Carolyn Abram is a partner in the Dubai office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the Investment Funds, Financial Regulatory, Private Equity, Projects & Infrastructure and Real Estate Practice Groups.

Carolyn primarily represents fund sponsors on the structuring, formation, and operation of private investment funds across asset classes, delivering successful fund launches for emerging and spin out managers as well as some of the most established regional and global asset managers. Having practiced UAE fund formation for over 9 years, she has a proven track record in navigating the legal and regulatory intricacies of large scale, complex cross border funds and also applies her innovative and solution-oriented approach to other bespoke investment arrangements, including seed and stake arrangements with anchor investors, asset manager joint venture agreements, co-investment and warehousing arrangements, carried interest arrangements, and fund restructurings. Carolyn additionally advises on regulatory and structural matters relating to the operations of asset managers in the Middle East, particularly for global asset managers seeking to enter the UAE market.

Carolyn’s deep market knowledge also enables her to advise significant institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, seeking to deploy capital into a range of investment structures including open- and closed-ended funds, separate managed account arrangements, co-investments, and other bespoke private placements across asset classes.

Her international perspective is shaped by her experience practicing law from London, New York, and the UAE, and she has been seconded to both the New York and London offices of one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers.

Carolyn is ranked for her funds expertise by Chambers and The Legal 500. She is admitted to practice in England and Wales, and is registered legal consultant with the Dubai Legal Affairs Department.

Clients note that “Carolyn has an absolute depth of knowledge in funds. She has extensive experience of private equity funds and is also readily available and a pleasure to deal with” (Chambers Global) and “she is commercial and understands our needs when it comes to negotiating with stakeholders” (Chambers Global). Clients also regard Carolyn as “outstanding in her responsiveness, innovative solutions and can do attitude. Nothing is too much and everything is undertaken with utmost professionalism.” (Legal 500 EMEA).

Representative Experience*

Fund Formation: Represented and advised multiple investment managers (GCC and global) on the establishment of open- and closed-ended private investment funds across asset classes, domiciled across the GCC and internationally, including:

  • $2 billion “fund of hedge funds” in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM);
  • $1.5 billion MENA infrastructure fund primarily domiciled in the ADGM and operated by a global asset manager;
  • Venture debt fund targeting $250 million domiciled in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC);
  • $220 million MENA private equity fund in the ADGM;
  • $300 million Shari’a-compliant private credit fund domiciled in the Cayman Islands with a DIFC asset manager, targeting both MENA and US investments;
  • $1 billion MENA infrastructure fund with a structure involving both GCC and international vehicles;
  • $250 million venture capital fund domiciled in the ADGM, targeting incubator investments;
  • $150 million MENA private credit fund in the ADGM, one of the first funds to be classified as a Private Credit Fund under the ADGM rules;
  • $500 million real estate fund domiciled in the DIFC; and
  • Cayman domiciled fund of funds structured as a segregated portfolio company and managed by a DIFC asset manager;

While seconded in-house to one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers, assisted with raising private funds across private equity, real estate, and infrastructure platforms, including one of the largest private infrastructure funds ever raised at the time.

Investor Representation: Represents multiple Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and other sovereign wealth funds, family offices and institutional investors on the investment of billions of US dollars, including into private funds across asset classes, separate managed accounts, co-investments, and funds-of-one.

Financial Services Regulatory: Regularly provides advice on UAE asset manager regulation, and fund distribution for the GCC region to international investment managers.

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

Erin Kim is an associate in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. She currently practices with the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group.  Erin has a wide base of experience in all stages of intellectual property litigation, and has been a member of multiple trial teams.  She also has experience in various federal courts, including the Eastern and Western Districts of Texas, the District of Delaware, and the Northern and Central Districts of California. Erin has worked on cases for high-tech, media, and consumer product clients, addressing patent, trademark, and other intellectual property issues.

Erin joined the firm in 2023 after serving as a law clerk for the Honorable Eric N. Vitaliano of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Erin received her Juris Doctor, cum laude, in 2022 from New York University School of Law, where she was an Articles Editor of the New York University Law Review. She was also a Robert McKay Scholar and a recipient of the Edmond Cahn Law Review Award. While in law school, Erin served as a civil litigation intern with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Erin received her Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature with departmental and general honors in 2016 from the University of Chicago.

