Yama Keshawerz is an associate attorney in the Denver office of Gibson Dunn. He practices in the firm’s Litigation Department and has represented clients in matters involving corporate governance and mergers & acquisitions litigation, and government and internal investigations.

Yama’s representative matters include:

• Representing companies in government and internal investigations.
• Representing a pharmaceutical company before the Delaware Superior Court in a dispute arising from an M&A transaction.
• Representing companies in internal investigations involving allegations of accounting misconduct and workplace misconduct.
• Representing a company before the Delaware Court of Chancery, seeking permanent injunction and clearing the way for the closing of an M&A transaction.
• Representing a company before the Delaware Court of Chancery, seeking specific performance to close an M&A transaction.
• Defending a company before the Delaware Court of Chancery against attempts to prevent a potential M&A transaction.
• Defending a company and its board representatives before the Delaware Court of Chancery against challenges in connection with changes to board composition, a bylaw amendment, and acquisition of stock and notes.
• Defending a company before the Delaware Court of Chancery in a plenary action alleging breach of fiduciary duty, resulting in court’s approval of dismissal and settlement.
• Representing a leading eye care company before the Delaware Court of Chancery and the Delaware Supreme Court over a voting proxy and preferred shareholder consent rights.

Yama has earned his Juris Doctor and Master of Laws degrees from Duke Law School. He also has a Master of Laws from Wake Forest University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Law and Political Science from Alberoni University. At Duke Law School, Yama served as a staff editor of the Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law and attended the Duke–Leiden Institute on Global and Transnational Law in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Yama assisted clients with business immigration matters, served as a Consular Affairs Officer at an embassy in Washington, DC, and was a Visiting Scholar at Stanford Law School.

Yama is admitted to practice law in Colorado, New York, and Washington, DC.

Michal Baum is a partner in the New York office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the Real Estate Practice Group.

Michal represents clients in a broad range of commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions, construction and real estate finance, joint ventures, mezzanine loans, preferred equity investments, and loan workouts and restructuring. Her experience includes single and multi-property transactions with a wide variety of real estate assets, including office parks and buildings, hotels, shopping centers, condominiums, and multi-family apartment complexes.

Michal has been recognized as a Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch™ in Real Estate Law.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Michal was an associate in the Real Estate Department of an international law firm. Prior to, and during, law school, she worked at a nationally recognized title agency where she closed single and multi-property commercial real estate transactions. Michal also worked for a real estate developer where she negotiated leases, license agreements and purchase and sale agreements.

She earned her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, in 2016 from Rutgers Law School, where she was elected to Order of the Coif, received the Philip Kravitz Memorial Prize (for graduating with the highest academic average as a part time student) and was a Saul Tischler Scholar and a Nathan N. Schildkraut Scholar. She was also an editor for the Rutgers Law Review and was on the Rutgers Moot Court Board and Rutgers Regional Appellate Advocacy Team where she competed in the New York Bar Association National Moot Court Competition.

Michal is admitted to practice in the State of New York and State of New Jersey.

Jean-Pierre Farges is a partner in the Paris office of Gibson Dunn, Head of Europe in the Business Restructuring & Reorganization Practice Group, and a member of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group.

Litigation

Jean-Pierre heads the Litigation practice in Paris, where he specializes in complex M&A litigation, arbitration, industrial risk, construction, international trade, insurance, reinsurance, equity capital insolvency dispute matters, and public and administrative law disputes and regulatory issues. He has been involved in a number of major disputes before state courts and arbitral tribunals, acting for banks, funds companies, and listed industrial companies.

The Legal 500 EMEA recommends Jean-Pierre in its Dispute resolution – commercial litigation category, highlighting that he is “very intelligent, very committed and endowed with high moral values, reliability and willingness to win loyally. Tenacious.” Previous editions stated that he is “highly experienced and provide[s] strategic and spot-on advice,” and has “great creativity in approaching issues and resolving disputes.” The directory also refers to him as a “rainmaker,” an “excellent litigator,” “very commercial and client-oriented,” and “an absolute star.”

Clients report: “Jean-Pierre is a strategist and technical lawyer who is aware of the most recent developments in law and practice. His commercial sense allows him to come up with litigation strategy in the best interest of his clients, beyond the sole legal aspects of the case.“ Sources  highlight that he is “really sharp” and adept at “thinking outside the box,” “very respected in the courtroom,” has “a strong presence in court,” and “fights very hard and defends the case well.” He also advises on disputes in the banking, construction, and insurance sectors. Chambers Global has previously described him as, “an expert litigator in the context of financial restructurings; [he] is widely respected in the French market. Sources praise his corporate knowledge and litigation capabilities.”

Benchmark Litigation has consistently named him a Dispute Resolution Star along with Best Lawyers in France who has hailed him for Arbitration, Litigation, and Mediation over the years.

Restructuring

Jean-Pierre heads the Business Restructuring & Reorganization practice in Paris and in Europe, where he regularly helps companies through difficult times. He advises company shareholders with prevention proceedings, and acts for lenders of all types, including credit institutions such as debt funds. In recent years, he has developed a specific expertise in the restructuring of companies in structured financing deals and has implemented pioneering solutions for them, such as “fiducie” or golden shares. He also works on aspects of restructuring litigation, both during and after the restructuring, and more generally on all types of commercial litigation.

Chambers France ranks Jean-Pierre Band One as a Star Individual in the Restructuring/Insolvency category, where clients note: “Jean-Pierre is one of the best lawyers in the market. His public speaking talents and his tactical vision of the matter have no equivalent on the market,” “he is at the highest level in France,” “he is by far the most technical insolvency law expert in my mind. He is very strategic.” Previous editions mentioned that he displays “diverse skills on various complex matters.” Market sources praise him as “smart, technical and creative in the solutions he proposes.” Previous editions alluded to him as “one of the leaders” in the French market, explaining: “he has great technical knowledge and a very creative approach. He is always looking for solutions and ways to move matters forward.” Clients describe him as “excellent from a technical point of view,” adding, “he is a good fighter in court, brave and independent. He defends his clients in every circumstance. He is very honest and has a great sense of humor.” Another source appreciates that “he has a clear vision and knows how to put forward tailored solutions.”

Furthermore, The Legal 500 EMEA ranks him in the tier one category and distinguished him to its Hall of Fame. He previously was consistently recommended as a Leading Individual for insolvency, as part of a “superstar team,” “highly experienced and provide[s] strategic and spot-on advice.” Previous editions praised him for being “highly regarded in the market”; “an excellent lawyer with broad connections”; “a great lawyer”; a “real strategist”; “aggressive with exceptional insight, and a pleasure to work with.” He had also previously been referred to as “remarkably intelligent and very smart.”

Best Lawyers in France also consistently recommends him for Banking and Finance Law, Insolvency and Reorganization Law while IFLR 1000 has distinguished his as a Market Leader for France since 2021.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn in 2017, Jean-Pierre practiced at a leading British law firm, creating a dispute resolution practice in Paris in 2001. He was promoted to partner in 2004, where he also founded the restructuring practice.

