Eugene Scalia is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn. He founded and Co-Chairs the firm’s Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Group, and was long-time Co-Chair of its Labor and Employment Practice Group. He is a senior member of the Financial Institutions Practice Group.  He served for many years on the Firm’s Executive Committee.

In addition to his time at Gibson Dunn, Mr. Scalia has extensive experience in government, having served in the President’s Cabinet as U.S. Secretary of Labor; as Solicitor—general counsel—of the Department of Labor; and as a special assistant to the Attorney General. He has worked with governors, senators and congressmen, fellow cabinet members, and executives of leading American companies.

Mr. Scalia has a nationally-prominent practice in two areas: Labor and employment law, and advice and litigation regarding the obligations of federal administrative agencies. He also has extensive appellate experience. His success challenging government overreach has been widely covered in the national media, including in profiles in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Bloomberg. Agency actions he has challenged include the Federal Trade Commission’s nationwide ban on non-compete agreements; the SEC’s “proxy access” rule and “private fund adviser” rule; the CFTC’s “position limits’” rule; MetLife’s designation as “too big to fail” by the Financial Services Oversight Council; and the Labor Department’s “fiduciary” rule. He has successfully sued the SEC ten times over its regulatory actions.

As Labor Secretary from 2019 to 2021, Mr. Scalia engaged at the highest level with national employment policy and matters affecting the financial services industry and international trade. He also served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and as a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Laws administered by the Labor Department include the workplace safety requirements of OSHA, federal minimum wage and overtime protections, the anti- discrimination requirements applicable to federal contractors, and ERISA’s protection of the more than $11 trillion held in employee retirement plans and health plans.

Mr. Scalia served as Solicitor of Labor from 2002 to 2003, with responsibility for all Labor Department litigation and legal advice on rulemakings and administrative law. He is the only person to have served as both Solicitor and Secretary of Labor. From 1992 to 1993 he served at the U.S. Department of Justice as a Special Assistant to Attorney General William P. Barr.

In private practice, Mr. Scalia has represented employers in high- profile matters under the National Labor Relations Act and in class actions and collective actions under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, ERISA, and federal and state wage hour laws. He has handled employment cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, federal and state appellate and district courts, and in numerous arbitrations. He has been a leading authority on “whistleblower” investigations and litigation since enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Mr. Scalia also counsels employers on reductions-in-force and harassment and discrimination investigations, and is author of widely-cited law review article on sexual harassment law. He has provided pro bono representation to workers in discrimination matters, wrongful separation disputes, and other matters.

Mr. Scalia is a Senior Fellow of the Administrative Conference of the United States, a federal agency that makes recommendations to Congress and the Executive Branch on ways to improve the administrative process. Among other accolades, he has been named an “Employment MVP,” a “Securities MVP,” and an “Appellate MVP” by Law360, and for nearly two decades, he has been ranked a “Band 1” Labor and Employment lawyer in Washington, D.C. by Chambers. Mr. Scalia and his regulatory practice have been profiled in numerous articles, bearing such titles as “Suing the Government? Call Scalia!,” and “Eugene Scalia Leads Business’ Push Against Agency Rulemaking.” The National Law Journal recognized Mr. Scalia as a “Visionary” for his litigation against regulatory agencies, and the Nation magazine has called him a “fearsome litigator.” He has taught law as an adjunct professor at the University of Chicago and University of Virginia.

Mr. Scalia graduated cum laude from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Law Review. He graduated With Distinction from the University of Virginia and was a speechwriter for Education Secretary William J. Bennett before attending law school. Mr. Scalia and his wife Trish have seven children.

 

 

 

 

Henry Cornillie is an associate in the San Francisco office of Gibson Dunn where he is a member of the Litigation Department. His practice focuses on antitrust, intellectual property, and commercial litigation, class actions, and government investigations.