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

Francesco Mancuso is an associate in the London office of Gibson Dunn and is a member of the Private Equity, Mergers and Acquisitions, Project and Infrastructure and Capital Markets Practice Groups.

Francesco regularly advises private equity and corporate clients on a wide range of cross-border corporate and M&A transactions.  He also has experience advising issuers, selling shareholders, and underwriters on a variety of significant SEC-registered and unregistered capital markets transactions, particularly on initial public offerings, private placements, and other equity and debt transactions as well as advising on white collar investigation-related diligence in the context of broader corporate transactions. Francesco is triple-qualified in New York, England & Wales, and Italy.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Francesco practised in the New York, London and Milan offices of other major international law firms.  

Luca Bernini is of counsel in the London office of Gibson Dunn. He is a member of the Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity Practice Groups.

His practice focuses on cross-border private equity transactions in Europe. With more than a decade of experience in Italy as a corporate lawyer, Luca is an active member of the Italian practice of the firm. Luca is triple-qualified in England & Wales, New York, and Italy.

Luca has also extensive experience in venture capital and growth equity transactions, including early and later stage investments following NVCA and BVCA standards. He has also gained experience advising on white collar investigation-related diligence in the context of broader corporate transactions.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, he practised in the London and Milan offices of an international law firm and in the Milan office of a domestic law firm.

Luca received his law degree with honors from Università Commerciale L. Bocconi in Milan in 2008 and a Master of Laws with honors from Columbia Law School, New York, in 2012, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.

Luca is a native Italian speaker and is fluent in English.

Jamie France is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Antitrust and Competition Practice Group.

Jamie represents clients in merger and non-merger investigations before the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, as well as in complex private and government antitrust litigation. She also counsels clients on a range of antitrust merger and conduct matters. Her experience encompasses a broad set of industries, including healthcare, technology, consumer goods, retail, pharmaceuticals, software, financial services, medical devices, and gaming. Jamie has been recognized in the 2024 edition of the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for Antitrust Law and Litigation – Antitrust.

Jamie joined the firm after six years as an attorney in the Mergers IV Division of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition, where she served in lead roles on high-profile merger investigations and enforcement actions. Jamie has significant experience litigating merger challenges on behalf of merging parties and the government and was an integral member of the FTC’s trial teams on FTC v. Thomas Jefferson University, FTC v. Hackensack Meridian Health, FTC v. Sanford Health, FTC v. Advocate Health Care Network, and FTC v. Benco Dental Supply. She was twice honored with the FTC’s Janet D. Steiger Award for her contributions to the Sanford and Advocate litigations. Before joining the FTC, Jamie was an associate in Gibson Dunn’s Washington, D.C. office. She served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Representative matters include:

  • Trial counsel for Community Health Systems in FTC v. Novant Health (W.D.N.C.), defeating the FTC’s motion for a preliminary injunction.
  • Trial counsel for Edwards Lifesciences in the FTC’s challenge to the proposed acquisition of JenaValve Technology (D.D.C.).
  • Lead counsel for Nielsen and NCS in obtaining FTC clearance for the sale of advertising targeting and measurement businesses to Circana.
  • Represented Amazon in securing FTC clearance for the acquisition of One Medical.
  • Lead counsel for PepsiCo and its Frito-Lay business in obtaining FTC clearance for the acquisition of Siete Foods.
  • Lead counsel for Hershey in securing FTC clearance for the acquisition of snack company LesserEvil.
  • Represented Merck in securing global antitrust clearance for the acquisition of Acceleron Pharma.
  • Representing Hartford HealthCare and its affiliates in private antitrust litigation brought by a competitor and in separate antitrust actions brought by two putative classes of customers.
  • Represented financial services company as a successful claimant in antitrust arbitration involving monopolization claims.
  • Represented multiple employers in FTC investigations related to labor competition.
  • Represented global food producer in FTC 6(b) study on supply chain disruptions.

