Lawyers Archive

Ruoqi Wei is an associate in the Houston office of Gibson Dunn.

She received her Juris Doctor with Honors from The University of Texas at Austin School of Law in 2024. While at Texas Law, she participated in the Children’s Rights Clinic and worked as a research assistant. She received her Bachelor of Law, with minor in Management, from Zhejiang University of Technology in 2016 and received her Juris Master from East China University of Political Science and Law in 2018. Before she went to Texas Law, she practiced at a global law firm in China, where she focused on M&A and cross-border transactions.

Ruoqi is admitted to practice in the State of Texas.

Luke Smith is an associate in the Houston office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the Private Equity, Oil and Gas, and Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Groups.

Luke advises and represents private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies and management teams with respect to mergers, equity and asset acquisitions, joint venture arrangements and other general corporate matters, with a particular emphasis on the energy sector.

He earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he graduated Order of the Coif and served as Notes Editor of the Virginia Journal of International Law and President of Lone Star Lawyers.

Prior to law school, Luke received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University and was a Process Engineer for Valero Energy Corporation.

Lucy Carr is an associate in the London office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the firm’s Private Equity Practice Group.

Lucy brings extensive experience in a broad range of corporate transactions, with a focus on advising private equity sponsors and other financial investors.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Lucy was an associate with a major international law firm.

Lucy’s experience includes advising: *

The Carlyle Group on its acquisition of Intelliflo
The Carlyle Group on its acquisition of Meopta
The Carlyle Group on its acquisition of Tescan
Anchorage Capital Group on its €600m disposal of Ideal Standard
European Dental Group on its disposal of its European laboratory business
Clearlake Capital Group on its acquisition of Chelsea Football Club
Fortress Investment Group on its acquisition of Punch Pubs & Co.

* Some of these representations occurred prior to Lucy’s association with Gibson Dunn.

Elana Jemison is an associate in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. She is a member of the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group. Elana advises clients on a broad range of real estate transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions, developments, joint ventures and financings.

Elana received her Juris Doctor from The George Washington University Law School, with highest honors, where she was a member of The George Washington Law Review, and elected to the Order of the Coif. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Economics, cum laude, from Barnard College.

Elana’s experience includes representing:*

MSD Partners in connection with a $619 million construction loan for The Knox development project in Dallas
PRADA USA Corp. in its $425 million acquisition of 724 Fifth Avenue in New York City
Las Vegas Sands in its $6 billion sale of the Venetian and Palazzo integrated resorts in Las Vegas
A sovereign wealth fund in its $220 million sale of Ridge Hill, a 1.2 million square foot mixed-use lifestyle retail complex located in Yonkers, New York

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

*Includes representations prior to Elana’s association with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

Eugene Wei-En Woo is an associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn and is a member of the firm’s Tax Practice Group.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Eugene was a tax associate at a top AmLaw firm in New York. Eugene’s practice focuses on the federal tax aspects of transactional tax matters.

Eugene earned his Juris Doctor in 2020 from New York University School of Law, where he was a staff editor in the Tax Law Review. Eugene received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a B.A. in History in 2015 from the University of California Berkeley.

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

Zachary Freund is a litigation associate in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Los Angeles office. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation in both trial and appellate courts. Zach frequently represents clients from the sports, media, and entertainment sectors and has significant experience advocating for clients’ First Amendment rights, including through the defense of defamation claims and the litigation of anti-SLAPP motions. He also represents clients in a variety of business disputes and high-stakes civil litigation, in areas as varied as constitutional law, administrative law, insurance law, environmental law, and data privacy law. As an experienced trial court litigator who also regularly handles appeals, Zach has repeatedly delivered victories for his clients in the trial court and then defended those same victories on appeal.

Representative First Amendment, sports, media, and entertainment matters include:

Securing a jury verdict win for Nike in an endorsement contract dispute with NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. Zach played a key role throughout the case, including by drafting Nike’s winning motions for partial summary judgment and conducting the trial examination of an important defense witness. Following the jury’s complete defense verdict in favor of Nike, AmLaw Litigation Daily recognized the Gibson Dunn team as “Litigators of the Week.”
Obtaining a complete defense victory for OpenAI on summary judgment against the first-ever defamation claim arising from generative artificial intelligence output. The Gibson Dunn team, including Zach, was named a runner-up for AmLaw Litigation Daily’s “Litigators of the Week” and received The Financial Times 2025 Award for Innovative Lawyers in Disputes & Litigation.
Successfully overturning an arbitration award on behalf of U.S. Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles in her quest to reclaim the bronze medal that was rescinded following the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, through an appeal to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.
Representing The New York Times in a lawsuit against the Defense Department, challenging a Department policy that restricts reporters’ access to the Pentagon on the basis of information they seek out and publish.
Representing Warner Brothers in a high-profile contract dispute with the estate of writer Michael Crichton related to the HBO drama The Pitt.
Representing Warner Brothers and Sony in a defamation action brought by a subject of the documentary TV series Quiet on Set.
Representing NBC in a defamation action brought by Sean Combs, in connection with the Peacock documentary Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy.
Defending Nike against tort and contract claims brought by a former elite professional athlete.
Defending a leading academic publisher in a class action lawsuit concerning royalty payments for electronic textbooks.
Defending one of the world’s largest card payment organizations against defamation and business tort claims.
Representing the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and a coalition of leading news outlets in amicus briefing before the Ninth Circuit regarding the availability of anti-SLAPP motions in federal diversity actions.