A member of the Paris Bar since 1995, Jean-Pierre graduated in 1994 from the University of Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne) with a PhD in private international law and arbitration, a Magistère (postgraduate degree) in private and public economic law, and a DESS (postgraduate degree) in corporate and tax law. He was a winner of the Mooting Competition for Lawyers of the French Supreme Administrative Court and Supreme Appeals Court–Secrétaire de la conférence des avocats à la Cour de Cassation et au Conseil d’Etat.

He speaks French and English fluently.

Victoria “Tory” Lauterbach is a partner in Gibson Dunn’s Washington, D.C. office and Co-Chair of the Energy Regulation and Litigation Practice Group. She has extensive experience providing transactional and regulatory advice to energy companies, large energy users, and their lenders and investors. Tory is a leader within the firm’s data centers and digital infrastructure practice, where she advises data center developers, investors, and lenders regarding all aspects of delivering electric power to data centers.  This work includes negotiating power supply and infrastructure agreements with utilities, power purchase and tolling agreements for both grid-connected and on-site generation, natural gas supply arrangements, and the power and energy portions of customer agreements, such as data center leases and service orders.  Tory brings deep knowledge of the electricity and natural gas businesses to bear to take complex data center projects to market, including many of the largest data center campuses announced in North America.  As a transactional attorney with regulatory training, Tory’s strong grounding in federal and state energy regulatory issues enhances her ability to advise data center clients who need to interface with public utilities and their regulators.

In addition to her data center work, Tory represents renewable and traditional energy companies, including investor-owned utilities, independent transmission companies, independent power producers, energy investors, natural gas companies, and pipeline shippers in a variety of regulatory, transactional, and litigation matters. She advises clients regarding the Federal Power Act (FPA), the Natural Gas Act (NGA), the Interstate Commerce Act and related federal and state statutes, as well as requirements under public utility tariffs and agreements.

Tory regularly represents clients before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and federal appellate courts, has represented clients before the Department of Energy (DOE) and state public utility commissions, and frequently interfaces with regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs) to further her client’s wholesale market interests.

Tory has significant hands-on experience in power supply and infrastructure development negotiations, administrative litigation, settlement proceedings, and providing legal advice in heavily regulated energy industry market environments, including wholesale electricity and carbon markets. She also provides pragmatic and timely counseling to her clients in today’s dynamic political and regulatory environment, including the developing landscape surrounding electrification and electricity load growth, renewable energy, energy storage, transmission development and interconnection, carbon emissions reductions, and the larger energy transition.

Tory has been recognized for her work in the Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation) category of Chambers USA (2021-2024) and Chambers Global (2022-2025). She is also recognized by Lawdragon as one of the 500 Leading U.S. Energy Lawyers in the practice areas of Energy Transactions, Regulatory & Litigation (2023-2025). Tory frequently draws high praise from those she advises, most recently in the 2024 edition of Chambers USA, in which a client stated that she “has extensive knowledge regarding FERC compliance, but her commercial savvy and excellent drafting and negotiating skills allow her to be effective on a broad range of matters including energy transactions and commercial disputes.”

More specifically, Tory’s areas of knowledge and experience include:

• Negotiation of power supply arrangements, including grid-connected and behind-the-meter energy sources, for data centers and other large energy users.
• Advising regarding power supply issues in data center leases and customer agreements.
• Advising clients regarding state and federal energy regulatory regimes and tariffs.
• Advising regarding power supply issues in data center transactions in more than 20 U.S. states.
• Federal energy regulatory matters, including ratemaking, market-based rate and rulemaking proceedings, and the development of tariff rules for regional markets for electric energy, capacity, and ancillary services.
• Regulatory approvals for energy company mergers and acquisitions.
• Energy project development, including generator interconnection negotiations and disputes.
• Administrative litigation before FERC, including defending and prosecuting complaint proceedings, conducting evidentiary hearings, negotiating client positions in settlement proceedings, facilitating participation in technical conferences, and seeking rehearing of contested FERC orders.
• Appeals of FERC proceedings to federal appellate courts.
• Counseling energy investors on affiliate requirements, standards of conduct, and market power rules.
• Securing market-based rate authority, exempt wholesale generator certification, and qualifying facility certification for large and small independent power projects, and counseling clients regarding federal power project and power marketing regulatory compliance.
• Regional transmission planning, including project selection, cost allocation and rate recovery.
• Seeking incentive rate treatments for independent and incumbent transmission projects, including incentive adders to return on equity and pre-construction cost recovery.
• Project finance for traditional, alternative, and renewable energy projects.
• Energy-related contract drafting, negotiation, and analysis, including power purchase agreements, asset management agreements, natural gas transportation and leasing agreements, facilities agreements, and interconnection agreements.
• Counseling clients regarding participation in and administration of organized wholesale energy markets, including the energy and capacity markets of regional transmission organizations and independent system operators.
• Assisting clients in proceedings regarding open access to transmission infrastructure.
• Representing clients in proceedings regarding treatment of battery and other energy storage technologies in organized markets, including issues related to storage as a transmission-only asset (SATOA) and storage participating as generation and load in wholesale energy markets.
• Advising clients regarding carbon and clean energy markets, state clean energy mandates, and regional models for carbon pricing and emissions cost recovery.
• Department of Energy import-export authorization and compliance.
• Retail energy supplier state licensing.
• Developing and presenting energy regulatory compliance training and programs.
• FERC and CFTC enforcement and audit defense.
• Internal and non-public investigations regarding energy market and FERC compliance.