Jamie graduated with honors from the University of Texas School of Law in 2011, where she served as a Notes Editor on the Texas Law Review. Jamie was recognized with a Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing in 2011 for her publication, A Proposed Solar Access Law for the State of Texas, 89 Tex. L. Rev. 187 (2010). She graduated magna cum laude from the George Washington University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs and Spanish.

Jamie is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and New York, and before multiple federal district courts across the country, including the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Andrea Shen is an associate in the San Francisco office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where she currently practices in the firm’s Corporate Department.

She received her J.D., Order of the Coif, from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law in 2020, where she served as Executive Editor for the Berkeley Technology Law Journal. While in law school, Andrea worked in the Advanced New Business Counselling Practicum where she advised emerging companies on transactional matters. She also earned a Certificate in Business Law.

Andrea received her undergraduate degree in Business Administration with High Honors from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business.

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

Prerna Soni is a partner in the San Francisco and New York offices of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where she is a member of the firm’s Real Estate Group. She serves as the Co-Chair of the firmwide Associate Committee and is a member of the firm’s Hiring Committee.

Her practice involves a broad range of commercial real estate transactions. She represents private equity funds, REITs, developers, and other real estate investors in connection with acquisitions and dispositions, joint ventures, preferred equity transactions, construction and permanent financings, and development matters. Prerna also represents institutional lenders in connection with mortgage and mezzanine financings, loan sales and acquisitions, subordinate debt structures and intercreditor agreements. Her practice covers a wide variety of asset classes across the country.

A significant portion of Prerna’s practice focuses on distressed transactions. She regularly advises investors and lenders on the acquisition and disposition of distressed and non-performing loans, as well as structured loan portfolio transactions. She has extensive experience counseling clients throughout the full life cycle of distressed investments, including loan workouts and restructurings, enforcement strategies and remedies, and matters involving intercreditor conflicts, litigation, and bankruptcy concerns. Her experience includes foreclosures, deeds in lieu of foreclosure, assignments-in-lieu of foreclosure and receiverships.

Prerna often advises lending clients in connection with all aspects of taking title to underlying real estate assets, including organizational structure and corporate governance, negotiating joint venture agreements and property management agreements, and positioning assets for stabilization and disposition. Although her practice covers assets in various jurisdictions, she has particular expertise with nonjudicial foreclosures (and other enforcement of remedies) in California.

Prerna was recognized as a Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America™ 2023-2025 in Real Estate Law. She was also selected as one of CREFC’s 20 Under 40 in 2025.

Prerna received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2014. She received a B.S. in Finance and a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Law from Binghamton University in 2011.

Prior to joining the firm in 2018, Prerna was an associate at Dechert LLP in New York. She is admitted to practice law in New York, California, and Pennsylvania.

Alin Potra is a senior associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn. He is a member of the firm’s Finance Practice Group.

Alin represents financial sponsors and lenders across a wide range of complex credit and financing structures involving investment funds, including private equity funds, private credit funds, secondaries funds and real estate funds. His practice includes advising on subscription credit facilities, NAV-based facilities, hybrid facilities, liquidity facilities, GP financings and employee co-investment facilities. He also has significant experience structuring and implementing sophisticated rated note feeder and collateralized fund obligations transactions and related offerings.

Alin received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) and his Bachelor of Civil Law (B.C.L.) from McGill University.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Alin was an associate at another leading international law firm in New York as a member of the Finance practice group.

Tianren (Jason) Zhang is a tax associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn.

Jason earned his Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law in 2024, where he served as a Staff Editor for the New York University Journal of Law & Business. Jason received his Bachelor of Arts in History and Mathematics, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Bowdoin College in 2021.

Jason is admitted to practice law in the State of New York.

Rana Sahar is an associate in the San Francisco office of Gibson Dunn. She practices in the firm’s Litigation Department and maintains an active pro bono practice.

Rana earned her J.D. from Berkeley Law, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as an Associate Editor for the California Law Review. During law school, Rana also participated in Berkeley Law’s Reentry Advocacy Project. Rana earned her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in 2013. Before law school, Rana worked at the Innocence Project and Physicians for Human Rights.

Rana is admitted to practice in California and New York.