Other representative matters include:

Securing dismissals of multiple lawsuits challenging San Diego Gas & Electric Co.’s franchise agreements with the City of San Diego, including a summary judgment victory that The Daily Journal named as one of the Top Defense Verdicts of 2022. Zach was also the lead associate on the team that successfully defended that victory in the California Court of Appeal. See Burton v. Campbell, 106 Cal.App.5th 953 (2024).
Persuading the Ninth Circuit to reverse a district court ruling and overturn agency action by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the grounds that it was “arbitrary and capricious” and in violation of the Endangered Species Act, in a major precedential administrative law decision. See Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 67 F.4th 1027 (9th Cir. 2023).
Persuading the Ninth Circuit to affirm an eight-figure arbitration award on behalf of an international real-estate developer, in a long-running venture capital dispute. See Global Industrial Investment Ltd. v. 1955 Capital Fund I GP LLC, 2024 WL 3250369 (9th Cir. July 1, 2024).
Persuading the California Court of Appeal to vacate an eight-figure jury verdict in a personal injury case, based on prejudicial evidentiary errors. See McDonald v. Zargaryan, 117 Cal.App.5th 344 (2025).

Zach’s active pro bono practice has included impact litigation stemming from the separation of families along the U.S. southern border and representation of domestic violence victims in family court. In 2025, Zach led a trial team that helped their client obtain a domestic violence restraining order and full custody of her young children.

Zach joined Gibson Dunn after serving as a law clerk to the Honorable Gerard E. Lynch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Honorable Nicholas G. Garaufis of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He previously worked as a litigation associate in the New York office of another large international law firm.

Zach graduated from Columbia Law School in 2018. At Columbia, Zach was awarded the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Prize for achieving highest academic honors in all three years, the Robert Noxan Toppan Prize for Constitutional Law, and the Hamilton Fellowship, a full-tuition merit scholarship. Zach also served as senior editor and ombudsperson of the Columbia Law Review. Zach graduated from Stanford University in 2009, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction, with majors in English and Drama, and spent most of his time putting on productions of Shakespeare plays. Before law school, he worked in the theater field for several years as a director, dramaturg, and non-profit administrator.

Zach is admitted to practice in the States of California and New York, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Third and Ninth Circuits, and the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Nathan Sauers is an associate in Gibson Dunn’s Houston office. He practices in the firm’s Tax Practice Group.

Before law school, Nathan worked as a Certified Public Accountant for Melton & Melton LLP in Houston.

Nathan earned his J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center, graduating magna cum laude and as a member in the Orders of the Barons. While attending law school, Nathan served as the Executive Editor for the Houston Law Review, published an article in the Houston Law Review titled “Remote Control: State Taxation of Remote Employees” and worked as a teaching assistant to professor Zachary Kaufman. Nathan received a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Texas State University in 2014 and a Master’s degree in accounting from Texas State University in 2016.

Nathan is admitted to practice in the State of Texas.

Nick Pai is an associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn. He is a member of the firm’s Real Estate & Tax Practice Groups.

Nick received his Juris Doctor with High Honors from Emory University School of Law where he served as the Executive Symposium Editor of the Emory Law Journal and was elected to the Order of the Coif. Nick received a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (LLB) degree from the National University of Singapore.

Nick is admitted to practice law in the State of New York and Singapore.

Sarah Johnson is a New Zealand qualified associate in the London office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Tax Practice Group.

She advises on a broad range of domestic and international tax matters with a particular focus on M&A and financing transactions.

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

Bree Gong is an associate in the Palo Alto office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the firm’s Tax Practice Group.

Her practice focuses on the federal tax aspects of public and private M&As, bankruptcy and out-of-court restructurings, financing transactions, and investment fund formations.

She received her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif. Bree received her Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of International Business and Economics. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, she was a tax lawyer in the New York office of a global law firm.

Bree is admitted to practice in New York and California.

Emily Risher Brooks is an associate in the Tax Practice Group in Gibson Dunn’s Dallas office. Her practice focuses on federal income taxation issues related to corporations, partnerships, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and nonprofit entities.

In addition, Emily has experience with a broad range of tax matters, including mergers and acquisitions, cross-border transactions, restructurings, and financing transactions. She also has experience with advising clients on state and local taxation (SALT) issues, as well as representing clients in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) appeals and federal income tax litigation.

Emily earned her Juris Doctor from The University of Virginia School of Law in 2021, where she served as a member of the Virginia Tax Review. She graduated summa cum laude from The University of Alabama in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. Prior to finishing her undergraduate degree, Emily worked for a large financial planning company, where she gained experience in individual wealth planning services and investment strategies.

Emily is admitted to practice law in the State of Texas.

Publications

Article – Taxing the Rich: A Discussion of Qualified Small Business Stock and the Future of Code Sec. 1202, Taxes – The Tax Magazine (June 2022)

Sherri J. Starr is an associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the firm’s Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance Practice Group. She is currently on secondment.

Sherri advises public companies and their boards of directors on a wide range of corporate law matters, including corporate governance and other ESG matters, compliance with U.S. federal securities laws and requirements of the major U.S. stock exchanges, company policies, and shareholder proposals. She also has experience advising nonprofit organizations on issues related to corporate governance.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Sherri was an associate in the Corporate Department of another international law firm, where she advised publicly and privately held companies in a variety of corporate and securities law matters, including initial public offerings, follow-on offerings, and various corporate transactions.

She received her Juris Doctor cum laude in 2017 from Georgetown University Law Center. While in law school, Sherri was the Senior Notes Editor of the Georgetown Journal of International Law and a student attorney in the Community Justice Project Clinic. She also served as a Judicial Intern for the Honorable Charles F. Lettow of the United States Court of Federal Claims. Sherri graduated summa cum laude in 2014 from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Economics.

Sherri is admitted to practice in the State of New York and the District of Columbia.

Trey Cox is Co-chair of the firm’s global Litigation Practice Group and Co-Partner in Charge of the Dallas office. Trey is a trial lawyer with a robust commercial litigation practice, representing clients from a range of industries in large, complex, high-profile business disputes.

Chambers USA notes that Trey is “consistently recognized as one of the country’s best trial lawyers,” ranking him in Band 1 in its Trial Lawyers, General Commercial Litigation, and Texas Regional Spotlight categories. Clients describe him as “a super-dynamic trial lawyer” and note “he’s incredible in court and also incredible with clients.” In 2025, Trey and the Gibson Dunn team obtained a historic jury verdict for Energy Transfer LP and Dakota Access Pipeline in a three-week trial, a victory which earned him national recognition as AmLaw’s “Litigator of the Week.” The Legal 500 US 2025 publication distinguishes him as a “Recommended Lawyer” in Securities Litigation: Defense. Trey was selected by his peers as “Lawyer of the Year” in the 2026 edition of Best Lawyers in the area of Energy Regulatory Law and has been recognized since 2009 by The Best Lawyers in America®. Trey was named a Texas “Litigation Star” in Benchmark Litigation, as well as a “National Practice Area Star.” His work is consistently featured in the nation’s most prominent media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Dallas Morning News, Bloomberg News, and the Houston Chronicle, among others. Trey is a distinguished fellow of both the American Board of Trial Advocates and the Litigation Counsel of America. He is also double Board Certified in Civil Trial and Civil Pre-Trial by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Most recently, Trey was named to D CEO’s 2025 edition of Dallas 500, recognizing him as one of the most influential business leaders in North Texas.

Representative Matters

Lead trial counsel for Energy Transfer LP as well as its senior officers and directors in both E.D. Pennsylvania and N.D. Texas securities class action and shareholder derivative actions challenging statements regarding various pipeline construction projects.
Lead trial counsel for Energy Transfer LP and Dakota Access Pipeline in a historic
$667 million verdict in a trespass and defamation case. The jury’s decision marked the largest verdict in North Dakota’s history. The Gibson Dunn team’s strategic focus on ground torts and defamation claims led to favorable outcomes on multiple counts, including trespass, conversion, nuisance, civil conspiracy, and defamation. The verdict serves as a powerful affirmation of the First Amendment.
Lead trial counsel for Meta in $300B case brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, claiming Meta captured and used the biometric data of Texans without properly obtaining their informed consent to do so, in violation of Texas privacy laws.
Lead trial counsel for GameStop in lawsuit in the federal district court of Delaware with Bain Consulting Group over validity of hundreds of millions of dollars of consulting services contracts.
Lead trial counsel for Dakota Access Pipeline Energy suing Greenpeace International in largest case in the history of North Dakota, claiming that Greenpeace incited terrorist acts and vandalism as well as published repeated defamatory statements to generate publicity and interfere with the construction and operations of the pipeline.
Lead trial counsel for Purdue Pharma Opioid in bellwether state Attorney General claim in Oklahoma and federal MDL in Cleveland. This lawsuit was vitally important to the client, the pharmaceutical industry, and, more broadly, healthcare consumers nationwide as it pitted the principles of healthcare freedom of choice and patient access to medical care against the state’s claims for astronomical damages.
After a three-week jury trial in Abilene, Texas, Trey secured a take-nothing verdict for his client, the largest windfarm in the world, in a mass action by surrounding landowners seeking to shut down the windfarm as a public and private nuisance. The win was heralded as a landmark decision for the wind energy industry. Trey successfully defended the verdict all the way to the Texas Supreme Court.

Trey is also active outside the courtroom and deeply committed to serving the legal profession. Progressive and innovative, he has earned a reputation as a thought leader in using technology to create clear, memorable, and persuasive jury communications, creating courtroom presentations that make judges and juries take notice. He is a frequent thought leader and featured lecturer at many of the nation’s top law schools, including University of Virginia School of Law, University of Texas School of Law, and SMU Dedman School of Law, and he has written articles, white-papers, and books. Following each of his jury trials, he interviews the jurors to understand and analyze their decision-making and thought process. With the help of a former Texas state court judge, he has turned these interviews and insights into a book, The Jury Rules: The Rules Every Juror Wants Every Trial Lawyer To Know and Use.

Trey received a B.A., magna cum laude, from Washington & Lee University and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. After graduation, he clerked for the Honorable Jacques L. Wiener, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Honors/Awards

Awarded AmLaw’s “Litigator of the Week” for securing a $667 million trial verdict for the developer of the Dakota Access Pipeline
Recognized as one of the most influential business leaders in North Texas by D CEO’s 2025 edition of Dallas 500
Selected as a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
Honored as a “Leader in His Field” in Chambers & Partners’ Chambers USA Guide to Leading Lawyers – General Commercial Litigation (Texas), 2009-2024
Listed as a “Texas Super Lawyer” by Thomson Reuters (as seen in Texas Monthly), for 18 consecutive years, 2004-2024
Named one of the “Top 100 Super Lawyers in Texas” and “Top 100 Super Lawyers in DFW” by Thomson Reuters, 2013-2024
Recognized by his peers in D Magazine as one of the “Best Lawyers in Dallas” for 10 consecutive years and, prior to that, “Best Lawyer Under 40” for five consecutive years
Listed as one of “The Best Lawyers in America®,” 2009-2026
Listed as one of the “500 Leading Global Litigators” by Lawdragon, 2024
Listed as one of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America” by Lawdragon, 2021-2026
Recognized as a “Litigation Star” by Benchmark Litigation: The Definitive Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys, 2012-2026
Listed as a Texas “Local Litigation Star” by Benchmark Litigation, 2023
Selected by the Dallas Business Journal as a “Defender” and “One of the 10 Metroplex Litigators Worth Having on Your Side”

Publications

Winning the Jury’s Attention, Presenting Evidence From Voir Dire to Closing
The Texas Jury Rules, Ten Rules Every Courtroom Lawyer Must Know
How to Recover Attorneys’ Fees in Texas, Everything You Need to Know About Attorneys’ Fees
What is the Settlement Value?, National Law Journal
Texas Business Courts 2.0: How SB 29 & HB 40 are Reshaping Corporate Litigation, The Advocate

Theo Tyrrell is an English-qualified associate in the London office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where he practises in the firm’s International Arbitration, Award Enforcement and Litigation groups.

Theo represents clients in complex international disputes involving public international law and commercial matters. His practice encompasses investment treaty and commercial arbitrations pursuant to the UNCITRAL, ICSID, ICC and LCIA Rules. He also advises clients on related proceedings before the English courts concerning the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards, as well as set-aside proceedings.

His experience spans a broad range of industries, including energy, oil and gas, mining, construction, technology and financial services.

Theo trained at Gibson Dunn, including a six‑month secondment to the EMEA litigation and regulatory investigations team of a leading global investment bank.

He holds a First Class Honours degree from the University of Bristol and completed the Graduate Diploma in Law at the University of Law and the Legal Practice Course at BPP.

Representative experience:

Representing a personal care products manufacturer in an investment treaty arbitration under the UNCITRAL Rules against the Republic of Venezuela, arising from currency control and price control regulations affecting the claimant’s investment.
Representing an insurance company in an investment treaty arbitration under the UNCITRAL Rules against the Republic of Venezuela, arising from currency control and other regulations affecting the claimant’s investment.
Representing a major international engineering company in multi-billion-dollar ICC proceedings against a Middle Eastern state, arising from an infrastructure project.
Representing former subsidiaries of Yukos Oil in multi-billion-dollar UNCITRAL proceedings against the Russian Federation under the Energy Charter Treaty, arising from the expropriation of Yukos Oil.
Representing a gold mining company in an LCIA arbitration, arising from a failure to supply power to a mine located in an African state.
Representing four sets of different investors in renewable energy projects in four separate ICSID arbitration proceedings against the Kingdom of Spain under the Energy Charter Treaty, arising from changes to the Spanish renewable energy incentive framework.

Jack Crichton is an English-qualified associate in the London office of Gibson Dunn, practising in the firm’s Dispute Resolution Group.

Jack has broad practice of commercial litigation and international arbitration. He has represented clients in the High Court, Competition Appeal Tribunal, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, as well as in ICC and LCIA proceedings.

Jack is recognised in Legal 500 UK 2025: “This is an all-star team. Standouts include: […] Jack Crichton”.

He trained at Gibson Dunn, during which time he spent six months seconded to the firm’s Hong Kong office and six months seconded to the litigation and regulatory investigations team of a leading investment bank, and has Higher Rights of Audience.

Representative experience:

Defending a major bank in relation to both High Court litigation and proposed collective proceedings brought in the Competition Appeal Tribunal arising out of the FX investigations (including appeals to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court in respect of the collective proceedings).
Defending a leading global corporation in the technology sector in collective proceedings in the Competition Appeal Tribunal alleging abuses of dominance.
Representing a global conglomerate in ICC and LCIA arbitrations (worth in excess of USD 1 billion) arising out of the supply of power generating equipment in Angola.
Acting for several defendants to claims in the High Court for over USD 280 million for fraudulent misrepresentation and unlawful means conspiracy, arising out of the alleged forgery of warehouse receipts relating to nickel traded in a series of transactions between entities in Singapore, Hong Kong, the UK and Australia.
Acting for a private equity firm’s portfolio company in the healthcare sector on judicial review proceedings arising out of decisions taken by the NHS.
Advising a private equity firm on a shareholder dispute in the Cayman Islands arising out of a deSPAC transaction.
Acting for a multinational steel manufacturer in LCIA proceedings (worth in excess of EUR 240 million) arising out of a share purchase agreement.
Advising a multinational steel manufacturer as creditor in liquidation proceedings.

Karen Spindler is a corporate partner in the San Francisco office of Gibson Dunn where her practice focuses on advising life sciences companies and investors on a variety of intellectual property transactions. Karen represents the full spectrum of companies in the life sciences sector, including companies operating in the areas of pharmaceuticals, biologics, diagnostics, and medical devices.

Karen has considerable experience structuring complex strategic collaboration and partnering transactions, including co-development, co-commercialization and joint venture arrangements, and advising on manufacturing and supply agreements, services arrangements, and academic licenses.

In addition, Karen regularly counsels investors and operating companies on complex IP issues arising in the context of corporate transactions (including mergers, product acquisitions, product spin-outs and other structured M&A transactions), and financial investors and company sellers in royalty monetizations.

Select Representative Matters – Strategic Collaborations and Royalty Monetizations

Merck & Co., Inc. in various collaboration and alliance transactions across therapeutic areas
Sage Therapeutics in its (i) collaboration with Biogen for zuranolone (SAGE-217) and SAGE-324 in psychiatric and neurological disorders, valued in excess of $1.525 billion (the fourth largest biopharma transaction of 2020), and (ii) collaboration with Shionogi to accelerate development of SAGE-217 in key Asian markets for major depressive disorder and other indications, valued at in excess of $575 million
Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in its (i) exclusive license agreement with GlaxoSmithKline to develop and commercialize ARO-HSD, Arrowhead’s Phase 1/2 RNA interference therapeutic for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), in all territories except Greater China, with a $120 million upfront and potential milestone and royalty payments in excess of $910 million, (ii) formation of joint venture, Visirna Therapeutics, with Vivo Capital and exclusive license to Visirna to develop and commercialize certain of Arrowhead’s RNA interference therapeutics for cardiometabolic diseases in Greater China, and (iii) global collaboration with Takeda to develop ARO-AAT investigational RNA interference therapy to treat alpha-1 antitrypsin-associated liver disease, with a $300 million upfront and potential milestone and royalty payments in excess of $740 million
Roivant Sciences in its (i) license agreement with Eisai for exclusive worldwide rights to Eisai’s anticancer splicing modulator small molecule H3B-8800, and (ii) strategic collaboration with Affimed to in-license AFM32 and access Affimed’s Redirected Optimized Cell Killing (ROCK®) platform to develop and commercialize novel ICE® molecules for oncology uses, with Affimed receiving $60 million upfront and potential milestone and royalty payments in excess of $2 billion
InnoCare Pharma in its (i) collaboration with Biogen for orelabrutinib (a BTK inhibitor), with a $125 million upfront and potential milestone and royalty payments in excess of $812.5 million, and (ii) in-license with Incyte for rights to tafasitamab (a CD19 targeting monoclonal antibody) in Greater China, with Incyte receiving $35 million upfront and potential milestone and royalty payments in excess of $82.5 million
Selecta Biosciences in its (i) strategic license agreement with Takeda for applications of Selecta’s ImmTOR™ platform to develop gene therapies for lysosomal storage disorders, with Selecta eligible to receive up to $1.12 billion, (ii) global agreement with Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB for SEL-212 for the treatment of chronic refractory gout, with a $100 million upfront and potential milestone and royalty payments in excess of $630 million, and (iii) option & license agreement with Sarepta Therapeutics to develop and commercialize Selecta’s ImmTOR™ platform with gene therapy candidates for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and certain limb-girdle muscular dystrophies
Ginkgo Bioworks in (i) the formation of all new companies by its $350 million Ferment Consortium, including: Joyn Bio (plant microbiome), Motif FoodWorks (food ingredients), Allonnia (waste remediation), Arcaea (beauty), Ayana Bio (bioactives), and Verb Biotics (probiotics), (ii) its collaboration with Synlogic to accelerate its pipeline of Synthetic Biotic medicines using Ginkgo’s cell programming platform providing an $80 million equity investment in Synlogic and a $30 million payment to Ginkgo for research and development, and (iii) its alliance with Genomatica for bio-based production of intermediate chemicals
Berkeley Lights in its strategic collaboration with Thermo Fisher Scientific to accelerate and improve the development and manufacturing of stable AAV (Adeno-Associated Viral) and LV (Lentiviral) vector producer cell lines
Arvelle Therapeutics in its licensing agreement with SK Biopharmaceuticals obtaining exclusive rights to develop and commercialize Cenobamate® in Europe valued up to $530 million
Arvinas in agreements with Bayer to jointly launch a company to leverage Arvinas’ PROTAC® technology for agricultural applications and to leverage Arvinas’ novel PROTAC® protein degrader technology to develop human therapeutics in certain indications, for a value of over $110 million in cash and committed funding for the human disease collaboration, the agricultural JV, and an equity investment in Arvinas
Corbus Pharmaceuticals in its strategic collaboration with Kaken Pharmaceutical granting exclusive rights to commercialize Lenabasum® in Japan for systemic sclerosis and dermatomyositis valued up to $200 million
Ambys Medicines in its global strategic partnership with Takeda Pharmaceutical under which Takeda commits $100 million to pioneer development of first in class liver therapies, including participation in Ambys’ Series A financing
Royalty Pharma in its purchases of royalties in transactions, including (i) Blueprint Medicines’ $1.25 billion strategic financing collaborations with Sixth Street and Royalty Pharma, (ii) its $240 million acquisition of the worldwide royalties for Oxlumo® from Dicerna, (iii) its up to $270 million upfront, equity and loan arrangement with Epizyme and $330 million agreement with Eisai, for the worldwide royalties to tazemetostat, (iv) its $320 million acquisition of the EU, U.K. and Swiss royalties for Crysvita® from Ultragenyx, (v) its $827 million acquisition of the worldwide royalties to Promacta® (eltrombopag) from Ligand Pharmaceuticals, (vi) synthetic royalty financings totaling more than $2 billion with BioHaven, Immunomedics, Sanofi and other confidential counterparties, and (vii) its $3.3 billion purchase of Ivacaftor® royalty rights from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Ultragenyx in its $500 million sale of part of U.S. royalties for Crysvita® to Omers Capital Markets
Other biotech clients on licensing foundational IP assets from universities and other academic entities

Select Representative Matters – M&A and Financings

Ginkgo Bioworks in its acquisition of the assets of Project Beacon COVID-19 LLC, integrating Project Beacon’s capabilities with Ginkgo’s Concentric offering to support widespread COVID-19 monitoring through biosecurity and public health
Atara Biotherapeutics in the sale to Fujifilm Holdings Corp. of Atara’s T-cell operations and manufacturing facility for a $100 million upfront and the execution of a long-term supply agreement with Fujifilm for T-cell immunotherapy development
OtiTopic, a drug development company with a late-stage inhalable, in its sale to Philip Morris International
Assertio Therapeutics in a stock-for-stock merger to acquire Zyla Life Sciences
SentreHeart in its sale to AtriCure for up to $300 million in upfront and earnout payments
Ocera Therapeutics in its sale to Mallinckrodt in a cash tender offer, plus contingent value right
TPG’s The Rise Fund in connection with (i) the $145 million Series B financing of Rallybio, and (ii) the $35 million Series A of Sling Therapeutics, Inc.
KKR Healthcare Growth Fund in its investment in Biosynth Carbosynth and Biosynth Carbosynth’s acquisition of Vivitide
BVF Partners in connection with (i) the $102 million Series B financing of Plexium, and (ii) the $40 million Series B financing of Elektrofi

*Includes matters prior to joining Gibson Dunn.