Representative Experience*

• Represented data center developer in negotiation of on-site power generation agreements for a data center campus that will use more than 1 GW of power.
• Represented data center developer in negotiation of complex power sourcing arrangements in vertically integrated utility jurisdiction that included a more than 1 GW portfolio of grid-connected renewable energy generation and storage resources.
• Advised large real estate lender on the energy-related aspects of a construction financing of a powered land acquisition.
• Represented data center developer in the negotiation of a memorandum of understanding with a municipal electric utility in the PJM region of the U.S.
• Represented infrastructure fund in regulatory compliance matters related to integrating large portfolio of wind farms into the fund’s larger energy portfolio.
• Advised lender on financing the purchase of a portfolio of data centers in the United States.
• Represented data center developer in negotiation of power infrastructure and power supply arrangements with interconnecting utility.
• Represented data center developer in negotiation of power supply arrangements with hyperscale tenant.
• Represented energy investor in acquisition of significant minority interest in large solar energy and storage developer-operator.
• Represented biomass generator in securing regulatory approvals for the sale of its generating facility as part of a Chapter 11 reorganization.
• Represented investor-owned utility in complaint against RTOs seeking return of overpayment of transmission congestion charges on the seam between two RTOs.
• Represented utility and non-utility clients in challenging and defending outcomes of FERC proceedings at the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
• Advised U.S. offshore wind developer regarding rules and opportunities for interconnecting to the onshore transmission grid.
• Represented utility-scale energy storage developer in securing waiver of large generator interconnection requirements in major grid operator tariff.
• Represented utility-scale energy storage developer in securing declaratory order exempting it from requirements of Public Utility Holding Company Act.
• Advised public utility board members regarding regulatory, transactional, and litigation matters.
• Represented utility-affiliated wholesale generation company in securing regulatory approval for acquisition of additional generation interests.
• Represented utility holding company and subsidiary public utility in securing FERC approval of appointment of new board member to holding company board under FERC’s 2022 TransAlta/Evergy affiliate standard.
• Represented RTO in securing regulatory approval for revisions to its financial transmission rights Tariff rules.
• Represented transmission owner clients in defense of their transmission rates and incentive rate treatments in a complaint proceeding under section 206 of the FPA.
• Represented transmission owner clients in securing incentive return on equity adder for RTO participation.
• Represented a Fortune 500 public utility and its affiliates before FERC in rate proceedings (including formula rate proceedings), regarding wholesale market issues, and in connection with service agreements, interconnection agreements, and compliance matters.
• Represented independent transmission project in FERC proceeding to defend incentive-based transmission rate treatments and secure recovery of transmission revenue requirement under the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) tariff, ultimately achieving a settlement permitting recovery of more than 94% of the requested transmission revenue requirements.
• Represented a leading gas company in the litigation of a major, multi-party gas pipeline rate case, as well as advising on compliance and commercial and regulatory issues.
• Represented natural gas distribution company in NGA section 4 and 5 ratemaking proceedings, and in matters of compliance and standards of conduct.
• Represented a Hinshaw (intrastate) pipeline in securing federal approval for new rate schedule for transmission service to renewable natural gas customers, including advising on rate and natural gas quality tariff provisions.
• Represented RTO in proceedings to establish a day-ahead market.
• Represented an investor-owned utility in dispute with RTO regarding tariff rates and the integration of a new investor-owned utility into the RTO.
• Advised an international natural resources company in the integration of newly acquired natural gas assets into larger corporate structure.
• Conducted and managed due diligence review and analysis related to the financing and sale of a public utility.
• Advised a client in securing Department of Energy authority for the export of energy products.
• Advised a client regarding the financing and licensing of solar and wind power generation.
• Advised a start-up retail energy marketer on transactional and regulatory matters related to establishing nationwide retail energy marketing business.

* Matters handled prior to Gibson Dunn

Select Recent Speaking Engagements

• Speaker, “FERC PJM Order: Lessons for Data Centers, Co-Location, and Tariffs,” Strafford Webinar (March 2026)
• Speaker, “How Growing and Dynamic Gas and Electric Energy Markets Are Struggling with Constrained Infrastructure,” American Gas Association Legal Forum (July 2025)
• Moderator, Conversation with FERC Commissioner David Rosner, Energy Bar Association Mid-Year Energy Forum (October 2024)
• Podcast, “What FERC Did, and Didn’t, Do to Jumpstart Transmission,” Factor This! by Renewable Energy World (May 2024)
• Moderator, “Accelerating Transmission Expansion in 2024 and Beyond: Addressing Planning and Permitting,” Energy Bar Association Annual Meeting and Conference (April 2024)
• Podcast, “Is D.C. Ready for Climate Change?” Brief Encounters by the D.C. Affairs Community of the D.C. Bar (December 2023)
• Speaker, “Pathways for New England Transmission Development & Interconnection Reforms,” RENEW Northeast Energy Policy Conference (November 2023)
• Panelist, “FERC Order No. 2023 – What it Means for Generator Interconnection and Transmission Development,” Webinar
• Panelist, “Interconnection Reform: What Should Renewable Developers Know About FERC’s New Final Rule,” Webinar (August 2023)
• “The New FERC: How Recent Developments May Foretell a Shift in Policies and Enforcement,” American Gas Association Legal Committee Meeting (July 2022)
• “Recent Developments in Energy Storage,” Young Professionals in Energy D.C. Chapter (May 2018)

Tory received her J.D. with honors from the University of Texas where she was Associate Editor of the Texas Law Review. She received a B.A., magna cum laude, from Cornell University in Government, Philosophy and History. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Tory was a partner in the D.C. office of an international law firm. She serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Energy Bar Association, is the immediate past co-chair of the Professional Education Council of the Energy Bar Association, is a member of the Women’s Energy Network D.C. Chapter, and volunteers at Food & Friends in Washington, D.C.

Hillary Holmes serves as Co-Chair of the Capital Markets Practice Group at Gibson Dunn, Co-Partner-in-Charge of the firm’s Houston office, and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. She is also a member of the Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Energy & Infrastructure Practice Groups. In these roles, she is a strategic advisor to clients navigating complex transactions and governance matters.

Hillary’s practice focuses on capital markets, where she advises issuers, underwriters, and investors on a broad range of equity and debt offerings, including IPOs, registered debt and equity offerings, high yield 144A bond offerings, PIPEs, and preferred stock. She guides companies through transformative capital-raising transactions in dynamic markets and using innovative structures, bringing experience with companies of all sizes.

Hillary also maintains a significant M&A and board advisory practice, counseling boards of directors, special committees, and management teams in connection with public and private M&A transactions, take-private deals, activism, investigations, and other strategic matters. Her work regularly places her at the center of critical boardroom decisions where legal, financial, and fiduciary considerations converge.

In addition, Hillary serves as securities and governance counsel to public companies and pre-IPO businesses, advising on disclosure obligations, regulatory compliance, and governance practices. She works closely with in-house counsel and leadership teams to ensure best practices, navigate regulatory frameworks, manage risk, and leverage opportunities.

A further core component of Hillary’s practice is her expertise in Texas corporate law, including advising companies on redomestications to Texas and related legal and market considerations.

Hillary is known for her sound judgment, technical excellence, commercial pragmatism, strong work ethic, and ability to execute in high-pressure, high-stakes situations. Clients consistently turn to her to lead their most important transactions and to provide clear, strategic counsel at important moments for their businesses.

Her recent client-based and peer-based accolades include:

• Band 1 – Capital Markets in the category for the energy industry and Texas, Chambers USA and Global
• Band 1 – Oil & Gas Transactions in the Nationwide category, Chambers USA and Global
• Nationwide Energy MVP (twice), Law360
• Client Service All Star, BTI Consulting Group
• 25 Most Influential Women in Energy, Hart Energy
• Houston Corporate Lawyer of the Year (twice), peer-selected by Best Lawyers
• Capital Markets Trailblazer, The National Law Journal
• Leading Dealmaker in America, LawDragon 500 (10+ years of top rankings)
• Most Effective Dealmaker; and Leading Woman in Energy, Texas Lawyer
• Leading Businesswoman in Houston, Houston Business Journal

Clients and peers describe Hillary to Chambers USA and Chambers Global as:

• “A phenomenal lawyer who is very engaged”
• “Extremely talented and has excellent judgment”
• “Highly effective in negotiating for her clients” and “such a strong advocate”
• “An incredibly strong and practical lawyer who offers great client service”
• “She really listens to her clients and brings her vast experience to the table”
• “Incredibly knowledgeable” and “has the ability to deliver a definitive answer”
• “Her analytical skills are of the highest quality”
• “The best capital markets lawyer I have ever worked with”

