community Affairs Committees.
Laura 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
- Class Actions
- Crisis Management
- Intellectual Property
- Labor and Employment
- Securities Enforcement
- Securities Litigation
- Technology Litigation
- Trials
- White Collar Defense and Investigations
Credentials
Education:
- Stanford University - 2006 Juris Doctor
- Brown University - 2002 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- New York Bar