Representative Matters:*

  • Represented a leading technology company in a high-profile trial of antitrust and unfair competition claims brought by a video game and software developer.
  • Represented a leading technology company in an unfair competition class action relating to the functionality of video conferencing software.
  • Represented a leading technology company in an antitrust action brought by a developer of software for jailbroken mobile devices.
  • Represented a leading technology company in a trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract dispute involving wireless communications technologies.
  • Represented a leading technology company in a trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, and breach of loyalty dispute with a former semiconductor executive.
  • Represented a prominent genomics company in patent and false advertising litigation relating to next-generation sequencing technologies.
  • Represented an information technology contractor and its principals in an anti-kickback investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as in related civil litigation.
  • Represented a global chemical manufacturer in a high-exposure commercial arbitration arising from a long-term supply agreement.
  • Represented a large financial institution in a U.S. Department of Justice investigation relating to the origination of residential mortgages.
  • Represented a prestigious university in a putative class action alleging breach of fiduciary duty in the administration of the university’s employee investment plans.

Henry has also represented pro bono clients in civil rights and fair housing litigation, and has won asylum for a refugee in a contested removal proceeding.

Henry has seconded with the commercial litigation department of a leading technology company and has worked as a Deputy Attorney General in the Antitrust Law Section of the California Attorney General’s Office. He received his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. During his time there, he was a Supervising Editor and Publishing Editor of the Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law and served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Goodwin H. Liu of the Supreme Court of California. Henry received his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he was a Chick Evans Scholar.

Henry is admitted to practice law in the State of California, the State of Illinois, and before various federal courts.

*Includes matters Henry handled prior to joining Gibson Dunn

Lucia Lopez is an associate in the San Francisco office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group.

Lucia received her Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley in 2025. While in law school, she interned for the California Attorney General’s Office – Antitrust Law Section and was a member of the Berkeley Real Estate Club.

Lucia graduated with honors from Stanford University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in History and Spanish Literature and a Master of Arts in Latin American Studies.

Lucia is admitted to practice in the State of California.

Roxana Akbari is an associate in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the firm’s International Trade Advisory and Enforcement, Sanctions and Export Enforcement, and White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Groups. Roxana advises clients on U.S. economic sanctions and export controls, including under the ITAR, EAR, and OFAC-administered sanctions programs. She has experience with internal investigations, preparing voluntary self-disclosures and administrative subpoena responses, advising on trade compliance program design and enhancement, and conducting international trade due diligence in corporate transactions. She also supports clients with White Collar Defense and Investigations, including anti-corruption and anti-money laundering matters.

Roxana earned her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law in 2024, where she was a Human Rights Center Scholar, an Associate Articles Editor at the Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law and Justice, and a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution team. She also served as President of the Iranian American Bar Association’s national law student chapter.

Roxana graduated cum laude from the University of California, Irvine, where she received Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and Sociology, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Before attending law school, Roxana worked on various political campaigns and for the City of Irvine as Legislative Deputy to the Mayor.

Roxana is fluent in Farsi and is admitted to practice in the State of California.

Steve Melrose is a New Zealand qualified Of Counsel in the London office of Gibson Dunn.

Steve is a member of the firm’s Dispute Resolution, White Collar Defence and Investigations, and Antitrust and Competition Practice Groups. His practice focuses on domestic and cross-border corporate and regulatory investigations, and antitrust and white-collar criminal matters.

Steve advises corporates and individuals under investigation by government authorities in the UK, including the Financial Conduct Authority and the Serious Fraud Office, and in the U.S., including the New York Attorney General, Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodities and Futures Trading Commission and the Department of Justice. He has extensive experience advising clients in relation to the UK Bribery Act 2010 and FCA systems and controls matters.

Steve has also has experience counselling clients under investigation by the European Commission, as well as the UK Competition and Markets Authority, for antitrust violations. In addition, he advises clients in connection with English consumer law matters and related CMA investigations.

Steve is a member of the London Office Diversity Executive Committee.