Representative Experience

Capital Markets

Initial public offerings, high-yield and investment-grade bond offerings, equity offerings, private capital raises, and liability management transactions for companies of all sizes, including:

• American Electric Power Company (NYSE: AEP): Registered offerings of senior notes and junior subordinated notes by various entities
• Aris Water Solutions (NYSE: ARIS): Initial public offering of Aris Water Solutions, a leading produced water solutions company then-backed by ConocoPhillips, Trilantic, Yorktown and HBC; 144A and Reg S high yield secured bond offerings
• Calumet Inc. and Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP (NASDAQ: CLMT): 144A and Reg S high yield senior notes offerings; debt tender offers and consent solicitations; bond exchanges, both at parent and subsidiary project level
• Diversified Energy (NYSE, LSE: DE): Initial U.S. public offering of common shares; secondary offering of common shares by large shareholders
• Legacy Owners of Endeavor Energy LP (SGF Capital): Largest secondary offering in oil and gas industry, registered offering of $2.2 billion of common stock of Diamondback Energy (NYSE: FANG)
• Excelerate Energy (NYSE: EE), backed by George Kaiser: Initial public offering
• Gran Tierra Energy (NYSE A, TSX: GTE): 144A and Reg S high yield secured senior notes offerings; debt tender offers and consent solicitations; bond exchanges
• Helmerich & Payne (NYSE: HP): Secondary offering of ADNOC Drilling common stock
• Hess Midstream (NYSE: HESM): Counsel to special committee of the board of directors in HESM’s repurchases of shares from Chevron, Hess Corp and Global Infrastructure Partners
• LandBridge Company LLC (NYSE: LB), backed by Five Point Infrastructure: Counsel to the underwriters in $300 million initial public offering and concurrent private placement
• LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB): Registered offerings of investment grade senior notes, including an inaugural green bond offering; debt tender offers
• Noble Corp plc (NYSE: NE): High yield registered offering of senior notes to finance its acquisition of Diamond Offshore Drilling
• Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX): $5 billion offerings of investment grade senior notes and discharge of existing notes; $2 billion registered offering of junior subordinated hybrid notes
• ProFrac Holding Corp (NASDAQ: ACDC): $885 million refinancing of existing senior secured term loan and other debt with a private offering of senior secured notes and a secured term loan; $85 million debut follow-on common stock offering
• SilverBow Resources (NYSE: SBOW): $148 million follow-on equity offering; 144A and Reg S high yield bond offering to finance acquisitions
• Solaris Water Midstream (private): First sustainability-linked bonds issued in the oil & gas industry and the first high-yield sustainability-linked bonds in the United States, 144A and Reg S offering of sustainability-linked senior notes
• TGS ASA (Oslo: TGS): Debut cross-border Rule 144A/Regulation S offering of $550 million of senior secured notes
• Waste Management (NYSE: WM): Counsel to the underwriters in multiple public offerings of more than $8.7 billion of senior notes
• WaterBridge Infrastructure LLC (NYSE and NYSE TX: WBI): Counsel to the underwriters on the $677 million initial public offering, the largest energy IPO since 2019 and the first IPO listing on NYSE Texas
• Western Midstream Partners (NYSE: WES): Counsel to the underwriters in registered offerings of senior notes; secondary equity offerings by Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY)
• Regular underwriters counsel to investment banks including Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Evercore, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Piper Sandler, RBC, Scotia Bank, TPH/Parella Weinberg

Mergers & Acquisitions

Representations of corporations, boards of directors and special committees in mergers, sales, acquisitions, and redomestications, as well as representations of financial advisors in advisory and fairness opinion engagements, including:

• Aris Water Solutions (NYSE: ARIS): Merger with Western Midstream Partners for cash and units’ consideration in a transaction valued at $2.0 billion
• Calumet Specialty Products Partners (Nasdaq: CLMT): Corporate conversion and simplification from master limited partnership to non-controlled publicly traded corporation
• CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP): Sale of its Ohio natural gas LDC business, Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio, to National Fuel Gas for $2.62 billion
• Coterra Energy (NYSE: CTRA): Pending $58.0 billion all-stock merger with Devon Energy
• Contango Oil & Gas (NYSEA: MCF): Sale to KKR for $5.7 billion stock consideration; redomestication from Delaware to Texas
• Diversified Energy (NYSE: DEC): $1.275 billion acquisition of Maverick Energy from EIG for stock and cash consideration
• eXp World Holdings (NASDAQ: EXPI): Pending redomestication from Delaware to Texas
• Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM): Pending redomestication from New Jersey to Texas
• Mesquite Energy, Inc. (formerly NYSE: MTRG): Sale of substantially all assets valued at $1.0 billion
• Nasdaq Inc.: Formation of Nasdaq Texas, its dual-listing stock exchange based in Dallas
• Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE: OVV): Acquisition of oil and gas assets from, and concurrent sale of assets to, EnCap for $4.2 billion
• ProFrac Holdings Corp (NYSE: ACDC): Acquisition of all the equity of an oilfield service company from an undisclosed private seller, which included acquisition financing and a sale leaseback of a portion of the acquired assets
• SilverBow Resources (NYSE: SBOW): Merger with Crescent Energy Company for cash and stock consideration in a transaction valued at $2.1 billion, amidst hostile shareholder opposition; acquisition of Sundance Energy (SND) and Chesapeake’s Eagle Ford Assets (CHK) for cash and stock consideration
• SpaceX: $1.25 trillion acquisition of xAI for cash and stock
• USD Partners (NYSE: USDP) and US Development Group (private): Sales of rail terminals and offshore assets
• Atlas Corp. (NYSE: ATCO): All-cash take private by controlling shareholders
• Take private of Holly Energy Partners (NYSE: DINO) by HFSinclair for cash and stock, as counsel to the independent Conflicts Committee of the Board of Directors of HEP
• Take private of Green Plains Partners (NASDAQ: GPRE) by Green Plains Inc. for cash and stock, as counsel to the independent Conflicts Committee of the Board of Directors of GPP
• Take private of Shell Midstream Partners (NYSE: SHLX) by Shell plc, as counsel to the independent Conflicts Committee of the Board of Directors of SHLX
• Take private of Rattler Midstream Partners (NASDAQ: RTLR) by Diamondback Energy, as counsel to the independent Conflicts Committee of the Board of Directors of RTLR
• Take private of BP Midstream Partners (NYSE: BPLX) by BP plc, as counsel to the independent Conflicts Committee of the Board of Directors of BPMP
• Take private of Landmark Infrastructure Partners (NASDAQ: LMRK) by Digital Bridge for cash consideration, as counsel to the independent Conflicts Committee of the Board of Directors of LMRK
• Counsel to independent Special Committee of Board of Directors of Vine Energy in connection with its merger with Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK)
• Callon Petroleum Company (NYSE: CPE): Acquisition of Primexx Energy Partners for cash and stock consideration
• Key Energy Services (private, OTC): Sale of substantially all of its fluid management and saltwater disposal well assets
• Hess Midstream Partners’ (NYSE: HESM) restructuring transaction with Hess Corporation and Global Infrastructure Partners and its later sale of equity to controlling sponsors, as counsel to the independent Conflicts Committee of the Board of Directors
• Counsel to Moelis as financial advisor to Viper Energy (NYSE: VNOM) in acquisition of Sitio Royalties Corp. in all-equity transaction valued at approximately $4.1 billion
• Counsel to Houlihan Lokey as financial advisor in multiple energy industry transactions, including Stonepeak’s $6.2 billion acquisition of Teekay LNG Partners, Crescent Energy’s $2.5 billion acquisition of Vital Energy, the all-cash take private of Pacific Drilling, and the controlling equityholder’s take private of Martin Midstream Partners
• Counsel to Intrepid Financial Partners in multiple energy industry transactions, including as financial advisor to Harold Hamm in take private of Continental Resources valued at $27 billion, to Southwestern Energy Company in its $1.85 billion acquisition of GEP Haynesville, and to PBF Logistics Conflicts Committee (PBFX) in its take private
• Counsel to Evercore Partners as financial advisor in multiple energy industry transactions, including EQT Midstream Partners’ separation from EQT and Sisecam Resources’ take private
• Counsel to Guggenheim Securities as financial advisor in multiple energy industry transactions, including EQT Corporation’s take private of Equitrans and Summit Midstream’s acquisition of Tall Oak from Tailwater
• Counsel to Lazard as financial advisor in multiple energy industry transactions, including Tellurian’s $1.2 billion sale to Woodside and Carrizo Oil & Gas’ sale to Callon Petroleum
• Take private of American Midstream Partners (AMID) for $1.2 billion by controlling sponsor ArcLight Energy Partners
• Concho Resources’ (CXO) merger with RSP Permian (RSPP) for $9.5 billion, the largest Permian consolidation at the time

