Romane Budillon is an associate in the Paris office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity Practice Groups.

She specializes in corporate law, handling public and private mergers and acquisitions, along with private equity matters. Romane provides counsel to a diverse range of companies, both private and public, spanning various sectors. Her experience includes addressing diverse corporate matters, such as stocks and assets transactions and shareholders agreements.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn in 2025, Romane practiced corporate law and mergers and acquisitions in a French law firm.

Admitted to the Paris bar in 2022, she graduated from University Paris I – Panthéon Sorbonne in Business law in 2017 and from Emlyon Business School in 2018.

Romane speaks French and English fluently.

Caroline Bakewell is an associate in the Houston office of Gibson Dunn, where she practices across the firm’s Transactional Department, focusing on Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity. She also maintains an active pro bono practice, assisting clients with asylum applications and other immigration matters.

Caroline earned her Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law, where she served as a Managing Editor of the NYU Journal of Law & Business and was recipient of the Flora S. and Jacob L. Newman Prize for the greatest contribution by a third-year editor to the Journal. While at NYU, she also participated in the International Transactions Clinic, served as Treasurer and Co-President of the Texas Law Society, worked as a teaching assistant, and was an admissions ambassador. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration, magna cum laude, in Baylor Business Fellows, Finance, and Economics, with minors in Spanish and Mathematics, from Baylor University.

Caroline is admitted to practice in the State of Texas.

Mackenzie Alpert is an associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn.

She graduated cum laude from Fordham University School of Law in 2024, where she served as an associate editor of the Fordham Urban Law Journal and a member of the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic. Mackenzie received her Bachelor of Science in Human Development from Cornell University in 2021.

She is admitted to practice in the State of New York.

Lojain Abdullah AlMouallimi is an associate at Gibson Dunn and part of the Global Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Practice Group. Lojain advises private and public sector clients, as well as startups, on private and public M&A transactions, joint ventures and partnerships, asset acquisitions and disposals, competition authority dealings, and restructurings. She also advises clients on compliance with corporate regulations in the Kingdom.

Before joining Gibson Dunn, Lojain was a lawyer at a leading American law firm, where she advised public and private companies on M&A transactions and other corporate matters. She also served as a compliance manager at Olayan Saudi Holding Company.

 