Representative work includes:

  • Advising a global company in connection with parallel DOJ, FCA and SFO investigations regarding allegations of bribery and corruption.
  • Representing an individual under investigation by the FCA and CFTC for trading related conduct issues.
  • Advising a global financial institution as part of a multi-office teams in connection with the LIBOR and FX investigations conducted by antitrust, criminal and regulatory bodies in the UK, U.S. and various other major jurisdictions, which involved extensive direct interactions with the FCA and SFO.
  • Advising a U.S. investment bank in connection with criminal investigations brought simultaneously in the U.S. (DOJ and SEC) and UK (Financial Conduct Authority) in relation to suspicions of insider dealing.
  • Advising a global consulting firm in connection with enquiries from the FCA regarding insider dealing concerns.
  • Advising a U.S. listed global consulting firm to resolve historic contentious tax issues with the Swiss Federal and Cantonal tax authorities.
  • Advising a Swiss insurance company in connection with its U.S. cross border tax exposure.
  • Advising a global media company in connection with various cross-border whistleblower and other internal investigations in Europe and APAC.
  • Advising a global musical instruments company in connection with a CMA antitrust investigation, through to negotiated resolution.
  • Advising a care home management firm and its North American shareholders in connection with a CMA consumer law investigation, which resulted in the first resolution in which the CMA used its newly acquired Enhanced Consumer Measures (in this case formal Undertakings).

Prior to joining the firm, Steve practiced in the Wellington office of a leading New Zealand law firm. Before entering private practice, Steve was a Legal and Policy Advisor at the New Zealand Law Reform Commission where he worked on a range of criminal and public law enquiries.

Christian Talley is an associate in the Washington, D.C., office of Gibson Dunn. He practices in the firm’s Appellate and Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, and Judgment Enforcement Practice Groups.

Before joining Gibson Dunn, Christian clerked for the Honorable John K. Bush of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the Honorable Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Christian earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he received a merit scholarship, served as a Notes Editor on the Virginia Law Review, and was elected to the Order of the Coif. Before law school, Christian studied history at Oxford University, earning a master’s degree with Distinction. He received his undergraduate degree in history, magna cum laude and with highest honors, from Vanderbilt University, winning departmental prizes for best essay and best thesis.

His legal writing has appeared in the law reviews of Yale, Stanford, and Virginia, among others.

Christian is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia and before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Tenth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuits.

Eleen Zhou is an associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Business Restructuring & Reorganization and Liability Management & Special Situations Practice Groups. Her practice focuses on representing credit investors, sponsors, and borrowers in a broad range of liability management transactions, distressed financings and private credit financings.

Eleen earned her Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School in 2022. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting, Sculpture, and Visual/Critical Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2016.

Representative Clients and Transactions*

  • An ad hoc group of senior lenders to Sinclair Broadcast Group in connection with a recapitalization and refinancing of more than $4.25 billion of the company’s debt.
  • Cision in connection with a $250 million new money financing and a $2.4 billion recapitalization of its credit facilities and senior notes.
  • An ad hoc group of term lenders to SI Group in connection with a $1.8 billion uptier recapitalization transaction.
  • United Site Services in a $300 million new money financing and the recapitalization of $2.6 billion of secured and unsecured liabilities.
  • An ad hoc group of term lenders to Mobileum, Inc. in connection with the company’s Chapter 11 proceedings and related DIP-to-exit financing.
  • An ad hoc group of lenders in an amend-and-extend transaction for hospital group Quorum Healthcare.
  • An ad hoc group of term lenders to Hornblower Group in connection with the company’s Chapter 11 proceedings and related DIP-to-exit financing.

*Includes transactions prior to Eleen’s association with Gibson Dunn.

Raleigh Cavero is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn. She practices in the firm’s Appellate and Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice, First Amendment and Free Expression, and Litigation practice groups.