Education

Hillary earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She received a Certificate in Public Policy Studies and Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Hillary earned her Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy Studies and Women’s Studies, cum laude, from Duke University.

Leadership

Hillary series on the invitation-only Corporate Laws Committee of the American Bar Association, is an officer of the Society for Corporate Governance’s Houston Chapter, and is a member of the Executive Council of the KBH Center for Law, Energy and Policy at the University of Texas. She also contributes to leadership initiatives with organizations such as 50/50 Women on Boards Houston.

In addition, Hillary actively supports charitable causes that expand equal access to resources in Texas, currently serving on the boards of EMERGE as Vice Chair, Harrison’s Heroes, and the Sam Houston Area Council of Scouting America.

Pro Bono

Hillary is the recipient of the Pro Bono Excellence Award from the State Bar of Texas and the Heart of Pro Bono Award from the Houston Bar Association. Hillary is committed to legal work on a pro bono basis, with a particular focus on supporting women who have experience domestic violence and serving nonprofit organizations in their governance and growth needs. Hillary previously served as Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Houston Pro Bono Program (2017–2023), on the Board of Directors of Houston Volunteer Lawyers (2017–2021), and on the Board of the Houston Bar Foundation (2021–2024).

Select Professional Recognitions

• Band 1 for Capital Markets: Debt & Equity – Central United States, Chambers USA and Chambers Global, 2019-2026 (the only woman and the youngest lawyer in the top tier for several years)
• Band 1 for Energy: Oil & Gas Transactional – Nationwide, Chambers USA and Chambers Global, 2018-2026 (the only woman and the youngest lawyer in the top tier)
• Recognized by Chambers USA for Texas: Corporate / M&A, 2020-2026
• Recognized by Chambers USA for Capital Markets: Debt & Equity – Texas, 2015-2025
• Client Service All Star, BTI Consulting, 2025
• Houston Corporate Lawyer of the Year 2023, 2025 (peer selected), Best Lawyers
• Named “The Legends” (made the elite list at least 10 times), LawDragon500, 2025
• Named a Leading Dealmaker in America, LawDragon500, 2020-2025
• Named “Energy MVP” by Law 360, 2022, 2023
• Named one of the “25 Most Influential Women in Energy” by Hart Energy, 2022
• Named “Leading Woman in Energy” by Texas Lawyer, Professional Excellence Awards, 2022
• Recognized as “Finance, Banking and Capital Markets Trailblazer” by The National Journal, 2019
• Named “Most Effective Dealmaker” by Texas Lawyer, 2019 Professional Excellence Awards
• Named one of the “Top Eight Capital Markets Lawyers Under 40” by Law 360, 2015 (the only lawyer in Texas)
• Named “40 under 40 in Houston,” Houston Business Journal, 2015
• Sole Recipient of the Woodrow B. Seals Outstanding Young Lawyer Award, Houston Young Lawyers Association, 2014
• GRIT Award – Executives Category, by ALLY Energy, 2021
• Best Lawyers, Corporate and Securities/Capital Markets, 2016-2025
• Named a Finalist for “Debt Capital Markets Lawyer of the Year” by Euromoney LMG for America’s Women in Business Law Awards, 2019-2022
• Recognized among “Women Who Mean Business” by the Houston Business Journal, 2018
• Recipient of the Premier Women in Law Award, Association of Women Attorneys – Houston Chapter, 2017
• Selected as “Women in the Fast Lane Role Model,” Houston Area Women’s Chamber of Commerce, 2017
• Selected for the Leadership Forum Class, Center for Houston’s Future, Fall 2016
• Recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer, Thomson Reuters, 2018-2024
• Recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer-Rising Star, Thomson Reuters, 2007-2017
• “Energy & Projects Lawyer of the Year” Nominee (Up and Coming), Chambers USA Women in Law, 2013
• Recognized in The Legal 500 U.S., 2013, 2015-2017, 2021
• Recognized by H magazine as a “Professional on the Fast Track,” 2009