Recognition

Recognized by Best Lawyers in America® 2022-2025 as Lawyer of the Year in Biotechnology and Life Sciences (San Francisco)
Nominated by LMG Life Sciences as “Licensing & Collaboration Attorney of the Year” 2021, 2022 and 2025
“Life Sciences Star” by Euromoney Legal Media Group for licensing and collaboration expertise in the life sciences industry (every year since 2012)
One of the world’s leading 1000 patent practitioners by Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) (every year since 2012)

Before joining the firm, Karen was a partner at another international law firm for several years in its San Francisco office. Prior, she was a partner at an Am Law 100 law firm in its San Francisco and Palo Alto offices. Karen received her law degree, magna cum laude, from Santa Clara University School of Law, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif and Senior Production editor of the Computer & High Technology Law Journal. She received her B.S. in biology with honors from Stanford University.

Michelle Zhu is an associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn, where she primarily practices in the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group with a focus on patent litigation.

Michelle previously served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Leonard P. Stark of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She earned her Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School, where she was an Honors Fellow and an Articles Editor for the Cornell Law Review. While in law school, she also served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Denny Chin of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She received her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Duke University.

Michelle is admitted to practice law in the State of New York, Washington, D.C., and before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. She is also registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Mike Buchwald is an associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn. Mike focuses on complex antitrust matters, including merger reviews, investigations, and civil litigation involving the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Mike’s notable representations from his time at a prior firm include:

Amedisys, in antitrust merger litigation brought by the Department of Justice challenging $3.3 billion sale to Optum.
Spirit Airlines, in a variety of matters, including its proposed sales to both Frontier and JetBlue.
Mastercard, in a variety of matters, including its acquisitions of Ekata, CipherTrace, and Dynamic Yield.
KPS Capital Partners, in its divestiture purchase of the porcelain enamel, glass coatings, forehearth colorants and frit-based metallurgical products businesses of Prince International Corporation.
Shopify, in its $2.1 billion acquisition of Deliverr.
Subscriber Plaintiffs, in $2.67 billion settlement of In re Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation.

Mike received his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated magna cum laude and Order of the Coif and served as a senior editor of the Pennsylvania Law Review and co-editor-in-chief of the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Law & Innovation. Mike earned a Bachelor of Science degree magna cum laude from Cornell University.

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

Rob Walters is a nationally recognized trial and antitrust lawyer. He has served as lead trial counsel in some of the country’s highest-profile disputes, including the DOJ’s challenge to AT&T’s $114 billion acquisition of Time Warner, LIV Golf’s antitrust action against the PGA Tour, and many others. Rob also engages in crisis management in high-stakes matters, including coordinating with boards of directors and interacting with the media; conducts corporate investigations; and (3) advises on the antitrust aspects of mergers and acquisitions. He previously served as managing partner of Gibson Dunn’s Texas offices and as a member of the firm’s worldwide Executive Committee. Rob also served from 2008-2012 as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Energy Future Holdings, then the nation’s largest electric generation, transmission, and retail company. Rob serves on the board of directors of Vistra Corp., the Communities Foundation of Texas, the University of Texas Law School Foundation, the University of Texas Plan II Board of Visitors, the Dallas Police and Fire Pension Fund, and the Dallas Citizens Council (and formerly chaired). Rob is retired from the firm’s equity partnership.

Representative Matters*

Served as trial counsel to AT&T in the Department of Justice’s antitrust challenge to AT&T’s $114 billion acquisition of Time Warner, Inc.
Served as trial counsel to LIV Golf in its antitrust action against the PGA Tour.
Served as trial counsel in the successful defense of a multi-billion dollar fraud and fiduciary duty claim stemming from the construction of a $10 billion refinery project.
Served as trial counsel in Aetna’s successful prosecution of federal antitrust claims against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan stemming from its use of “MFN-Plus” contracting arrangements.
Served as trial counsel to Tenet Healthcare in its 2011 successful takeover defense litigation under federal securities laws against Community Health Systems in an approximately $7 billion hostile tender offer for Tenet Healthcare.
Served as trial counsel to J.C. Penney in federal securities and derivative litigation stemming from public disclosure issues related to corporate reorganization and operations.
Served as trial counsel in successfully defending Blockbuster in antitrust litigation brought by thousands of independent video retailers claiming revenue-sharing agreements negotiated between Blockbuster and the Hollywood studios violated federal and state antitrust laws and seeking billions of dollars in damages.
Served as trial counsel to Intel Corporation in class securities litigation stemming from its $8 billion acquisition of McAfee Inc. Secured summary judgment on all counts in October 2012 and on the eve of trial.
Served as trial counsel for the City of Dallas in antitrust litigation stemming from the 2006 Wright Amendment Reform Act, which modified the restrictions on flights from Dallas Love Field and Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. Rob represented both the City of Dallas before Congress in securing the Wright Amendment Reform Act and as lead counsel in defeating private antitrust litigation stemming from the Act.
Served as trial counsel to Liberty Mutual Insurance Company in the Workers’ Compensation Antitrust Litigation, which was comprised of over forty class actions against dozens of insurers claiming industry conspiracies to pass on billions of dollars in “residual market loads.” The insurer defendants chose Rob to act as lead trial counsel in multiple class certification hearings in federal and state courts throughout the country. Defendants successfully defeated class certification in each venue.
Served as trial counsel to CBS Outdoor in RICO and fraud litigation brought by independent billboard companies seeking hundreds of millions in damages. After a three-week trial, the jury returned a verdict of less than $2 million, which the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals further reduced on appeal.
Served as trial counsel in defending a real estate partnership in a fraud and contract dispute over a portfolio of investment properties. The jury returned a verdict for defendants on all claims and awarded defendants attorneys’ fees.
Served as trial counsel to Life Insurance Company of Georgia in a fraud action against Electronic Data Systems in which Life of Georgia secured a multi-million dollar trial verdict, which it sustained on appeal to the Fifth Circuit.
Served as trial counsel to Blockbuster in approximately twenty-five class actions across the nation challenging Blockbuster’s “extended viewing fees” as impermissible penalties. The matters resolved favorably.
Served as trial counsel to Liberty Mutual Insurance Company in the Insurance Brokerage Antitrust Litigation. Then Attorney General Elliot Spitzer of New York charged major insurance companies with bid rigging and illegal contingent commissions on commercial insurance sales. Various regulatory actions led to companies paying hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds and fines and also to numerous class actions. At the behest of defendants, Rob served in court as lead counsel for the insurer defendants. The insurer defendants favorably resolved the matter.
Served as trial counsel for Blockbuster in a contract and business tort action stemming from production of the film “Monster.”
Served as trial counsel to Energy Transportation Systems, Inc. in antitrust litigation against major western railroads for conspiring to monopolize the transportation of coal from the Powder River Basin to utilities in the Southwest. A two-month trial resulted in a verdict of $1.1 billion for plaintiffs.

*Includes matters handled prior to joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

Rob received his Bachelor of Arts degree (Plan II Interdisciplinary Honors) summa cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin in 1980. He earned his law degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1983, graduating magna cum laude and serving on the Texas Law Review.

Professional Recognition

Lawdragon 2024 Hall of Fame Honoree
Lawdragon 500 “Leading Lawyers in America” and “Leading Trial Lawyers in America”
The American Lawyer’s “Forty-Five Lawyers Under 45: Rising Stars in the Law”
The National Law Journal’s “Top Forty Lawyers in America Under Forty”
Texas Monthly’s “Top 100 Lawyers in Texas”
Recognized by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a leading lawyer in antitrust and competition law and in general commercial litigation (Band 1)
The Best Lawyers in America (antitrust, bet-the-company, and commercial litigation)
Texas Lawyer’s Professional Excellence Awards “Distinguished Leader” for “lawyers who have made their mark on the legal profession in the Lone Star State”
Best Lawyers Dallas “Lawyer of the Year” for Antitrust Law (2014)
Dallas Business Journal’s “Who’s Who in Energy”
Dallas Business Journal’s “Leading Energy Lawyer”
Recognized by Global Counsel Competition Law Handbook as among “America’s Best Antitrust Lawyers”
Recognized by Global Counsel Dispute Resolution Handbook as among “America’s Best Trial Lawyers”
Recognized by Super Lawyer rankings as among the nation’s “Top Ten Antitrust Lawyers”
Recognized by Global Competition Review as being among the world’s leading competition lawyers
Featured in The International Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers & Economists and The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers
Recognized as “Texas’s Best Antitrust Lawyer” by Texas Lawyer
D Magazine “Best Lawyers in Dallas” (business litigation and antitrust) and 2010 General Counsel of the Year
University of Texas Law Alumni Association Meritorious Service Award (2014)
ADL Jurisprudence Award (2009)

Professional Activities

American Law Institute
Dallas Bar Foundation
Texas Bar Foundation
The Center for American and International Law, Member
Higginbotham Inn of Court, Barrister
ABA Antitrust Section, Trial Practice Committee Chair
Council of the ABA Antitrust Section, Member
Dallas Bar Association, Antitrust Section Council Chair
ABA Antitrust Section (Strategic Task Force, Fuels and Energy Industry Committee Chair, Publications Committee Co-Chair, Regulated Industries Committee Vice-Chair, Assistant to Chair)
Texas Jury Project, Chair

Rob lectures on the antitrust laws and trial of complex litigation. He served as an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University School of Law on trial advocacy and at the University of Texas School of Law on energy policy and law.

Civic Activities

Dallas Citizens Council, Chair
Klyde Warren Park Foundation Board, Vice Chairman
Dallas Police and Fire Pension Board
University of Texas School of Law Board of Trustees
University of Texas System Chancellor’s Council, Executive Committee
Dallas Council on World Affairs, Board of Directors
UT Austin, College of Liberal Arts Foundation Board
UT Law School Alumni Association Board
UT Plan II Alumni Board, Founding Member

Representative Publications

“Trial of a Securities Class Action” (Chapter 12), PLI Securities Litigation Handbook, 2013
“The Trial of Securities Actions” (Chapter 11), PLI Securities Litigation Handbook, 2013
“Advantages and Pitfalls in Corporate Representative Depositions,” Corporate Counsel Review, South Texas College of Law, Spring 2008
“Corporate Representative Depositions in Intellectual Property Disputes,” IP Litigator, Aspen Publishers and Wolters Kluwer, December 2007
2005 Burton Award for Legal Writing (with Mark Curriden). The Burton Award is jointly given by The American Lawyer, Library of Congress, and the Burton Foundation in recognition of exemplary legal writing.
“Jury of Our Peers: An Unfulfilled Constitutional Promise,” (with Mark Curriden), SMU Law Review, Volume 58, No. 2, Spring 2005
“A Jury of One’s Peers? Investigating Underrepresentation in Jury Venires,” American Bar Association Judge’s Journal, Vol. 43, No. 4, Fall 2004
“A Guide to the Electric and Gas Industries,” Energy Antitrust Handbook, ABA Press, ABA Section of Antitrust Law, 2002

Representative Instruction

ABA Antitrust Section “Chair’s Showcase”: Trial of an Antitrust Case (at George Mason University Law School Law and Economics Institute Seminar for Federal Judiciary)
Gibson Dunn Forum, “Game Changers: Successful Strategies in High Stakes Litigation and Appeals”
University of Texas School of Law, Adjunct Professor, “Powering America: Transactions and Regulation in the U.S. Power Sector”
Dallas City Attorney’s Office Legal Seminars, “Production of Electronic Documents Under the New Federal Rules”
Texas Bar Association Advanced Civil Trial Course, “Corporate Representative Depositions under Texas and Federal Rules”
ABA Section of Antitrust Law Fall Forum, “Class Certification in Antitrust Actions,” National Press Center, Washington, D.C.
American Law Institute Program of Instruction in Beijing and Shanghai, China: “Introduction of United States Antitrust and Competition Laws” (for Chinese government and private lawyers

Scott J. Greenberg is a partner in Gibson Dunn’s New York office, Global Chair of the firm’s Business Restructuring and Reorganization Practice Group and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

Scott focuses on representing debtors and creditors in in-court and out-of-court restructurings. Chambers USA describes Scott as “an exceptional lawyer and dealmaker” that is “brilliant, super connected and great at managing adversaries and clients.” As “one of the best in the market at navigating complex situations”, he “offers strong expertise representing lenders in connection with Chapter 11 cases”, particularly those in the retail and pharmaceutical sectors.

Awards and Accolades:

Chambers USA, Band 1 NY and Nationwide “Bankruptcy/Restructuring” (2016 – 2025)
Legal500, “Hall of Fame: Restructuring” (2025)
The Best Lawyers in America®, “Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights, Insolvency and Reorganization Law”, and “Bankruptcy Litigation” (2024 – 2026)
Lawdragon, ““Leading Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyer” (2023 – 2025), “Leading U.S. Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyer” (2022), and “500 Leading Lawyers in America” (2022)
Turnarounds & Workouts, “Outstanding Restructuring Lawyers” (2020 – 2022, 2024 – 2025)
IFLR1000, “Highly Regarded” (2024)
New York Metro Super Lawyers (2016 – 2024)
The Legal 500 US, “Leading Lawyer: Restructuring” (2023 – 2024)
The American Lawyer, “Dealmaker of the Year” (2021)
Law360, “Bankruptcy MVP” and “Rising Star” (2015)

Scott represents distressed companies as lead counsel and has a market-leading practice on the credit side where he recently represented term lenders in:

The $1.1 billion new money debtor-in-possession financing and chapter 11 cases of First Brands Group, a global automotive aftermarket parts supplier.
The global restructuring of Altice France, addressing approximately €25 billion of secured debt and represented the first large scale liability management exercise in Europe.
The restructuring of package delivery company Lasership in restructuring $1.5 billion in maturing liens.
Representing an ad hoc group of first lien lenders and unsecured noteholders of Cision, an international communications and PR platform and software provider, in a Liability Management exercise.
The restructuring of CommScope, an American network infrastructure provider base that designs and manufactures network infrastructure products, which secured commitments of over $3.15bn in new first lien term loans and $1bn in first lien notes.
The restructuring of Global Medical Response, America’s leading provider of ground medical transportation and mobile healthcare services.
The $946 million out-of-court debt restructuring of Jo-Ann Stores and its affiliates.
The out-of-court distressed exchange for Radiology Partners, implementing a complex-multi-tranche exchange that involved a paydown of $250 million of secured debt and the issuance of $720 million of new equity.
The prepackaged Chapter 11 restructuring of Mallinckrodtplc and opioid trust formed in its previous bankruptcy case.
The comprehensive, cross-border recapitalization of Venator Materials PLC, a global manufacturer and marketer of chemical products, through a prepackaged Chapter 11 process.
The $1.2 billion Chapter 11 restructuring of North America’s largest cinema advertising network National CineMedia.
The restructuring of Cyxtera Technologies, a Miami-based data center colocation and interconnection services provider.
The debt restructuring of Envision Healthcare, a national medical group and KKR portfolio company.
The out-of-court restructuring of Elevate Textile which reduced the company’s debt load to $384 million from $778 million.
Filing for Chapter 11 protection to curt more than $8 billion of debt for Diamond Sports Group, a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
The $3.44 billion amend-and-extend transaction for Intrado, providing a substantial paydown and de-leveraging of the company.
The out-of-court debt restructuring of The Geo Group, Inc., a fully integrated real estate investment trust.
The $1.7 billion in debt issued by LED manufacturer Lumileds, LLC in connection with their successful prepackaged Chapter 11 reorganization.
The $6 billion sale of specialty pharmaceutical company Endo International’s assets to first-lien lenders in Chapter 11, ending a multiyear effort to resolve opioid liabilities.
The debt restructuring of Form Technologies, a global oilfield products company.
The $1 billion in-court debt restructuring of business process outsourcing company iQor US Inc.
The Chapter 11 restructuring of private equity-backed restaurant franchisee NPC International after reaching a restructuring support agreement (RSA) with lenders.
A $120 million term loan financing and sale of €160 of Tranche 1 Notes in the restructuring of Technicolor, SA.
The $630.5 million out-of-court restructuring of Global Eagle Entertainment’s liquidity and capital structure.
Serta Simmon’s sweeping victory in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, providing one of the largest bedding manufacturers in North America with capital structure relief and upholding the validity of a market-changing pre-bankruptcy financing transaction.

Scott received his law degree in 2002, with honors, from Emory University School of Law, and was elected to the Order of the Coif. He graduated cum laude from Boston University in 1999.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Scott was a partner at Jones Day from 2013 to 2019, where he also served as co-head of the Jones Day Business Restructuring & Reorganization practice. He began his career as an associate at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in their restructuring practice.

Scott is Chairman of the Board of One Simple Wish, a not-for-profit assisting children in foster care in the U.S.