Raleigh received her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 2022, where she served as a Forum editor for the Yale Law Journal, an Online Editor for the Yale Journal on Regulation, an intern for the federal prosecutor in the District of Connecticut, and an extern for the Honorable Duane Benton of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Prior to law school, she earned a Masters in Philosophy with Distinction from the University of Cambridge in American History. Her thesis won the 2017 Best Postgraduate Paper Prize at the Historians of the 20th Century United States conference and the Trinity Hall Bateman Scholarship for academic performance. Raleigh also holds a Bachelor of Arts with distinction in History from Yale College. There, she was a Yale Journalism Scholar and co-founded, anchored, and produced YTV at the Yale Daily News. Her on-air and written reporting has appeared on NBCNews.com and Vice News. Other writing experience includes speechwriting for Yale President Peter Salovey and research assistance for former-New York Times journalist Sam Tannehaus’s new biography of William F. Buckley.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Raleigh clerked for the Honorable Kevin C. Newsom on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the Honorable Trevor N. McFadden on the District Court for the District of Columbia

Raleigh is a member of the bar of Washington, D.C. She is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Ankita Ritwik is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the International Arbitration, Transnational Litigation and Judgement and Arbitral Award Enforcement Practice Groups.

Ankita has extensive experience in investment treaty and international commercial arbitration, including award enforcement in multiple jurisdictions. She has represented a variety of clients with investments in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa, in the mining, energy, telecommunications, real estate, maritime and manufacturing industries in international arbitration and enforcement proceedings. Recently recognized by The Legal 500 as a “Leading Associate” in Dispute Resolution – International Arbitration, Ankita also brings deep familiarity with a wide variety of arbitral institutions including ICSID, UNCITRAL, ICC, SCC, HKIAC, SIAC, AIAC, TAI, DIA and OCC. Ankita was previously recognized as a “Rising Star” by The Legal 500 in 2023 and 2024.

She earned her law degree cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was the Notes Editor for the Harvard International Law Journal. She graduated with honors from Yale University, where she double-majored in Economics and Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry. Before attending law school, Ankita worked as a business consultant at McKinsey & Co.

She is fluent in Hindi, and has a working knowledge of Spanish and French. Ankita is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and the State of New York.

A sample of Ankita’s experience includes*:

  • Representing a maritime and salvage company in a USD 10 billion arbitration against Colombia, arising from the discovery of a historical sunken shipwreck.
  • Representing investors in a telecommunications enterprise with over USD 1.5 billion in arbitration awards against India in the enforcement of those awards.
  • Representing a number of U.S. investors in an ICSID arbitration claim against Colombia of over USD 200 million, arising from a significant property development and management enterprise in the State.
  • Advising U.S. investors in a large scale precious metals mining project in a former Soviet Union country in parallel investor state and commercial arbitration claims.
  • Representing multiple international investors seeking enforcement of arbitration awards against Spain, arising from investments in renewable energy projects in the country.
  • Successfully represented a multinational telecommunications company in a number of contract disputes under a multi-jurisdictional service agreement framework, resulting in a favorable settlement for the parties.
  • Successfully represented an Australian copper and gold mining company with a USD 6 billion arbitration award against Pakistan in the global enforcement of that award.
  • Successfully represented European investors in renewable energy projects in a multi-million dollar ICSID arbitration against Spain. The tribunal found Spain liable for violating its obligations under the Energy Charter Treaty and is currently evaluating damages.
  • Successfully represented a Swiss mining company with investments in a coal mine in an ICSID arbitration against Colombia, securing an arbitration award of over USD 20 million for the client.
  • Successfully represented a Canadian gold mining company in an ICSID arbitration against Colombia. The tribunal found Colombia liable for violating its obligations under the Canada-Colombia FTA, and is currently evaluating damages.
  • Successfully represented European investors in a manufacturing plant in Venezuela in an ICSID arbitration against the country, resulting in an arbitration award of over USD 160 million.
  • Advised a large multinational oil and gas company with investments in North Africa on potential contractual disputes with the State-owned oil company.

*Includes experience prior to joining Gibson Dunn

Mary Aline Fertin is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn, where she practices in the firm’s Litigation Department.

Mary Aline’s practice spans a broad range of complex matters, with a focus on commercial and investor-state international arbitrations, cross-border disputes, judgement enforcements, commercial litigations, and First Amendment issues. Mary Aline maintains a robust pro-bono practice in the areas of immigration, international human rights, and First Amendment rights.