Sample Publications and Presentations

• Editorial Board: Insights: The Corporate and Securities Law Advisor
• Co-Editor: Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance Monitor
• Co-Author: Summary of Public Company Director Education Opportunities, Quarterly Publication
• Co-Founder/Host: Public Company Director Readiness for Women Legal Professionals Seminar, June 2024, May 2025, and May 2026
• Speaker: KPMG Board Leadership Conference, March 2026
• Speaker: Society for Corporate Governance Essentials – Strategy in the Boardroom, February 2026
• Co-Author: Texas Corporate Law Update, What Officers and Directors Need to Know in March 2026
• Webcast: Dexit Heats Up: Update on Texas Law, September 2025
• Host and Presenter: KBH Energy Center + Gibson Dunn: The Future of Energy in Texas, November 2025
• Webcast: Recent Developments in Texas Corporate Law – What You Need to Know, Texas General Counsel Forum, November 2025
• Co-Author: The Comprehensive Reference Guide for Directors and Officers: 2025 Amendments to the Texas Corporate Statute, July 2025
• Co-Author: Lone Star Governance: Recent Amendments to the Texas Corporate Statute, Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, June 2025
• Webcast: Recent Developments in Delaware and Texas Corporate Law: What You Need to Know, June 2025
• Panelist: Energy Capital Markets and M&A, Daniel Energy Partners Executive Forum, June 2025, June 2024, June 2023
• Speaker: Joint Ventures, Texas State Bar CLE, Choice, Governance & Acquisition of Entities, May 2025
• Host and Presenter: The Future of Energy and Capital in Texas, April 2025
• Speaker: Privilege for In-house Lawyers, Houston Society for Corporate Governance, April 2025
• Lecturer: Energy Capital Markets and M&A, Energy Leadership Cohort, Greater Houston Partnership, April 2025
• Speaker: Good Governance in Public Companies, Society for Corporate Governance Essentials Conference, February 2025
• Webcast: IPO and Public Company Readiness: Corporate Governance Considerations, November 2024
• Founder and Host: Exploring ESG in Energy Educational Series (2020-2024)
• Podcast: Portia Project Interview, September 2024
• Webcast: The What, Why and How of Spin-Offs, May 2024
• Moderator: General Counsel Insights, Society for Corporate Governance, February 2024
• Speaker: ESG as an Opportunity and a Challenge in the Energy Industry, Duke University Alumni Association Energy Breakfast Series, December 2023
• Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Small Business Forum: The State of Capital Raising in the United States (Report delivered to U.S. Congress) (link), April 2023
• Keynote Speaker: Driving Diversity in the Law and Leadership, March 2021-2025
• Speaker: The Role of Private Equity in the Energy Transition, IEL Annual Energy Law Conference, February 2023
• Author: Energy Industry Reacts to SEC Proposed Rules on Climate Change: A survey and analysis, Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, September 2022
• Speaker: Role of the Board of Directors in Strategy, Hart Energy Conference, September 2022
• Webcast: Raising Capital in a Challenging Environment, September 2022
• Speaker: Energy M&A Developments, Annual Texas CPA Energy Forum, August 2022
• Presenter: How ESG Provides Opportunities for Natural Gas Companies, American Gas Association, 45th Annual Legal Forum, July 2022
• Webcast: The Role of ESG in Capital Markets, May 2022
• Speaker: ESG in Energy – Managing Risk and Leveraging Opportunity, Energy Infrastructure Council Investor Conference, May 2022
• Strafford Webinar: Preferred Stock Basics and Developments, May 2022
• Speaker: CCBJ’s Energy Industry Leadership Forum, April 2022
• Speaker: Institute of Energy Law, ESG’s Role in M&A, April 2022
• Client Alert: Summary of and Considerations regarding SEC Proposed Climate-Related Disclosure Rules, April 2022
• Speaker: The Business Imperative for ESG, Women’s Energy Network National Conference, March 2022
• Speaker: Corporate Board Diversity Standards and Their Effects, American University Business Law Review Symposium, March 2022
• Speaker: ESG Developments – Comparison of US and South Africa, Hosted by Cape Town Stock Exchange, February 2022
• Speaker: Common Pitfalls in Drafting LLC and LP Agreements, Essentials in Business Law Conference of the State Bar of Texas, February 2022
• Webcast: Guide to Direct Listings, Strafford Webinar, February 2022

Alethea Barretto is an associate in the London office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Finance Practice Group.

Alethea has experience acting on a broad range of finance and corporate matters, with specific experience advising major financial institutions, investment funds, private equity sponsors, and corporates on complex finance transactions. 

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Alethea trained and practised in the London office of an international law firm.

Alethea is admitted to practice in England and Wales.

Luca L. Barone is an associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn, where he is a member of the Real Estate Practice Group.

Luca has experience representing real estate developers, REITs, funds, private family offices, and other clients in a broad range of commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions, financings, joint ventures, leases, sale-leasebacks, and management arrangements.

Luca received his Bachelor of Civil Law (B.C.L.) and Bachelor of Common Law (LL.B.) in 2015 from McGill University. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University in 2010.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Luca was associate counsel at Lendlease, a publicly traded international real estate development and investment management company, and an associate in the Real Estate Department of another international law firm.

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

Warren Bloom is a litigation associate in the Dallas office of Gibson Dunn.

Before joining the firm, Warren served as a law clerk to Judge Cory T. Wilson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and to Judge Jeffrey V. Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Warren graduated with honors from the University of Texas School of Law. During law school, he served as an Associate Editor of the Texas Law Review and as the Submissions Editor of the Texas Review of Law & Politics. Warren also served as an intern to Judge Lawrence J.C. VanDyke of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Warren earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Yale University, where he double majored in Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry and Economics. Before law school, Warren worked in finance in New York City and earned a Master of Arts degree in International Security from George Mason University.

Warren is a member of the Texas bar. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second and Fifth Circuits and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Abdallah Salam is Of Counsel in the New York office of Gibson Dunn. He is a member of the Litigation and International Arbitration Practice Groups.  

His practice encompasses international commercial and investment arbitration, complex commercial litigation, and cross-border government investigations. He represents corporations, sovereign States, and private individuals in international arbitrations seated in various jurisdictions and governed by various arbitral rules and substantive laws. He also represents clients in proceedings before U.S. courts, as well as before regulators and law enforcement agencies. He has been recognized as a Future Leader in International Arbitration by the Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who Legal).

Alongside his disputes practice, he advises multinational corporations on a range of cross-border regulatory and compliance matters, including economic sanctions, anti-corruption laws, and foreign investment review regimes, as well as related enforcement actions.

He also advises sovereign States on public international law—including the negotiation and drafting of bilateral and multilateral trade and investment treaties—and on regulatory reform, including the design of special economic zones, foreign investment regimes, financial regulation, and tax systems.

Before joining private practice, he served as a Lecturer at Oxford University in the Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) program. He has also worked at the U.N. Office of Legal Counsel, the World Bank, Human Rights Watch, and Google.

He holds a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University (magna cum laude and Harvard College Scholar), M.A. in Philosophy from Oxford University (First Class Honors on thesis), Ph.D. in Legal Philosophy from Oxford University (Excellent on Viva Assessment; dissertation on conflicts of rights in writings by International Law thinkers), and a dual J.D./LL.M. respectively from Columbia University and Sciences Po, Paris (Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and Parker Award recipient).

Dr. Salam is legally trained in the common law and civil law traditions and fluent in English, French and Arabic. He is licensed to practice in New York and has been admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the United States Court of International Trade.

Daniel Gordon is a litigation associate in the Dallas office of Gibson Dunn. He is a trial lawyer who represents clients in complex, high-stakes business disputes across all phases of litigation.

Daniel also serves as an adjunct professor at the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, where he developed and teaches Evidence Advocacy Practicum, a course focused on the practical application of the Federal Rules of Evidence and related case law in pretrial proceedings.

Before joining the firm, Daniel served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas. In that role, he argued twice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and participated in five federal jury trials, gaining substantial courtroom experience.

Following law school, Daniel clerked for the Honorable Sean D. Jordan of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the Honorable Eleni M. Roumel of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and the Honorable John M. Campbell of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. 

He earned his J.D., with honors, from The George Washington University Law School, where he received the Graduation Award for Excellence in Pre-Trial and Trial Advocacy for outstanding achievement in litigation-focused coursework. While in law school, he was an active member of the Moot Court and Mock Trial Boards and received multiple accolades, including a Best Oral Advocate award and first place in the 1L Moot Court Competition.