Travis is an accomplished trial lawyer who represents clients in large, complex, and high-profile business disputes across the country. A battle-tested advocate with first-chair experience, Travis brings a rare combination of courtroom poise, strategic precision, and client trust to every matter he handles. His practice spans energy, financial services, and other sophisticated commercial disputes, where the stakes are significant and the factual and legal terrain is demanding.

Travis currently serves as Of Counsel in Gibson Dunn’s Dallas office and has played a leading role in some of the firm’s most consequential trials. Most notably, he served as trial counsel in Energy Transfer v. Greenpeace, a landmark case arising from interference with the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The case resulted in a historic $667 million jury verdict in favor of Energy Transfer—the largest verdict in North Dakota history—cementing his reputation as a formidable courtroom advocate capable of delivering extraordinary results in high-stakes litigation.

Before joining Gibson Dunn, Travis practiced at a Chambers-ranked Band 1 litigation boutique in Dallas, Texas, where he was entrusted with leading significant commercial disputes. His successes included securing a $35 million summary judgment for a Dallas-based private equity firm in a breach-of-contract dispute and defeating a multi-million-dollar lawsuit involving alleged distribution breaches during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Travis’s courtroom foundation was forged during his distinguished service in the United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Commissioned as an officer after graduating from SMU Dedman School of Law, he served in both defense and prosecution roles. As defense counsel, he represented a high-ranking official in one of the most closely watched prosecutions arising from the Navy’s “Fat Leonard” scandal, a sweeping public corruption investigation that garnered national attention. In his subsequent tour as a prosecutor, Travis prosecuted cases on behalf of the USS NIMITZ (CVN-68), USS CARL VINSON (CVN-70), and Marine Corps Security Force Battalion.  In recognition of exceptional courtroom advocacy, he was awarded the New York City Bar Association’s Trial Advocacy Award, presented to the most outstanding trial attorney in his officer class.

Travis earned his J.D., cum laude, from SMU Dedman School of Law, where he served as Chair of the SMU Board of Advocates. Upon graduation, he was inducted into the National Order of Barristers in recognition of excellence in courtroom advocacy. He received his undergraduate degree in Economics from Pepperdine University.

Beyond his legal practice, Travis is deeply committed to service. He serves on the Board of Directors of the North Texas Chapter of Folds of Honor, an organization dedicated to raising scholarship funds for the spouses and children of fallen servicemembers and first responders.

Travis and his wife, Annie, are the proud parents of three children—Sawyer, Scout, and Oakley.

Honors/Awards

  • National Order of Barristers
  • New York City Bar Association Trial Advocacy Award
  • D Magazine’s list of Best Lawyers Under 40
  • Pepperdine University’s list of 40 Under 40

Publications

  • Death and Human Frailty: Why Juror Perceptions Should Shape Capital Punishment Policy, American Journal of Trial Advocacy

Daniel M. Ketani is Of Counsel in the New York office of Gibson Dunn. He is a member of the firm’s Litigation, White Collar Defense and Investigations, Securities Litigation, and Securities Enforcement practice groups.

Dan is a versatile litigator with more than a decade of experience representing clients in high-stakes litigation and investigations in New York and across the United States. Dan is experienced in defending and prosecuting cases at every stage of litigation, from complaint to trial to appeal. Dan also regularly defends individuals and entities in connection with sensitive and complex government investigations and enforcement proceedings, including by the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Securities and Exchange Commission, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, Federal Reserve Board of Governors, New York State Attorney General’s Office, and other government agencies. Dan has particular experience advising companies in the digital asset industry regarding litigation and regulatory matters.

Dan is a member of the Securities Litigation Committee of the New York City Bar Association. He has been recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America in the areas of commercial litigation, securities litigation, and white collar criminal defense.

Representative matters include:

Representative Matters

  • Representing the former CFO of Silicon Valley Bank in securities class actions, FDIC fiduciary duty litigation, and multiple governmental investigations concerning the bank’s failure in March 2023.
  • Trial counsel for Amazon in lawsuit by a former supplier seeking more than $500 million in damages.
  • Representing Bitfinex in forfeiture proceedings regarding more than 100,000 Bitcoin stolen from the exchange in a 2016 hack.
  • Representing Tether, the preeminent stablecoin issuer, in civil litigation matters.
  • Successfully represented a cryptocurrency exchange in a DOJ investigation.
  • Successfully represented a cryptocurrency issuer in a SEC investigation. 
  • Successfully represented private equity funds in fraud actions seeking to recover more than $200 million in investment losses, resulting in recoveries exceeding the original losses.*
  • Represented a digital asset investment vehicle in Delaware corporate control litigation.*
  • Represented a life sciences company in proxy contest litigation, resulting in precedent-setting decisions in New York regarding advance notice bylaws and the right of issuers to sue activist investors for proxy fraud.*
  • Successfully represented a former Big Four audit leader in a PCAOB investigation.*
  • Successfully represented a former Fortune 100 company senior executive in a SDNY criminal investigation and parallel SEC investigation regarding insider trading allegations.*
  • Successfully represented a Fortune 500 company executive in connection with an investigation by the DOJ and SEC of alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.*
  • Represented a former banker in a DOJ investigation and civil enforcement action seeking billions of dollars in penalties relating to the sale of mortgage-backed securities.*
  • Successfully represented a former automotive executive in a DOJ fraud investigation.*
  • Represented an industrial conglomerate seeking more than $1 billion in damages in two international arbitrations and U.S. litigation regarding a failed joint venture.*

Dan also dedicates significant time to pro bono matters. He successfully persuaded the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department, in a unanimous decision, to reverse a client’s felony conviction because of juror misconduct and improperly admitted propensity evidence. Dan has represented clients submitting amicus briefs in appeals courts across the United States, regarding issues including the constitutionality of age-based restrictions on the purchase of firearms and a constitutional right to a basic minimum education. Additionally, Dan has won asylum for refugees, including at contested asylum hearings.

Dan received his J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and an Articles Editor for the Journal of Law and Social Problems, and his B.A. in Economics from New York University. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, he was an associate at an international law firm.

Dan is admitted to practice in the State of New York, as well as before the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits.

*Matters handled prior to joining Gibson Dunn

Jonathan K. Layne, a partner in Gibson Dunn’s Century City office, joined the firm in 1979 and has served as Co-Chair of the Global Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Group and as a member of the firm’s Executive and Management Committees. Mr. Layne focuses on mergers and acquisitions, public offerings of equity (including IPOs) and debt, corporate finance and securities law, and has extensive experience in Board of Directors, Special Board Committee and corporate governance representations.

Mr. Layne is a graduate of The College of William and Mary where he earned a B.A. in economics and of Emory University School of Law and Emory University Goizueta Business School, where he received a joint JD/MBA degree. He graduated from law school with distinction and was a member of the Order of the Coif and Managing Editor of the Emory Law Journal, and he graduated from business school as a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the business honor society.

Mr. Layne is currently Chairman of the Board of Tower Cancer Research Foundation and served for many years as a member of the Board of Directors of the California Chamber of Commerce, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Emory University, and as Chairman of the Board of Trustees and President of The John Thomas Dye School, an independent elementary school. Mr. Layne also is a frequent lecturer on mergers and acquisitions, corporate and securities law topics.

Mr. Layne was selected by Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business as an international Leading Lawyer for Corporate/M&A (2012-2026). Since 2005, Mr. Layne has been recognized by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a Leading Lawyer for Corporate/M&A for Southern California and ranked him in Band 1 each year during the period 2008-2024 and as a Senior Statesperson for 2025. Chambers USA has also recognized him in the area of Capital Markets: Debt & Equity for California (2007–2015). He was also selected by IFLR 1000 for 2025. Recognized for his creative approach to transactions, The National Law Journal named Mr. Layne as a 2016 “Mergers & Acquisitions and Antitrust Trailblazer” which honors innovators in mergers and acquisitions and antitrust law for excellence in deal making, restructuring and financing. BTI Consulting named Mr. Layne to its 2014 Client Service All-Stars list, featuring lawyers identified by in-house counsel as those who provide “the absolute best client service” and he has been named to the Daily Journal’s list of “Top 100 Lawyers in California” for 2014. He also has been named among “Most Influential M&A Advisors” and ‘The Best of the Bar’ for Corporate Transactions by the Los Angeles Business Journal and listed as a leading M&A lawyer in Who’s Who Legal’s M&A and Governance guide for 2022, 2023 and 2024. Mr. Layne has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® each year since 2006 and was named Los Angeles Securities/Capital Markets Law Lawyer of the Year in 2011, 2016, 2018, 2022, 2023 and 2024; in addition, he was selected by his peers as Los Angeles Corporate Law Lawyer of the Year in 2017, 2019 and 2024. The “Lawyer of the Year” award is allocated annually to the lawyer who has the highest overall peer-review feedback in a certain practice area for a particular geographic region. The exhaustive peer-review surveys examine the professional abilities, current practice, and experience of each lawyer. Mr. Layne was also selected for inclusion by Expert Guide in its 2020 Banking, Finance and Transactional Law Expert Guide, which recognizes the top legal practitioners in the industry. In 2019, Mr. Layne was named as a “Legal Leader” by The American Lawyer and Martindale Hubbell. The list highlights top rated lawyers on the West Coast.

Amelia Jansen is an associate in the London office of Gibson Dunn and is a member of the Real Estate Practice Group.

Amelia has broad experience across corporate real estate transactions, including joint ventures and the acquisition and disposal of real estate companies for private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds, real estate companies, and pension funds.

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

Max Knight is an associate in the London office of Gibson Dunn. He is a member of the Business Restructuring and Reorganisation practice group.

Max has experience advising ad hoc committees, secondary investors, and sovereign wealth funds in restructurings and distressed situations.

Max obtained his Master of Laws in 2022 from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He obtained his Master in Science in History in 2020 from the University of Edinburgh, and he graduated with honours from the University of Exeter in 2019 with a combined degree in History and Politics.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Max worked in the London office of other major international law firm. 

 

Max’s experience includes: *

 

  • Advised an ad hoc committee of lenders to OQ Chemicals on certain credit amendments and its recapitalisation.
  • Advised an ad hoc committee of lenders to Alloheim in relation to an amend and extend transaction.
  • Advised an ad hoc group of noteholders and lenders on the recapitalisation of Consolis.
  • Advised a sovereign wealth fund on certain insolvency options relating to a portfolio company.
  • Advised a secondary investor to Altice France.

 

* All of these representations occurred prior to Max’s association with Gibson Dunn.

Sophie Hammond is an English qualified associate in the London office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the firm’s Dispute Resolution Group. Her practice covers high-value commercial litigation, international arbitration, and regulatory investigations. Sophie regularly advises clients in the tech space on both disputes and regulatory matters, including online and digital safety regimes across multiple jurisdictions. Sophie has undertaken a secondment at a global technology company assisting the company’s diverse range of services to complete their first year of UK Online Safety Act Child Harms risk assessments.

Sophie also works on ESG and human rights issues. She also maintains an active pro bono practice and is a member of the London Pro Bono Committee.

Sophie trained at Gibson Dunn and holds a joint honours Law and Geography degree from the University of Cambridge.
 

Clementine Hollyer is an English qualified associate in the London office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, practising in the firm’s Dispute Resolution Group.

Clementine has broad commercial litigation and regulatory experience, including work across the technology, retail and financial insurance sectors. Recent work has included supporting a major technology platform in a significant regulatory investigation, and advising a global insurance and professional services provider responding to the collapse of a major FinTech company and the ensuing investigations and proceedings. She has also assisted a leading multinational retailer in large scale equal pay litigation, and supported clients through CMA, SFO and FCA investigations. 

She trained at Gibson Dunn, during which she completed a six month secondment to the firm’s Hong Kong office and gained experience with the Labour & Employment and Competition & Antitrust teams. 

She also maintains an active pro bono practice, working alongside organisations such as REDRESS, Human Dignity Trust, Prisoners’ Advice Service, Safe Passage and Refugee Legal Support. 

Claire Shepherd is a partner in the Antitrust and Competition practice group of Gibson Dunn, based in the London office. 

Claire’s practice spans the full spectrum of contentious and non-contentious UK and EU antitrust matters, including mergers, behavioural investigations and appeals, antitrust related litigation and other competition compliance issues. She has particular expertise in navigating antitrust and foreign investment / national security regimes on high-profile, complex and politically sensitive global transactions, and advising on antitrust and digital markets frameworks and regulatory engagement in the technology space. 

Claire advises corporate and private capital clients across a wide range of industry sectors, including in particular AI, technology and digital services, aerospace and defence, consumer products and services, entertainment and media, and financial services.

Claire speaks on a range of EU and UK antitrust and foreign investment issues, and has completed secondments at large technology, entertainment and consumer services firms. 
 
Representative experience includes advising:*

  • VMware on the European Commission and CMA in-depth antitrust reviews of its $69 billion acquisition by Broadcom
  • Inflection AI on the antitrust review and regulatory engagement of its precedent setting strategic license and hire transaction with Microsoft
  • Several of the largest global technology firms on various strategic acquisitions and investments
  • Macquarie Rotorcraft on the UK antitrust review of its acquisition by SMFL LCI Helicopters Limited
  • Airbus on its acquisition of Unical Aviation 
  • News Corp on its sale of Foxtel to, and acquisition of a minority stake in, DAZN
  • A household brand in the consumer products sector on the antitrust review and regulatory engagement of its acquisition of a European competitor
  • ArcelorMittal on its $1 billion acquisition of a strategic stake in Vallourec
  • Xylem on its $7.5 billion acquisition of Evoqua
  • A major global financial institution on EU cartel investigations and a subsequent appeal to the EU Courts
  • Japanese smart card chip producer Renesas in a combined follow on and standalone damages claim brought in the High Court by Vodafone in connection with the EU Smart Card Chips cartel decision
  • Micro Focus International on its $8.8 billion merger with Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s software business

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

Hannah Lewis is an English-qualified Associate in the London office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations, Technology Litigation, International Arbitration, Litigation and Judgment and Arbitral Award Enforcement Groups.
 
Ms. Lewis’ broad practice spans regulatory investigations, commercial and investor-state arbitration and commercial litigation.  Ms. Lewis recently spent over a year seconded to a major multinational technology company and was part of the core team coordinating the response to a regulatory investigation.
 
Ms. Lewis’ other recent experience includes:

  • Acting for a consortium of defendants in English High Court proceedings relating to the misuse of confidential information in setting up an international sports league.
  • Acting for a manufacturing client in LMAA arbitration proceedings in an international shipping dispute.
  • Acting for a major engineering company in a multi-billion-dollar ICC international airport arbitration.
  • Acting for an international mining company seeking to enforce an ICSID arbitral award rendered against an eastern European State in the English courts.
  • Acting for a major oil company in proceedings brought by a Middle Eastern state relating to the operatorship and maintenance of an offshore oil and gas project under the UNCITRAL rules.

Ms. Lewis also has an active pro bono practice with a particular interest in prisoners’ rights and criminal justice reform. Recent experience includes pro bono work for APPEAL, Public International Law and Policy Group, Prisoners’ Advice Service and obtaining Non-Molestation Orders for clients in the Family Courts through the Domestic Abuse Response Alliance.
 
Ms. Lewis trained at Gibson Dunn and holds a First Class History degree from the University of Bristol.

Rebecca Barry is an English qualified associate in the London office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, practising in the firm’s Dispute Resolution Group.

Rebecca has broad experience of commercial litigation, investigations (both regulatory and internal investigations), and international arbitration. Her practice includes large-scale, multi-jurisdictional disputes and investigations across the financial services and technology sectors. Rebecca currently represents a UK retailer in the largest private sector mass equal pay claim to be heard in the English courts.

Rebecca is recognised as a Key Lawyer for Premium Commercial Litigation in The Legal 500 UK 2026 rankings and is described as a “highly efficient team player”. She maintains an active pro bono practice and is a member of the London Pro Bono Committee. 

Rebecca trained at Gibson Dunn, during which time she spent several months seconded to a leading American investment bank. She holds a first-class Law degree from the University of Nottingham.