Mary Aline earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, and her Masters of Law in International and Comparative Law, cum laude, from Duke University School of Law in 2023. She served as Notes Editor on the Duke Journal of Comparative and International Law and represented Duke University in the 2023 Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, earning the distinctions of Third Best Oralist in the Prague Pre-Moot and an Honorable Mention for Claimant’s Brief in the Vis Moot. Mary Aline was a Teaching Assistant in three courses, to include: (1) the Duke First Amendment Clinic, (2) the Trauma Informed Courts Practicum, and (3) the Appellate Practice seminar.

She previously served as a paralegal in the Consumer Protection Division of the Federal Trade Commission, and she obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy from Duke University in 2019.

She is a native speaker of English and French. Mary Aline is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.

Martin Wallner is an associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn, where his practice focuses on project finance, financing transactions and mergers and acquisitions in the projects, infrastructure and energy space.

He holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, an M.A. in Economics and International Relations with a specialization in Infrastructure Finance and Policy from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a Law Degree from the University of Vienna in Austria.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Martin worked as associate for a prominent international law firm and for a multilateral development bank.

Alexander D. Fine is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn. He is a member of the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions, Finance, and Private Equity Practice Groups.

Alexander’s practice focuses on advising private equity sponsors and public companies on a wide range of transactional matters, including strategic mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, minority investments, and joint ventures. He also advises clients on corporate governance and securities law matters.

Alexander has been named by Lawdragon Leading Dealmakers in America 2025 and 2026, which honors “the eminents of M&A and power players of private equity”, and was also recognized in The Legal 500 U.S. for Capital Markets: Equity Offerings, 2014. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Alexander was a partner at another international law firm. Before that he served as Executive Vice President and Corporate Counsel of Allied Capital Corporation.

Representative Clients and Transactions

Private Equity Sponsor Transactions

  • ATL Partners on various M&A transactions, including:
    • the sale of GCL (fka Rock-It Cargo) to Providence Equity Partners
    • the sale of GEOST to Rocket Lab
    • the acquisition of Aero Accessories and related add-on acquisition of AOG Accessories
    • the acquisitions of GEOST, Ophir Corporation and Trident Systems to form LightRidge Solutions
    • the sale by ATL Partners and BCI of Pilot Freight Services to A.P. Moller-Maersk for $1.7 billion
    • the significant minority investment in Arrive Logistics
    • the acquisition by ATL Partners and BCI of Valence Surface Technologies and the related add-on acquisition of Fountain Plating
    • the acquisition of Global Critical Logistics (fka Rock-it Cargo) and related add-on acquisition of SOS Global
  • Crestview Partners on various M&A transactions, including:
    • the sale of Elo Touch Solutions to Zebra Technologies for $1.3 billion
    • the acquisition of Smyth Companies
    • the acquisition of OneMagnify and the related add-on acquisitions of RXA, Splash Analytics and Guidance Solutions and Optimal’s performance marketing business
    • the acquisition of AutoLenders
    • the formation of the SyBridge Technologies platform and various related acquisitions, including Concours Mold, Active Industrial, X-Cell, Pyramid, Action Tool, Cavaform, Wachusett Precision Tool and Fast Radius
    • the formation the of Convergix Automation Solutions platform and various related acquisitions, including JMP Solutions, Classic Design and Eagle Technologies
    • the acquisition of Elo Touch Solutions
    • the sale of JR Automation Technologies to Hitachi, Ltd. for $1.425 billion
    • the acquisition of Congruex
    • the acquisition of Accuride Corporation*
    • the acquisition of Stackpole International and its subsequent sale to Johnson Electric Holdings Ltd.*
  • Catchment Capital in the acquisition of Fidus Systems
  • MidOcean Partners and PSP Investments in the sale of Noranco Inc. to Precision Castparts Corp.*
  • Crestview Partners and MidOcean Partners in the sale of OneLink Communications*
  • MidOcean Partners in the acquisition of Water Pik, Inc.*
  • MidOcean Partners in the acquisition of Jones & Frank*

Public Company Transactions

Various M&A transaction representations related to the power and energy sector, including:

  • Essential Utilities in its pending $63 billion merger with American Water
  • CenterPoint Energy in its pending $2.62 billion sale of Vectren to National Fuel Gas
  • Essential Utilities in the sale of its portfolio of microgrid and district energy properties to Cordia
  • Essential Utilities in the sale of its West Virginia gas utility business to Hope Gas
  • Avista Corporation in its $5.3 billion sale to Hydro One Limited (deal terminated).
  • Morgan Stanley, as financial advisor to Vivint Solar, in connection with Vivint Solar’s $3.2 billion merger with Sunrun Inc.
  • WGL Holdings in its $6.4 billion sale to AltaGas, Ltd.*
  • Questar Corporation in its $4.4 billion sale to Dominion Resources, Inc.*
  • Piedmont Natural Gas in its $4.9 billion sale to Duke Energy*
  • Hess Corporation in the sale of its hydrogen fuel cell business*

Other representative public company M&A transactions include:

  • FTI Consulting in its acquisition of Delta Partners
  • Welltower in its acquisition of the seniors housing properties of Holiday Retirement, a portfolio company of Fortress Investment Group, and various joint venture matters
  • Sagent Pharmaceuticals in its $750 million sale to Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical*
  • Sagent Pharmaceuticals in its acquisition of Omega Laboratories*
  • Special Committee of the Board of Directors of SRA International, Inc. in its $1.9 billion going-private acquisition by Providence Equity Partners*

Alexander graduated in 2000 from the University of Virginia School of Law where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and of the Editorial Board of the Virginia Law Review.

*Engagements prior to joining Gibson Dunn.

Oliver Nassiri is an associate in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn. He is a member of the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group.

Oliver represents institutional real estate investors, lenders, and developers in a variety of complex real estate transactions, including joint ventures, acquisitions, dispositions, developments, and financings.

Oliver received his Juris Doctor, with honors, from the George Washington University Law School in 2017. He received his Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2013.

Oliver is admitted to practice in the State of California and in the District of Columbia.

Carli Zimelman is an associate in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn. She currently practices in the firm’s Transactional Department.

Carli earned her Juris Doctor in 2023 from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif. While in law school, she was a Quarterfinalist in USC’s Hale Moot Court Honors Program and was published in Spotlight, USC Gould School of Law’s Entertainment Law Publication, for her article discussing how Taylor Swift was able to legally re-record her music and how her actions will affect the music industry in the future. Carli graduated summa cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, with double minors in Global Studies and Film, Television, and Media Studies.

Carli is admitted to practice in the State of California.

Representative Transactions

  • Advised SpaceX, an aerospace company, on its acquisition of xAI, an artificial intelligence platform.
  • Advised OceanSound Partners and its portfolio company DMI on DMI’s divestiture of its commerce, marketing & strategy, and digital engineering services segment to Encora, a portfolio company of Advent International and Warburg Pincus and a leader in digital engineering services.
  • Advised OceanSound Partners and its portfolio company SMX in its acquisition of cBEYONData, a digital technology consulting firm.
  • Represented Aurora Capital Partners, a private equity firm, in connection with the acquisition of First Legal, a litigation support services company.
  • Advised Tower Arch Capital on its acquisition of HDW Construction & Drilling, LLC, an auguring and hand-tunneling business, via its HardRock Infrastructure platform.

Ryan Butcher is an English qualified associate in the London office of Gibson Dunn. He is a member of the firm’s Dispute Resolution Group. Ryan regularly advises clients in the tech space in relation to both disputes and regulatory matters, including online safety regimes across various jurisdictions (such as the UK Online Safety Act and the EU Digital Services Act). He also maintains an active Pro Bono practice and is a member of the London Pro Bono Committee.
 
In 2024 and 2025, Ryan spent time on secondment to (i) the Content Policy Legal team of a large multinational online retailer and (ii) the Content Regulation Legal team of a large multinational video sharing social networking platform. In both cases, Ryan worked across a range of online safety matters, primarily related to regulatory compliance and implementation. 
 
Ryan also has broad experience of International Litigation and Arbitration, particularly in matters relating to Fraud and Financial Services (including offshore experience, having worked on cases in Singapore and the Cayman Islands). He trained at Gibson Dunn, during which time he spent six months seconded to the EMEA Litigation team of UBS. 

Dillon Westfall is a litigation associate in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. She is a member of the Firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations, Media, Entertainment and Technology, and Litigation Practice Groups. She is currently on secondment.

Dillon regularly represents clients, including major multinational corporations, in criminal, regulatory, and internal investigations, with a focus on anti-corruption issues. Dillon has participated in multiple large-scale FCPA investigations and SEC enforcement actions relating to allegations of securities fraud and other violations of the securities laws. In addition, Dillon’s practice focuses on complex federal and state court litigation. She is recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for Criminal Defense: White Collar.

Dillon maintains an active pro bono practice, focusing on the fields of immigration and the first amendment.  She currently serves on the advisory board for California State University, Long Beach’s Moot Court team.

Dillon earned her Juris Doctor in 2018 from New York University School of Law, where she served as an Executive Articles Editor on Annual Survey of American Law. While at NYU, Dillon served as Vice President of the Media Law Collaborative and worked on a Circuit Court appeal as a member of the Reproductive Justice Clinic. She graduated cum laude from California State University, Long Beach in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Classics.

Dillon is admitted to practice in the State of New York and before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Karin Portlock is a partner in the New York office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the White Collar Defense and Investigations, Crisis Management, Litigation, and Labor and Employment Practice Groups. As a former federal prosecutor, Karin has a broad-based government enforcement and investigations practice, ranging from government and internal corporate investigations to criminal defense and regulatory enforcement litigation through trial. She regularly represents companies and individuals under criminal investigation and indictment by the U.S. Department of Justice as well as in civil probes by federal regulators and major litigation by State Attorneys General. Karin is a member of the firm’s State Attorneys General Task Force.

Karin is an experienced trial lawyer and courtroom advocate. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Karin was an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York from 2015 to 2020. In that role, she tried multiple cases to verdict and prosecuted a broad range of federal criminal violations, including fraud, racketeering, and violent crimes, leading large-scale investigations of murder, firearms, and sex trafficking offenses as well as crimes involving minors and other vulnerable victims. She has particular expertise with victims of trauma and represents victims and witnesses at all stages of investigation and prosecution, including in cases involving highly sensitive subject matter.

Karin frequently leads independent investigations, particularly in the employment context on behalf of corporate boards into workplace-related issues. She has conducted numerous confidential investigations into discrimination, harassment, and related allegations of misconduct, including executive misconduct, for companies in a variety of industries, including the media, technology, financial services, nonprofit, and entertainment sectors.

Karin’s pro bono practice is similarly robust—focusing on civil rights and criminal justice issues. She currently represents the estate of police shooting victim, Terence Crutcher, who was unarmed and had his hands raised when he was shot and killed by Tulsa police in 2016 in violation of his constitutional rights. Mr. Crutcher’s killing was captured on video and has been the subject of extensive national media coverage. In 2023 Karin secured a unanimous federal jury verdict in the Central District of California in a historic civil rights case for the firm’s pro bono client, Deon Jones, who was shot in the face with a rubber bullet by a Los Angeles Police Department officer while peacefully protesting during the May 2020 mass demonstrations in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. The result represents the first jury verdict for a protester victimized by the LAPD in connection with the 2020 mass demonstrations. Karin also represents incarcerated domestic violence survivors seeking relief under New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act. In 2023, she led a pro bono team that secured the release of a survivor in the first successful appeal under the law in New York’s Third Department.

Karin has been named a 2026 “Future Star” in White Collar by Benchmark Litigation, a Top 100 African American attorney in New York by The National Black Lawyers (2022-2025), and has been named to Lawdragon’s list of 500 Global Leaders in Crisis Management (2025-2026). Karin currently serves on the White Collar Crime Committee of the New York City Bar Association and is an active member of the Women’s White Collar Defense Association, where she serves on the Diversity Committee.

Karin is an advocate for diversity in the profession and speaks and publishes frequently on the advantages of diverse legal teams. She is consistently cognizant of the benefits that diverse teams bring to her clients and is committed to developing diverse talent and mentoring junior lawyers of color. Karin is an Alumni Mentor to the Columbia Black Law Students Association, a former Board Member of the Stanford National Black Alumni Association, and a 2022 fellow of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.

Karin received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and is a graduate of Columbia Law School where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar and Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Law Review—the first Black student to hold that position. Following law school, Karin clerked for Judges Amalya L. Kearse and Jon O. Newman, both of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She is a former member of the Second Circuit’s Pro Bono Panel and is an experienced appellate advocate. Karin has handled numerous appeals before federal and state appellate courts. Earlier in her career, Karin was a lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School where she taught legal writing. 

Karin is admitted to practice in the State of New York and before the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Jessica Busetti is a staff attorney in the Munich office of Gibson Dunn where she currently practices with the firm’s Litigation Department.

She studied law at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich and passed her first state examination in 2019. During her legal education she worked for renowned international law firms in Munich and gained experience in IP/Trademark Law and Labor Law. After passing her second state examination at the Higher Regional Court Munich, Jessica has been admitted as a German lawyer (Rechtsanwältin) since 2025.

Jessica speaks German and English.

Christoph Jacob is an associate in the Munich office of Gibson Dunn. He is a member of the firm’s Antitrust and Competition, Intellectual Property, Technology Transactions, and Privacy, Cybersecurity & Data Innovation Practice Groups.

Christoph advises clients on complex German and international transactions, focusing on IP/technology and antitrust.

He studied law at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, where he passed his first state examination in 2019. Christoph passed his second state examination at the Higher Regional Court Munich in 2021 and has been admitted as a German lawyer (Rechtsanwalt) since 2022. During his studies and his legal clerkship, he worked in one of the most highly regarded mid-sized firms in Germany as well as a fintech start-up.

Christoph speaks German and English.

Ning Ning is a partner in the Hong Kong office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. She is a member of the firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice and is based in the Hong Kong office. Ning has extensive experience representing multinational corporations throughout the Asia Pacific region on a wide variety of compliance and anti-corruption matters, including government investigations, internal investigations, compliance program counseling, risk assessments, and crisis management.  

Ning has represented clients before the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) involving potential violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), securities laws, and other white collar defense matters. She has led numerous cross-border investigations for publicly traded corporations and is well-versed in local data governance frameworks. Ning regularly advises clients on internal investigations relating to allegations of corruption, fraud, conflicts of interest, and accounting irregularities. She also counsels clients on designing and continuously improving their corporate compliance programs; conducting compliance risk assessments; and performing pre-investment due diligence focusing on anti-corruption, trade compliance, and data governance.

The Gibson Dunn white collar team in Asia is regularly recognized as the leading practice in the region in publications such as Chambers Global, Chambers Asia Pacific, Chambers Greater China, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, and IFLR1000. Ning is recognized as an Up and Coming partner for Corporate Investigations/Anti-Corruption by Chambers Greater China Region and Chambers Global.

Her recent experience includes the following:

  • Conducted FCPA investigations involving relationships with distributors and physicians in China for multiple medical device companies
  • Conducted internal investigations and compliance assessment involving sponsorships, consulting arrangements, grants, and donations for life sciences companies across the Asia Pacific region
  • Conducted internal investigations involving alleged export controls violations and product diversions for multiple U.S. companies    
  • Conducted pre-acquisition due diligence and post-acquisition portfolio company integration for multiple private equity sponsors investing in the Asia Pacific region

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Ning practiced at international law firms in Chicago, London, and Hong Kong.

Ning serves on the steering committee of the Women’s White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA) Hong Kong chapter. 

She is a native Mandarin speaker and has extensive experience in China-related investigations and compliance matters.