Daniel graduated with honors from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Political Science and competed on the University’s Mock Trial Team.

He is admitted to practice in Texas and the District of Columbia.

Brittany Wallach is an associate in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group.

She received her J.D. cum laude from Loyola Law School in 2023, where she was awarded Order of the Coif and served as Articles Editor for the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review. While in law school, Brittany also served as a judicial extern for the Honorable R. Gary Klausner of the United States District Court for the Central District of California and the Honorable Kim McLane Wardlaw of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Brittany received her undergraduate degree from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, graduating with Honors in 2014.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Brittany practiced as a real estate associate at the law firm of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis.

Brittany is admitted to practice law in the State of California.

Jamal Lama is a partner in the New York office of Gibson Dunn.

Jamal’s practice focuses on advising companies and private equity firms across a wide range of industries, with specific experience in energy and infrastructure investments across geographies and asset classes. His representations include domestic and cross-border public and private M&A, joint ventures, preferred equity financings and other strategic transactions. He also has substantial experience advising clients on corporate governance issues throughout the lifecycle of a company, including private equity portfolio companies.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Jamal served as in-house counsel at Ares Management within the Infrastructure Opportunities, Infrastructure Debt and Alternative Credit businesses where he advised on a range of complex transactions spanning various sectors including fiber, data centers, renewable energy, midstream oil & gas, wastewater treatment, renewable natural gas, power generation and equipment leasing.

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

Selected Transactions

Energy & Infrastructure

• Advised Macquarie Asset Management in its announced and pending acquisition of the South American wireless towers operations of IHS Mauritius BR Limited, part of IHS Holding Limited, at an implied enterprise value of approximately R$3,550 million (US$685 million).  
• Advised I Squared Capital on its announced and pending strategic partnership with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in Inkia Energy, a Peruvian private power generation company, at a total enterprise value of $3.4 billion.
• Advised Reload, a platform that sites, designs, and permits gigawatt-scale data center campuses paired with rapidly deployable on-site power infrastructure, on its sale to Scale, a leading vertically integrated provider of advanced energy solutions backed by EQT.
• Advised Ardian on its acquisition of the Peruvian hydropower business of Latin America Power Holding B.V.
• Advised América Móvil on its acquisition of Telefónica’s operations in El Salvador and Guatemala.*

Other Industries

• Advised Platinum Equity, and its portfolio company Solenis, on Solenis’ $4.6 billion acquisition of Diversey Holdings, Ltd.
• Advised KKR in its investment, with Ampersand Capital Partners, in Alliance Pharma.
• Advised Warburg Pincus and its portfolio company Hygiena on the sale of Hygiena to EW Group and acquisition by Hygiena of DuPont’s global food safety diagnostic business.*
• Advised Warburg Pincus and its portfolio company Duravant in Duravant’s strategic partnership with Carlyle and acquisition by Duravant of WECO.*   
• Advised JUUL in multiple transactions, including a $12.8 billion investment by Altria.*
• Advised The Chernin Group in its $263 million strategic investment in Funko, Inc.
• Advised FTV Capital in its acquisition of SingleOps.
• Advised American Express Company in multiple strategic transactions, including entry by American Express Global Business Travel into a business combination agreement with Apollo Strategic Growth Capital.*

*Representations occurred prior to Jamal’s association with Gibson Dunn.

Julian W. Poon is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn, Co-Chair of the firm’s nationwide Appellate and Constitutional Law Practice Group, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, as well as the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers.

Julian is a seasoned appellate and trial-court advocate who appears regularly before federal and state appellate courts in California, including the Ninth Circuit, the California Supreme Court, and the California Court of Appeal, as well as other state and federal appellate and trial courts around the nation. Since 2012, he has been repeatedly re-appointed by the Chief Justice of California to serve on the Judicial Council’s Advisory Committee on Civil Jury Instructions.

Chambers USA, a publication that identifies and ranks the most outstanding lawyers, has ranked Julian for 13 consecutive years. Clients describe him as a “highly analytical” and “extremely professional” appellate practitioner with “a commanding level of knowledge and experience.” One client shared, “Julian Poon is simply incredible. His writing skills are great. He’s fantastic, energetic, dives into the issues, and his oral advocacy is impressive.” Another noted that he is “the mastermind of his cases, very intelligent and was able to understand the difficult concepts quickly.” He is praised for providing “great guidance and sound advice as well as insight strategy on how to best position [a] case,” and for being “relentless in his advocacy.”

He has also been recognized by BTI Client Service All-Stars as one of a select nationwide group of attorneys delivering the best client service, winning praise for his creativity and excellent communication in offering alternative viewpoints. Since 2024, The Best Lawyers in America® has recognized Julian as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” for his exceptional work in Appellate Practice. Benchmark Litigation has recognized him as a “Litigation Star” since 2015, Lawdragon has named him one of the “500 Leading Litigators in America” and “500 Leading Global Litigators,” and Legal 500 US has ranked him among the top appellate litigators in the country.

Julian has also been featured in the Los Angeles Daily Journal’s annual “Top Verdicts” list for winning top appellate reversals in 2024, 2023, 2021, 2018, 2016, and 2014. His featured accomplishments include:

• Persuading the California Supreme Court to restore trial court authority to impose discovery sanctions under the Civil Discovery Act.
• Vindicating the First Amendment associational rights of an investor-owned utility in a precedential California Court of Appeal decision.
• Persuading the Ninth Circuit to order judgment against a plaintiff class on nine-figure wage-hour claims.
• Securing complete vacatur and class decertification in a high-stakes fraud and unfair competition case.
• Obtaining full reversal of an eight-figure summary judgment and attorneys’ fee award in a cross-border dispute.
• Winning a unanimous affirmance in the California Supreme Court in a malicious prosecution case.
• Convincing the Los Angeles Superior Court to vacate a record-breaking $178 million wrongful death verdict.

Other representative matters Julian has handled include:

• Winning a nine-figure arbitration-related dispute for a real-estate developer in the Ninth Circuit.
• Reducing a $30 million punitive damages award to $10 million in a wrongful termination case.
• Overturning federal designation of “critical habitat” under the Endangered Species Act.
• Achieving an 87% post-trial reduction in a wrongful termination verdict.
• Winning a construction law and attorneys’ fees dispute in the California Court of Appeal.
• Securing an eight-figure appellate win for a utility against a transportation agency.
• Dismissing a multistate indemnification dispute on personal jurisdiction grounds.
• Winning a precedent-setting appellate costs decision.
• Prevailing in False Claims Act appeals in the Ninth and Eleventh Circuits.
• Obtaining a writ in a statewide wage-and-hour class action involving adjusters.
• Winning a California Supreme Court reversal in a tax case involving emission credits.
• Vacating a $14 million false advertising verdict and securing Ninth Circuit affirmance.
• Reversing summary judgment and fees in a multistate insurance dispute.
• Winning key appellate decisions on U.S. discovery in foreign proceedings (28 U.S.C. § 1782).
• Obtaining interlocutory review of class certification in a major wage-and-hour case.
• Winning a patent case involving sports equipment in the Federal Circuit.
• Securing a favorable loss causation ruling from the Tenth Circuit.
• Winning a corporate disclosure dispute in the Arkansas Supreme Court.
• Defeating nationwide and statewide wage-and-hour class actions without discovery.