Brian Buroker is a partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Washington, D.C. office and a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice. Brian is a trial lawyer focusing on intellectual property disputes. He has extensive experience leading patent and trade secret trials and appeals in United States District Courts, the International Trade Commission, the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Brian has also led trials teams in IP arbitrations. He is a former law clerk at the Federal Circuit, having clerked for Judge William C. Bryson. Brian represents plaintiffs and defendants in matters related to a wide range of technologies, including computer software, electronics, telecommunications, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and consumer products. Since 2013, Brian has been recognized by Institutional Investor’s Benchmark Litigation Guide for his work in Washington, D.C. IAM Patent 1000 has ranked Brian as a top Litigation attorney every year since 2016. Brian has been named a “Star” by Managing Intellectual Property magazine every year since 2015. He has also selected by Chambers and Partners every year since 2010 to be featured in the District of Columbia Intellectual Property category of their annual edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business Guide. Brian was also named a Washington, D.C. “Super Lawyer” for intellectual property litigation from 2011-2020, 2023-2025. He has also been recommended by Legal 500 for Patent Litigation. Representative Litigation Matters* Lead appellate counsel for J.R. Simplot at the Federal Circuit against McCain Foods, resulting in affirmance of invalidity judgment in the District of Idaho (2026); representing J.R. Simplot in District of Idaho resulting in jury verdict in favor of Simplot on design patent infringement allegations by McCain Foods (2024). Lead appellate and IPR counsel for Western Digital/ SanDisk invalidating patent asserted by Viasat at the PTAB and on appeal at the Federal Circuit (2025).  Lead trial counsel for Indeed Inc. in the Western District of Texas defeating infringement claims by Flexiworld on patent ineligibility grounds; four patents were found ineligibility on a motion to dismiss, a first of its kind ruling by the judge finding all claims of four patents ineligible (2025). Lead IPR counsel for SmaXtec at the PTAB invalidating all challenged claims of three patents asserted by ST Reproductive Technologies (2025). Lead IPR counsel for SharkNinja at the PTAB invalidating all challenged claims of five patents assigned to Bissell. Lead counsel for several telecommunications companies in patent infringement actions in the District of Delaware and Eastern District of Texas related to WiFi, VoIP, and LTE technologies involving dozens of patents. Counsel for T-Mobile adverse to Intellectual Ventures in a 16 patent action in the District of Delaware (D. Del. 2012-2017) in which 15 of the 16 patents were dismissed. On appeal, Intellectual Ventures sought to overturn the dismissal as to seven of the patents, and that appeal was denied. Lead trial and appellate counsel for patent holder in Energy Transportation Group, Inc. v. Sonic Innovations, Inc. et al., Civil Action No. 05-422 (D. Del.) and (Fed. Cir.), involving hearing aid patents. The jury returned a verdict for client ETG, finding willful patent infringement and awarding damages of $31 million against two defendants. Argued appeal before the Federal Circuit, which affirmed the verdict and pre and post-judgment interest, bringing the total award to around $44 million. Counsel for patent holder Ingevity in multiple patent infringement actions involving emissions control systems in the United States District Court and at the United States International Trade Commission. Counsel for a major pharmaceutical company in an International Trade Commission action against potential competitors alleging misappropriation of trade secrets. Trial counsel for smartphone manufacturers in multiple matters, resulting in favorable outcomes in the Eastern District of Texas and the Northern District of California. Appellate counsel for CLS Bank in CLS Bank Int’l v. Alice Corp. (Fed. Cir. 2013) (en banc) and (S. Ct. 2014). Convinced the Federal Circuit to hear appeal related to patent eligibility of financial services software patent, resulting in a reversal of the panel decision and an affirmance of the district court victory for client CLS Bank.  Counsel at the Supreme Court in decision in victory for CLS Bank. Lead counsel for Plaid Technologies, Inc. defending a seven-patent lawsuit brought by competitor Yodlee, Inc. in the District of Delaware (2014-2017). After initial determinations of invalidity and PTAB institutions, the case settled in 2017. Trial and appellate counsel for The New York Times in Helferich Patent Licensing, LLC v. The New York Times (N.D. Ill. 2013 and Fed. Cir. 2015). Lead PTAB counsel in numerous matters, resulting in favorable outcomes for both patent owners and patent challengers. Lead counsel in arbitrations involving IP licensing agreements. Lead counsel for Capital One Services, LLC in numerous matters, including Pi-Net International (D.Del.) (pending); N5 Technologies (E.D. Va.) (pending); LML Patent Corp. v. Capital One, et al. (E.D. Tex.) (resolved) and others. Aruged over a dozen Federal Circuit appeals with a high success rate.  * Includes matters handled prior to joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP Brian received his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University in 1996, where he served as an editor of The Georgetown Law Journal. He graduated cum laude from North Carolina State University in 1992 with Bachelor of Science degrees in both Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering, where he was also a Caldwell Scholar. Brian is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and the State of Virginia, and before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Federal and Fourth Circuits, the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Eastern District of Texas, the Western District of Texas, the District of Maryland, the District for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. He is also registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Speaking Engagements Speaker, “Panel Discussion: Alice Corp Pty. v. CLS Bank” at the Florida Bar 6th Annual Intellectual Property Law Symposium in Ft. Lauderdale, FL (Feb. 2015) Speaker, “Alice Arrived and Look What Happened: A review of the Supreme Court’s June 2014 decision and its impact on patents” at the New Jersey Intellectual Property Law Association Patent Litigation Seminar in Iselin, NJ (March 2015)

Jeff Lombard is a partner in the Palo Alto office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Securities Litigation Practice Group.

Jeff’s practice focuses on the representation of companies and their officers and directors in securities class actions, merger and acquisition disputes, and shareholder derivative litigation. In addition, Jeff has substantial experience representing clients in other shareholder and securities related matters, including governmental and internal investigations, books and records demands, and FINRA inquiries. Jeff also regularly advises public and private companies about a wide range of issues relating to corporate governance, insider trading, disclosure obligations and litigation risk and strategy.

Jeff’s clients have included companies and individuals in the software, financial services, biotechnology, medical device, pharmaceutical, e-commerce, social media and internet industries.

Representative matters include:

• Nike: Representing Nike and senior officers and directors in separate securities class action and derivative litigation related to its Direct to Consumer sales strategy.
• Block, Inc.: Representing Block in a securities class action and related derivative suits in the Northern District of California related to Cash App’s compliance programs and account metrics.
• KKR: Representing KKR in connection with stockholder litigation filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery and Southern District of Florida related to a take-private merger.
• Nielsen: Represented and delivered decisive victories at trial for The Nielsen Company in expedited litigation before the Delaware Court of Chancery related to Nielsen’s divestiture of two businesses.
• Amplitude, Inc.: Secured dismissal of a securities class action lawsuit brought against Amplitude, Inc., its CEO and its former CFO, alleging the defendants made false and misleading statements regarding the success of Amplitude’s sales strategy and the company’s growth trajectory.  The Court in the Northern District of California granted both of Gibson Dunn’s motions to dismiss and dismissed the case with prejudice.   
• Rain Oncology Inc: Representing Rain Oncology in a securities class action in the Northern District of California regarding its lead drug candidate.
• Grocery Outlet Holding Corp.: Representing leading discount retailer Grocery Outlet, along with its former CEO and CFO, in securities class action and derivative litigation pending in the Northern District of California.
• Xponential Fitness: Representing Xponential Fitness and certain of its current and former officers and directors in a securities class action and related shareholder derivative actions in the Central District of California.
• Okta: Represented Okta and its senior officers in securities class action and derivative litigation arising out of integration of major acquisition.
• DocGo Inc.: Representing DocGo and certain directors/officers in securities class action and derivative litigation related to statements regarding the former CEO’s credentials and company’s business prospects.

Jeff has been recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for Commercial Litigation from 2024-2026.

Jeff graduated summa cum laude from Santa Clara University School of Law in 2012. He received his Bachelor of Science from Santa Clara University in 2008, where he served as captain of the school’s Division 1 baseball team during the 2008 season.

Jeff is member of the State Bar of California and the Washington State Bar Association. He is admitted to practice before the Central, Northern and Southern District Courts of California, the Western District of Washington, the Ninth Circuit and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

Nana Nyantakyi is a corporate associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn.

Nana earned her Juris Doctor from St. John’s University School of Law in 2025, where she received the Outstanding Law Student Award by the National Association of Women Lawyers. During law school, she was a student competitor for the Moot Court Honor Society and the Dispute Resolution Society. She served as an Associate Articles Editor for the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development and a student attorney for the Consumer Justice for the Elderly Litigation Clinic. Nana also served as the President of the Black Law Students Association. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Management with a minor in International Affairs from Skidmore College in 2019.

Nana is admitted to practice in the State of New York.

George Sampas is a partner in Gibson Dunn’s New York and Miami offices. He is the Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Mergers & Acquisitions Practice Group and Co-Head of Cross-Border M&A. George’s practice focuses on cross-border transactions, unsolicited U.S. and non-U.S. acquisitions and private equity transactions with a specific emphasis in the aviation, aerospace and defense and energy and minerals sectors.

George is regularly recognized as a leading advisor having been previously named by Global Counsel as one of its “Highly Recommended M&A Practitioners” and is regularly ranked in legal publications such as New York Super Lawyers, The Legal 500 United States, Euromoney’s Guide to the World’s Leading Mergers and Acquisitions Lawyers and Who’s Who Legal.

George represents leading global corporations on their largest, most complex and transformative deals including representations of Alcan, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Aventis, BBA Aviation, BCE, Columbia Pipeline Group, Enbridge, Inco, KPMG, Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group, and Vodafone Group as well as private equity firms and investment advisors.

Historic Transactions include representing SpaceX on its acquisition of xAI, the largest M&A transaction to date, Vodafone’s acquisition of Mannesmann, the second largest M&A acquisition to date, Elf in its Pac-Man defense and merger with Total, Aventis in its use of a Plavix poison pill warrant to secure better terms from Sanofi, Alcan in its use of new French regulations to allow an unsolicited acquisition of Pechiney and in selling Alcan to Rio Tinto, InBev in its unsolicited acquisition of Anheuser-Busch, Inco in many transactions including its combination agreement with Phelps Dodge and Falconbridge and its sale to Vale.

Recent representations include*:

• Advising SpaceX on its acquisition of xAI.
• Advising Enbridge on several transactions including its acquisitions of The East Ohio Gas Company, Questar Gas Company and its related Wexpro companies, and the pending acquisition of Public Service Company of North Carolina for a total of $14 billion; its $43 billion acquisition of Spectra Energy; and its acquisitions of its sponsored vehicles, including Spectra Energy Partners, Enbridge Income Fund, Enbridge Energy Partners and Enbridge Energy Management, totaling more than $18 billion.
• Advising DS Smith in its $9.9 billion pending combination with International Paper to create a global leader in sustainable packing solutions.
• Advising Alumina Limited, an Australian company that invests in bauxite mines and alumina refineries, on its pending $2.2 billion sale to Alcoa.
• Advising C&S Wholesale Grocers, a wholesale grocery supply and supply chain solutions, on several transactions including its $2.9 billion purchase of grocery stores and other assets from The Kroger Company and Albertsons Companies.
• Advising Symbotic, a leading provider of artificial intelligence-powered automation technology for the supply chain, on several transactions including its and SoftBank’s establishment of GreenBox Systems and its approximately $7.5 billion new customer contract with GreenBox; its $5.5 billion merger with SVF Investment Corp. 3 , a SPAC sponsored by an affiliate of Softbank Investment Advisers, and arrangement with Walmart to reimagine Walmart’s regional distribution network through Symbotic’s high tech systems.
• Advising Morgan Stanley as financial advisor to Iberdrola in its $2.6 billion acquisition of AvanGrid

*Includes representations prior to George’s association with Gibson Dunn.

Before joining Gibson Dunn, George was a partner at a large international law firm. He received his law degree from The University of Chicago Law School and his Bachelor of Arts from Brown University. George is admitted to practice in the state of New York.

Eytan de Gunzburg is an associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn where he practices in the firm’s Tax Practice Group.

Eytan received his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law in 2022. Eytan graduated from Boston University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in economics.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Eytan was a tax associate at a major global law firm in New York.

Eytan is admitted to practice in the State of New York.

Emily Smith is an Australian qualified associate in the London office of Gibson Dunn and is a member of the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions, and Energy and Infrastructure Practice Groups.

Emily’s experience encompasses transactions and projects across the oil and gas, mining and mineral extraction, power, and infrastructure sectors. She has broad expertise advising on a wide spectrum of corporate matters, including both cross-border and domestic mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate reorganizations, as well as general corporate governance and advisory work.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Emily worked in the London office of another major global law firm.

Claude Jiang is a partner in the Singapore office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is a member of the firm’s Projects & Infrastructure, Power and Renewables, and Finance Practice Groups. His practice focuses on energy and infrastructure related project development and finance.

Claude has extensive experience working on both the project side and the financing side of transactions and has been involved in a variety of transactions from different project aspects including traditional project financing, structuring for projects without a financing component, project-related M&A as well as project-based bond offerings. Claude has led cross-border and cross-practice teams on several large-scale transactions.

Claude is recommended as a key lawyer for Banking and Finance, Projects as well as Energy in Singapore by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2026.  He was named Project Finance Lawyer of the Year – China by the Finance Monthly Magazine in 2017. Claude is a member of the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (APLMA) Green and Sustainable Lending Committee.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Claude was with his previous firm’s project development and finance team for 13 years based in Singapore and Shanghai, and he was an associate in the project finance team of a leading international firm for 4 years.

Claude received his Master of Laws from the Indiana University School of Law in 2007 and earned his Bachelor of Laws from the Nanjing University in 2006. He is admitted to practice in the State of New York and is qualified to practice in China. He is fluent in English and Mandarin. 

Representative Experience*

• The mandated lead arrangers, senior and equity bridge lenders, agency banks and hedge providers, in the financing of five utility-scale solar photovoltaic projects, of which two are to be located in Afif (“Afif 1” and “Afif 2”), and three in Bisha, Humaij and Khulis respectively; cumulatively, these Projects will have capacity of 12,000 MW across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The portfolio will form an integral part of Saudi Arabia’s National Renewable Energy Program, led and supervised by the Ministry of Energy, and reflects the Public Investment Fund’s commitment to develop 70% of the Kingdom’s renewable energy target capacity by 2030. Awarded “Global Power Deal of the Year” at the PFI Awards 2025
• Cathay Life as investor on its project financing of the 20-year US$1.6 billion stapled financing for the 583 MW Greater Changhua 4 offshore wind project in Taiwan with a total project cost of approximately €3 billion. It is the first offshore wind financing guaranteed by the National Credit Guarantee Administration, and the first time that state-owned First Commercial Bank has taken the role as an export-import bank (T-Exim) facility agent in an offshore wind financing project. Awarded “APAC Power Deal of the Year” at the PFI Awards 2024 , “Offshore Wind Deal of the Year” at the IJGlobal Investor Awards APAC 2025, “Finance Deal of the Year” at the ALM/Law.com Asia Legal Awards 2025, and “Renewable Energy Deal of the Year: Offshore Wind” at the  The Asset Triple-A Sustainable Infrastructure Awards 2025
• DITO Telecommunity Corporation, as borrower and developer, on the US$3.9 billion long-term financing of its Philippines-wide 4G/5G-ready telecommunication network project, one of the largest project finance telecoms deals in Asia to date. Awarded “Best Project Finance Deal of the Year – Southeast Asia” and received a commendation for “Best Infrastructure Deal of the Year – Southeast Asia” at the FinanceAsia Achievement Awards 2023 and awarded “Telecoms Deal of the Year – APAC” at the IJGlobal Awards 2023
• Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, ING Bank NV, DBS Bank Ltd, Bank of China Limited, Mizuho Bank Limited and Société Générale, on the MIGA-covered refinancing of the 220 MW Bhola combined cycle gas turbine project in Bangladesh. Awarded “Power Deal of the Year (Bangladesh)” at The Asset Triple A Infrastructure Awards 2023 and “Asia Pacific Refinance Deal of the Year – Power” at the IJGlobal Awards 2022
• Masdar and PJBI, a subsidiary of Indonesian state-owned offtaker PT PLN, on the development and financing of a 145 MW floating solar PV project over the Cirata reservoir in Indonesia. It is the first floating solar project in Indonesia, the country’s largest solar plant and the biggest floating solar project in Southeast Asia. Awarded “Renewable Energy Deal of the Year (Indonesia)” at The Asset Triple A Sustainable Infrastructure Awards 2022 and “Asia Pacific Solar Deal of the Year 2021” by Project Finance International
• A consortium of lenders including KfW, Standard Chartered Bank, Riyad Bank, Bank Saudi Fransi and Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation (Apicorp) supporting ACWA’s development and financing of Al Dur 2 IWPP with a 1500 MW natural gas fired power facility and a 50 MIGD desalination facility in Bahrain. Awarded “MENA Refinancing Water Deal of the Year” at the IJGlobal Awards 2020

* Includes matters handled prior to joining Gibson Dunn.

Publications

• “Sun is shining: the role of solar power in the Middle Eastern energy mix”, Energy and the Middle East, Globe Law and Business, 2026
• “Bhola 2 IPP – A Bangladesh milestone”, PFI Yearbook, 2023
• “Eurasian power sector investment by China”, Financier Worldwide, 2018
• “Project Finance in China”, Redback Reporter, 2017
• “China Sector of the Project Finance Journal”, Law Business Research, 2017
• “China Sector of the Project Finance Journal”, Law Business Research, 2016
• “China Sector of the Project Finance Journal”, Law Business Research, 2015

Speaking Engagements

• Guest speaker, PPP structure forum in the Philippines in association with the Commercial Law Development Programme (CLDP) funded by the US Department of State, December 2023
• Guest speaker, PPP structure forum in Bangladesh in association with the Commercial Law Development Programme (CLDP) funded by the US Department of State, May 2023

Nathan Scharn is an associate in the Orange County office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in the Litigation Department, specializing in intellectual property matters. Nathan has successfully represented clients through multiple jury trials, evidentiary merits hearings, and appeals. He has represented clients in the high tech, life sciences, medical device, and automotive industries in a wide range of matters, including patent infringement, copyright infringement, unfair competition and antitrust disputes, privacy law, breach of contract litigation, and licensing disputes. 

Nathan was recently part of a defense trial team that obtained a jury verdict of noninfringement, invalidity, and prior commercial use in the District of Delaware involving network security technology and a trial team that obtained a directed verdict of noninfringement in a Western District of Texas litigation that involved three patents related to cloud computing networks.  He has litigated several cases to trial, including jury trials in federal and state court and evidentiary hearings in the International Trade Commission and arbitration proceedings.  While embedded with the Orange County District Attorney’s office, Nathan first-chaired a criminal jury trial that resulted in a conviction.  He has been recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for Commercial Litigation (2021-2025), Litigation – Intellectual Property (2023-2025), and Appellate Practice (2025).

Prior to joining the firm, he served as a law clerk to The Honorable Janis L. Sammartino in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California and as an associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.

Nathaniel received his Juris Doctor summa cum laude in 2015 from University of San Diego School of Law, where he served as lead articles editor of the San Diego Law Review. While in law school, he clerked in the major frauds division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California and served as a judicial extern to The Honorable Larry Alan Burns in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California and the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In 2010, Nathaniel graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University magna cum laude with a degree in journalism. Before attending law school, he worked as a journalist at a daily newspaper.

He is a member of the California Bar and is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Edward Sopher is a partner in the New York office of Gibson Dunn and is Co-Chair of the Investment Funds Practice Group. Ed’s practice focuses on the establishment and operation of private investment funds, including private equity funds, funds of funds, hedge funds, credit funds and real estate funds. He has extensive experience representing the investment managers and sponsors of these funds, as well as institutional investors, seed investors, placement agents and joint venture partners.

He has also been involved in a wide variety of investment, private equity and financing transactions for his investment fund clients, and leads the firm’s significant practice in secondary transactions, representing some of the world’s largest secondary investment funds in their investment and financing activities, as well as sponsors in GP-led restructurings and recapitalizations. His experience extends to transactions involving investment management firms, including stake investments, spin-outs, acquisitions, financings and joint ventures. Ed also represents investment firms in connection with their partnership and employee profit participation arrangements, and advises on SEC regulatory and other compliance matters.

Ed’s clients include: Argonaut Private Capital, Blackstone Strategic Partners, Dextra Partners, GCM Grosvenor, Hamilton Lane, Neuberger Berman, Ottawa Avenue Private Capital, Rhône Capital and StepStone Group.

Ed is consistently featured as a leading lawyer in the area of private fund formation by: Chambers USA, Chambers Global, The Best Lawyers in America®, Who’s Who Legal Private Funds: Formation, The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, The International Financial Law Review, The Legal 500 United States, PLC Cross-border Private Equity Handbook, and Legal Media Group’s Expert Guides for Guide to the World’s Leading Investment Funds Lawyers, Guide to the World’s Leading Private Equity Lawyers, and Guide to the World’s Leading Banking, Finance and Transactional Lawyers.

Ed is a member of the New York Bar and is also a solicitor in England and Wales. He is a member of several bar committees and a frequent speaker on matters relating to private investment funds.

Ed received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1982 and his Master of Arts in 1985 from Cambridge University.

Jason Bae is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn. He practices in the firm’s Litigation Department.

Jason earned his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Cornell Law School, where he served as an Articles Editor for the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy and as a Bench Editor for the Moot Court Board. While in law school, Jason represented clients facing death sentences in the Capital Punishment Clinic. Jason received his Bachelor of Arts in Theater Directing from Korea National University of Arts.

Jason is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia.

Benzion S. Edelman (Benzi) is an associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn. He is a member of the Tax Practice Group.

Benzi regularly advises private equity and other clients on transactional tax matters and represents private fund managers and investors on the formation and operation of private equity funds.

Benzi received his Juris Doctor cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2021. At Harvard Law School, Benzi was an editor of the Harvard Journal on Legislation and the Harvard Business Law Review. He also served as the treasurer for the Jewish Law Student Association and worked with the Harvard Tax Help Clinic and the Harvard Federal Tax Clinic assisting low-income taxpayers with tax return preparation and related tax controversies. Benzi earned his Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, in Accounting from Touro College in 2016 and worked as an accountant prior to attending law school.

Benzi is a member of the New York State Bar and is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Benzi was an associate in the Tax Department of an international law firm in New York.

Experience:

• Represented TPG in the sale of majority stake in Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to Artémis, a French holding company.
• Represented New Mountain Capital in the sale of Signify Health, a public company, to CVS.
• Represented Harvest Partners and its portfolio companies in a variety of matters, including VetCor, a portfolio company of Harvest Partners and Cressey & Company, in its acquisition of People, Pets & Vets, a veterinary services company.
• Represented TriArtisan Capital Advisors with respect to its acquisition of a majority stake in EnergySolutions from Energy Capital Partners.

All matters completed prior to joining Gibson Dunn

Brian M. Lutz is a litigation partner in the San Francisco and New York offices of Gibson Dunn. Brian serves as a Co‐Chair of the Firm’s National Securities Litigation Practice Group, which consistently is recognized as one of the top securities litigation practices in the country. Brian handles high-profile securities and shareholder matters and investigations for many of the world’s leading companies, including Meta, Nike, Goldman Sachs, KKR, Danaher, Block, Energy Transfer, HP, Salesforce, General Electric, Walgreens, USAA, Okta, Tenet Healthcare, Elliott Management, and many others. Brian also regularly represents clients in connection with litigation arising out of mergers and acquisitions, and he handles a wide range of other business litigation, including real estate disputes, employment matters, and trade secrets litigation.

Brian is ranked by Chambers for securities litigation and is listed as pre-approved panel counsel for the major D&O insurance carriers. Brian has been named a Securities MVP by Law360, and twice was named a “Rising Star” by Law360 in the Securities category—a distinction awarded annually to five attorneys nationwide under the age of 40. Brian also was named “Litigator of the Week” by AmLaw Litigation Daily (an American Lawyer publication) for his lead role in winning a rare preliminary injunction that prevented a hostile takeover attempt. In addition, The Legal 500 United States has named Brian to its “Hall of Fame” for M&A Litigation Defense and recognizes him as a “Leading Partner” for Securities Litigation Defense and M&A Litigation Defense. Brian also has been recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a “Litigation Star.”

Brian received his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. He received his Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from the University of Michigan, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Sean Pan is a Registered Foreign Lawyer (New York) and an associate in Hong Kong. He is a member of the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity Practice Groups.

He advises multinational corporate clients, global asset managers and private equity funds on a broad range of corporate and commercial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and growth equity investments.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Sean was an associate with a leading U.S. law firm in Hong Kong. He also completed a five-month secondment at a global asset management firm.

Sean received his Master of Laws from Columbia Law School in 2019 and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the National Taiwan University in 2015. He is admitted to practice in the State of New York.

He speaks English, Mandarin and conversational German.

Genta Stafaj is of counsel in the New York office of Gibson Dunn, where she practices in the Real Estate Department. She represents clients in a broad range of commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, financing, joint ventures, development and leasing of commercial real property assets.

Genta has played a key role in complex leasing matters involving major institutional players expanding their physical footprints, including representation in large-scale, long-term office leases in New York City and other core markets.

Genta earned her J.D. degree from Fordham University School of Law and her B.A. degree, summa cum laude, from Barnard College.

Genta is admitted to practice in the State of New York.

Samuel G. Liversidge is a partner in Gibson Dunn. He is a Global Co-Chair of the firm’s Antitrust and Competition Practice Group and Co-Chair of the Litigation Department in the Los Angeles office.

Sam is an experienced litigator and trial lawyer whose practice focuses on antitrust, unfair competition and other complex litigation. Sam has represented some of the world’s leading companies in connection with some of their most significant matters. He has successfully litigated and tried claims ranging from breach of contract and fraud to alleged monopolization, conspiracy, exclusive dealing, predatory pricing and tying. Sam has been described by clients in Chambers USA as “an exceptionally strong litigator and trial lawyer,” a “super antitrust lawyer” and “the type of person you have tremendous confidence in.” Chambers USA further reports that Sam is “a superb cross-examiner” and “a very experienced trial lawyer” who “brings an ability to break down complicated issues.”

Sam has been recognized across multiple prestigious platforms for his excellence in antitrust litigation. He is ranked by Chambers USA in the California Antitrust category and was recently named one of California’s Top 100 Lawyers by the Daily Journal. Benchmark Litigation recognized him as a “Litigation Star”, and he has been featured in the 2023 and 2024 editions of The Best Lawyers in America for his work in Antitrust Law. In addition, he was included in Lawdragon‘s “500 Leading Litigators in America” list from 2023 to 2026, as well as its “500 Leading Antitrust and Competition Lawyers” list for 2025-2026. BTI Consulting named him to its 2022 BTI Client Service All-Stars List, which celebrates attorneys who deliver “incomparable levels of client service excellence.” He has also earned a place on BTI’s Client Service Elite MVP list, reserved for lawyers recognized as All-Stars for at least two consecutive years.

Sam is also a leading expert in consumer class actions, having successfully defended numerous high-profile class action cases, at both the trial and appellate level. He has handled antitrust and product-defect class actions, as well as scores of cases filed under various consumer protection and false advertising statutes.

Sam’s representative matters include:

• Representation of Hewlett-Packard Company in Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Oracle Corporation (Santa Clara Superior Court, California), where HP brought suit against Oracle for breach of contract and unfair competition following Oracle’s decision in March 2011 to cease offering new versions of its software products to customers running HP’s mission-critical Itanium servers. Following a five-week jury trial in 2016, the jury found in favor of HP on all claims tried and awarded HP over $3 billion in damages, the largest jury verdict reported in 2016. In 2021, the California Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment, which, with interest, totaled $4,656,085,679—one of the largest judgments in U.S. history. The judgment has been paid in full.
• Representation of Merck & Co., Inc. at trial in In re Zetia (Ezetimibe) Antitrust Litigation (E.D. Va.), where plaintiffs allege an unlawful agreement and conspiracy to delay generic competition (settlement achieved during trial).
• Representation of Chevron U.S.A. in antitrust class actions filed in the Southern District of California alleging a conspiracy among eight oil companies to reduce supply and inflate gasoline prices in California. On September 30, 2022, the Court granted summary judgment on all claims and entered final judgment for all defendants.
• Representation of Hewlett Packard Enterprise at trial in Oracle Corporation v. HPE (N.D. of Cal.), where Oracle alleged copyright infringement and other tort claims (settlement reached after trial).
• Representation of Rimini Street, a leading software support services provider, at trial in Oracle Corporation v. Rimini Street (D. Nevada), where Oracle brought copyright infringement and other claims (ongoing).
• Representation of HP Inc. in Cepelak v. HP, a consumer class action brought in the Northern District of California, asserting claims of unfair competition and fraud on behalf of a sweeping class of HP inkjet printer owners. On October 20, 2022, the Court issued a decisive order denying class certification across the board. Plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the case as a result of this decision.
• Representation of General Electric in tortious interference action filed in the Southern District of New York, arising from prior proceedings under 28 U.S.C. § 1782. The District Court dismissed the complaint in full on grounds of forum non conveniens. The Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal on appeal and the Supreme Court denied certiorari.
• Representation of Intel Corporation in a monopolization suit filed by Advanced Micro Devices (“AMD”) in the U.S. District Court in Delaware. AMD alleged that Intel monopolized a worldwide market for microprocessors through purportedly unfair discounting and rebating practices. Characterized as one of the largest, if not the largest, Sherman Act Section 2 cases ever filed, the parties reached a global settlement in November 2009 to end all outstanding litigation, including AMD’s antitrust suit, two claims pending in Japan, and cross-license disputes.
• Representation of Aetna in Bay Area Surgical Management et al. v. Aetna Life Insurance Company et al. (Norther District of California), where plaintiffs brought antitrust claims alleging an unlawful conspiracy to retrain trade in the healthcare market. The case was successfully settled following the court’s grant of defendants’ motion to dismiss.
• Representation of Dole Food Co. in In re: Fresh and Process Potatoes Antitrust Litigation (District of Idaho), where several class action complaints were filed on behalf of direct and indirect purchasers against Dole and 19 other defendants alleging a conspiracy to restrict the supply and raise the price of fresh and process potatoes, in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act and various state laws. On December 2, 2011, the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho granted Dole’s motion to dismiss in full and with prejudice, dismissing Dole from the case.
• Representation of Hewlett-Packard Company in Wilson v. Hewlett-Packard Co. (Northern District of California), where plaintiffs asserted a nationwide class action under California’s Unfair Competition Law (17200) and Consumers Legal Remedies Act arising out of HP’s alleged failure to disclose a defective connection between the power jack and motherboard in over 12 million notebook computers, which allegedly caused a safety risk. A complete dismissal of the case was achieved at the pleading stage. In a published decision issued on February 16, 2012, a unanimous panel of the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal. The Ninth Circuit held that plaintiffs’ allegations regarding the safety concerns and HP’s knowledge were not sufficient to plausibly demonstrate that HP intentionally concealed an unreasonable product hazard.
• Representation of VFM Leonardo, Inc. in Pro Search Plus v. VFM Leonardo (Central District of California), where plaintiff has asserted that VFM Leonardo violated Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act by entering into a series of allegedly “exclusive” contracts with hotels, online travel sites and other intermediaries, and by allegedly threatening potential and actual customers. The matter was successfully settled.
• Representation of Hewlett-Packard Company in Zwart v. Hewlett-Packard Co. (Northern District of California), where plaintiffs asserted a nationwide consumer class action under California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law based on HP’s alleged fraud and deception in connection with the sale of its notebook computers. The lawsuit, filed by two individuals who had purchased HP computers at retail, alleged that the Hewlett-Packard’s website contained false representations about the capabilities of wireless cards installed in HP laptops. The plaintiffs also alleged that HP breached a warranty by description created by the website statements the plaintiffs identified. On August 23, 2011, the district court granted HP’s motion to dismiss the case in full and with prejudice. The court held that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the asserted claims and were unable to establish either reliance or the existence of a warranty by description.
• Representation of Hewlett-Packard Company in Kowalsky v. Hewlett-Packard Co. (Northern District of California), where plaintiffs brought a nationwide consumer class action asserting violations of California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Unfair Competition Law, and False Advertising Law based on HP’s alleged false and deceptive statements in connection with the sale of its 8500 series inkjet printers. On March 15, 2012, following extensive briefing, the district court denied plaintiffs’ motion for certification of a nationwide class of consumers, and the case subsequently settled.
• Representation of Hewlett-Packard Company in Baba v. Hewlett-Packard Co. (Northern District of California), where plaintiffs have asserted a nationwide consumer class action under California’s Unfair Competition Law, Consumers Legal Remedies Act, and various state warranty laws, arising out of HP’s alleged failure to disclose a defect in certain tablet notebooks. On October 12, 2012, the District Court for the Northern District of California granted HP’s motion for summary judgment as to all claims and dismissed the case.
• Representation of Hewlett-Packard Company in Hughes v. Hewlett-Packard Co. (Superior Court of North Carolina, Orange County), where HP obtained a complete defense verdict in one of the first consumer class actions tried under North Carolina’s consumer protection statutes.
• Representation of American Airlines in United States v. AMR Corp., 140 F. Supp. 2d 1141 (D. Kan. 2001), aff’d, 335 F.3d 1109 (10th Cir. 2003), where American obtained summary judgment in a major predatory pricing and monopolization case brought by the United States Department of Justice.
• Representation of MiniMed Inc. in Infusion Resources, Inc. v. MiniMed Inc., No. 99-CV-771-C (E.D. La. 2002), aff’d, 351 F.3d 688 (5th Cir. 2003), where MiniMed obtained summary judgment in a Robinson-Patman Act and unfair competition case.
• Representation of Tenet Healthcare Company in a series of class actions filed across the country alleging that the pricing practices employed at Tenet’s subsidiary hospitals violated various consumer protection statutes. A favorable settlement was achieved.

Sam received his law degree magna cum laude in 1995 from Pepperdine University, where he was a member of the Pepperdine University Law Review. Sam earned his bachelor of arts degree summa cum laude in 1992 from Andrews University.