Prior to joining the firm, Julian clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge J. Michael Luttig of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1999, where he received the Fay Diploma (first in class), served as a Note Editor of the Harvard Law Review, and earned the Sears Prize in both 1L and 2L years. He earned honors in Economics and Public Policy from Stanford University in 1996, graduating with distinction and Phi Beta Kappa.

Julian is admitted to practice before all California state and federal courts, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, D.C., and Federal Circuits.

John Acton is a litigation associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn.

John clerked for Justice Amy Coney Barrett of the Supreme Court of the United States, Judge Gregory G. Katsas of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and Judge Britt C. Grant of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. 

John graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. While at Harvard, he received the Morgan and Helen Chu Prize for top grades during his 3L year, was a member of the best overall team in the Ames Moot Court competition, served as the Articles Chair for the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, and taught undergraduate constitutional law.

Prior to law school, John spent two years as a management consultant. He earned his undergraduate degree in Government from Harvard College.

John is a member of the bar of the District of Columbia. He is admitted to practice in the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Sixth, Eleventh, and District of Columbia Circuits, as well as in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.

Thien Folkemer is of counsel in the New York office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the Investment Funds Practice Group.

Thien specializes in representing fund sponsors in the establishment and operation of open and closed-end private equity, debt and real estate funds as well as representing sponsors on the structuring and establishment of joint ventures, separate accounts, co-investment vehicles and other custom arrangements. Thien also represents institutional investors on their investment transactions and placement agents in connection with their fund engagements.

Thien received her Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago.

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

Iason Togias is a litigation associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn.

Before joining the firm, Iason served as a law clerk to the Honorable Eric D. Miller of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Iason received his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 2022. He served as a Supervising Editor for the Harvard Journal on Legislation, and he was awarded the Irving Oberman Memorial Prize for the best student paper on legal history.

Iason graduated magna cum laude from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy.

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

Evan M. D’Amico is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn, where his practice focuses primarily on domestic and cross-border M&A.

Krystal Egbuchulam is a corporate associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Technology Transactions Practice Group. Krystal’s practice centers on complex commercial and corporate transactions, including intellectual property aspect of mergers and acquisitions, carveouts and private equity investments. Krystal advises clients in a wide range of industries, including software and technology, transportation and logistics, energy and infrastructure and hospitality.

Krystal’s pro bono practice includes representation of non-profit organizations and creators on commercial and licensing matters, including trademark licenses and other intellectual property agreements. Krystal received her Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University in 2018 where she majored in African American Studies with a concentration on Diaspora Studies and received her Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School in 2023.

Kelsey Matevish is an associate in the San Francisco office of Gibson Dunn, where she practices in the firm’s Litigation Department. She is currently on secondment.

Kelsey has helped clients across a variety of industries litigate complex commercial matters, conduct internal investigations, and respond to regulatory inquiries and enforcement actions. Kelsey’s representative matters include:

• Secured dismissal of shareholder lawsuit arising out of e-commerce company’s initial public offering as well as separate derivative suit alleging oversight failures by the company’s board of directors
• Successfully defended biotechnology company against Securities and Exchange Commission investigation of alleged insider trading and securities fraud 
• Obtained favorable arbitral decision for biotechnology company resolving claims by former joint venture partner of $800 million breach of research and development agreement
• Retained by the California Legislative Counsel Bureau to conduct independent investigations of allegations of sexual harassment and other workplace misconduct by Members and senior staff of the state legislature
• Represented company facing Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry into executive compensation and perks disclosures 
• Advised board member regarding allegations of misconduct and fraud against company 

Kelsey maintains an active pro bono practice. She has represented local community members in state court at trial, advocated for domestic violence survivors in appellate court, and authored an amicus brief on behalf of United States Conference of Catholic Bishops before the Supreme Court. She also recently completed a three-year term on the Ninth Circuit’s Workplace Environment Committee, which aims to implement policies and procedures that promote and safeguard a healthy working environment throughout the Ninth Circuit.

Kelsey previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Honorable Beth Labson Freeman on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

Before becoming a lawyer, Kelsey worked five years at the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a lead analyst on national security cyber matters. Her work focused on the GRU, the Russian Federation’s military intelligence agency, and contributed to the indictment of twelve Russian officers for committing federal crimes that were intended to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Kelsey earned her Juris Doctor cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 2019 and concurrently earned a Master of Computer and Information Technology. She graduated summa cum laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and from the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Aaron M. Smith is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn. Aaron represents clients in high-stakes administrative law, regulatory, and appellate matters.  His practice centers on litigation involving federal and state agency action, including major rulemakings, investigations, enforcement actions, pre-enforcement litigation, and appeals. He is a member of the firm’s Administrative Law and Regulatory and Appellate and Constitutional Law Practice Groups.

Aaron has represented clients at every stage of the administrative process: Drafting comment letters on significant rulemakings, defending against aggressive agency enforcement actions, developing affirmative litigation under the Administrative Procedure Act to challenge agency action, and briefing complex appeals.  These cases have involved a wide range of subjects, including health care, technology, energy, and First Amendment issues.  Aaron has presented oral argument before the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and has authored briefs in dozens of cases before the United States Supreme Court, federal and state courts of appeals, and district courts.

Representative matters include:

• Representing an individual challenging a city law on First Amendment grounds in certiorari and merits briefing before the United States Supreme Court.
• Represented a trade association in successfully challenging a FERC order setting annual index rates for oil pipelines in the D.C. Circuit.
• Representing large railroad company in appeal from a jury verdict on employment-discrimination claims before the Ninth Circuit.
• Represented coalition of healthcare entities in successful challenge to CMS rule regulating compensation for administrative services provided to insurance brokers and agents.
• Represented a large technology company in persuading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to close out an investigation that threatened to reshape the company’s business model.
• Representing pharmacy benefit manager in administrative proceedings before the FTC alleging that rebate practices violated the FTC Act and before the Eighth Circuit in affirmative litigation alleging that the FTC proceedings violate the Constitution.
• Representing Arizona utility company in appeals from a state commission ratemaking decision that ruled in the utility company’s favor when setting rates for solar customers.
• Representing multinational bank in appeal from a jury verdict in a complex tort case before the Second Circuit.
• Represented a large technology company in successfully challenging an onerous data-sharing law on First Amendment grounds in the Southern District of New York.

Before joining the firm, Aaron served as a law clerk to the Honorable Karen LeCraft Henderson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He graduated as valedictorian from The University of Alabama School of Law, where he served as the Editor in Chief of the Alabama Law Review and was a member of the Moot Court Board. In 2013, he graduated from the University of Kentucky with a journalism degree. Aaron is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia.