Fatima Alamire is an associate in the San Francisco office of Gibson Dunn where she is a member of the firm’s Real Estate and Land Use and Development Practice Groups.

She earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2023. While in law school, Fatima was Producer of the HLS Parody and President of the Middle Eastern and North African Law Students Association. As a law student, she participated in the Negotiations Workshop and Transactional Law Clinic, where she advised entrepreneurs on matters involving intellectual property and licensing, entity formation, employment and service agreements, and grant contracts. Fatima earned her B.S. in Conservation and Resource Studies from the University of California, Berkeley in 2017.

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

Nicole Akhavanhaidary is an associate in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the Real Estate Practice Group.

Nicole earned her law degree in 2024 from UCLA School of Law, where she was a Legal Research and Writing Advisor, a Teaching Assistant, and received multiple Masin Family Academic Excellence Awards. She graduated with honors from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychobiology. 

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

Adeola Adeyosoye is an associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn, where he serves as a member of the firm’s Business Restructuring and Reorganization and Liability Management and Special Situations Practice Groups.

Adeola has represented debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, official committees, and other stakeholders in connection with chapter 11 cases, international insolvencies, and out-of-court restructurings.

Adeola received his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School and his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of North Texas.

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

Colton Addy is an associate in the Irvine office of Gibson Dunn located in Orange County, California. Colton is a member of the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group where he represents private equity funds, REITs, institutional and non-institutional real estate investors, developers, operators, lenders and borrowers in all aspects of real estate transactions, including joint ventures, acquisitions and dispositions, developments, financings, and real property secured transactions involving hotels/hospitality, income producing properties, multifamily, mixed use, retail and shopping centers, residential, industrial, vacant and raw land, and other real estate assets of all sizes.

Selected representative matters include:

• Acquisition and financing of a $835 million hotel in Hollywood Beach, Florida, known as The Diplomat Beach Resort, which was the largest hospitality transaction since the Covid-19 pandemic (Florida).
• Disposition of a $150+ million multifamily apartment complex via a REIT share sale.
• Multiple Joint Ventures and Acquisition of a $200+ million portfolio of student housing facilities via membership interest purchases.
• Acquisition of a $200+ million industrial complex in Fargo, North Dakota.
• Acquisition and ground lease financing of a $275 million portfolio of multi-family properties in Hermosa Beach, California.

Additional relevant information about Colton includes:

• Colton graduated magna cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law and is a member of the Order of the Coif. While at the University of San Diego School of Law, he was a member of the San Diego Law Review and a three year grad school intramural softball champion.
• During law school, Colton served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Gonzalo P. Curiel of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.
• Colton enjoys doing Pro Bono work, including for the Innocence Project, the San Juan Capistrano Eco Center, and the Orange County Public Law Center.
• Colton is a member of NAIOP and previously served as a Board Member of the Orange County Bar Association’s Young Lawyer’s Division.
• Prior to attending law school, Colton obtained a B.A. degree in English Literature and a minor in Political Theory from San Diego State University and was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity.
• Colton lives in Orange County with his wife, Angela, where they enjoy trying new restaurants and spending time with their two pugs, Pip and Ash. When not spending time with his wife and pugs, Colton enjoys playing fantasy football.

Robert B. Little is a partner in Gibson Dunn’s Dallas office. He is a Global Co-Chair of the Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Group and a former member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

Rob is consistently recognized for his leadership and strategic work with clients, having been named among the nation’s top M&A lawyers by Chambers USA every year for more than a decade. Described as “extremely responsive and very knowledgeable” (Chambers USA 2025) and “an impressive lawyer who is super responsive, super business savvy and great to work with” (Chambers USA 2024), he is admired by clients for his “naturally calm demeanor and a way of making problems seem smaller and more manageable. He is practical and laser-focused on business goals” (Chambers USA 2023) and for being “an exceptional practitioner and trusted adviser” (Chambers USA 2022). Rob is also ranked as a Private Equity leader by Chambers USA, and his clients have noted, “Rob is a smart, hard-working, high-character, results-oriented lawyer who focuses on timely, efficient and cost-effective solutions – he’s an outstanding lawyer” (Chambers 2023).

Rob’s practice focuses on corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, joint ventures, investments in public and private entities, and commercial transactions. He also advises business organizations regarding matters such as securities law disclosure, corporate governance, and fiduciary obligations. In addition, he represents investment funds and their sponsors along with investors in such funds. Rob has represented clients in a variety of industries, including telecommunications, energy, retail, technology, infrastructure, transportation, manufacturing, space and financial services.

In 2025, Rob was recognized by his peers as the Dallas/Fort Worth “Lawyer of the Year” in Mergers and Acquisitions Law in The Best Lawyers in America®. He previously received this recognition in 2023. He is also consistently recognized as one of The Best Lawyers in America® for corporate and M&A law (2013-2025), and has been recognized as one of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America” by Lawdragon. In 2024, D CEO magazine named Rob the Dallas Attorney of the Year for the second time, and Rob was recognized by Texas Super Lawyers Magazine as a 2024 M&A Super Lawyer.

Rob received his law degree in 1998 with highest honors from The University of Texas School of Law, where he was named a Chancellor and a member of Order of the Coif and served as Articles Editor of the Texas Law Review. He holds a B.A. from Baylor University, where he graduated summa cum laude in 1995. He previously served as a law clerk to The Honorable Patrick Higginbotham of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Representative Matters

• Counsel to AT&T in the acquisition of Lumen’s consumer fiber business for $5.75 billion, in the sale of its interest in DIRECTV for $7.6 billion, and in its joint venture with BlackRock to form Gigapower, a wholesale fiber provider
• Counsel to CenterOak Partners LLC, a private equity sponsor, in its acquisitions and divestitures of numerous businesses, including Cascade Windows, Wetzels Pretzels, Aakash Chemicals, Full-Speed Automotive, TruRoad, Turf Masters, Entomo Brands, Village Green, SurfacePrep, HK Solutions Group, Guardian Access, Hometown Services, CollisionRight, Service Champions, Shamrock Environmental and Solid Ground Solutions
• Counsel to SpaceX in its $1.25 trillion merger with xAI, $19 billion acquisition of spectrum from EchoStar and acquisition of Akoustis Technologies
• Counsel to Arcosa, Inc. in its acquisition of Cherry Industries, a provider of infrastructure-related products and solutions, and in the dispositions of its international storage tanks business, its steel components business and its barge business
• Counsel to Murata Electronics North America, Inc. in its acquisition of Resonant, Inc. in an all-cash tender offer to create a leading global provider of RF system solutions and filter products
• Counsel to Trive Capital, a private equity sponsor, in acquisitions for OWL Services, a provider of integrated solutions for petroleum convenience and electric vehicle markets
• Counsel to York Space Systems, an independent provider of small satellites, satellite components and mission operations, in its sale to AE Industrial Partners and in its acquisition of ATLAS Space Operations
• Counsel to Satori Capital, a private equity sponsor, in its investments in Automatic Fire Protection and Torani
• Counsel to Talen Energy in its joint venture with Pattern Energy for the $2 billion development, financing and construction of solar and wind energy projects
• Counsel to creditor groups in the bankruptcies of Envision Healthcare, West Marine, and Robertshaw in corporate and M&A matters
• Counsel to Keystone Group, a privately held investment firm, in multiple investments
• Counsel to Sunrise Oil & Gas on the sale of substantially all of its oil and gas assets to affiliates of Contango Oil & Gas, a subsidiary of Crescent Energy Company
• Counsel to Summit Midstream Partners in its Double E Pipeline Project joint venture to provide natural gas transportation service from the Delaware Basin to the Waha Hub in Texas
• Counsel to Callaway Golf Company in its strategic investment in Five Iron Golf
• Counsel to Sony Pictures Television Networks in its acquisition of a substantial majority stake in Japanese anime distributor Funimation Productions, Ltd.
• Counsel to Pizza Hut in its acquisition of ordering provider QuikOrder
• Counsel to Atmos Energy in its acquisition of a natural gas pipeline and related assets from EnLink Midstream and its disposition of its energy marketing subsidiary to CenterPoint Energy
• Counsel to Luminant Holdings in its acquisition of natural gas generation facilities from NextEra Energy for approximately $1.3 billion
• Counsel to Topgolf International, Inc. in its acquisitions of World Golf Tour, Inc. and Protracer AB, its investment in Full Swing Golf Holdings, Inc., and its sales of preferred stock to Providence Equity Partners and institutional investors

Andreas Rief is an associate in the Frankfurt office of Gibson Dunn. He is a member of the firm’s Private Equity and Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Groups.

Andreas advises financial and strategic investors on mergers and acquisitions, with a particular focus on private equity transactions. He also provides counsel on a broad range of corporate law matters. His practice includes advising on complex cross-border M&A, private equity and venture capital transactions across various industries.

Handelsblatt / The Best Lawyers™ 2025/2026 lists him among its “Ones to Watch” in Germany.

Andreas studied law at the University of Mannheim, Germany, and the University of Toronto, Canada. He holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Chicago Law School, where he also undertook coursework at the Booth School of Business. He has completed executive education at Harvard Law School, with a focus on leadership, finance, and business strategy for legal professionals. Andreas serves as a lecturer at the University of Mannheim.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, he worked as an associate of a renowned US law firm.

Andreas is fluent in German and English.

Experience:

Representative transactions* include advising:

• Management of Aareon in connection with Advent International’s and Aareal Bank’s sale of Aareon to TPG and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ)
• Advent International / INNIO in bidding process
• PAI Partners and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) on their acquisition of Veonet from Nordic Capital
• Allianz X on its integration of finanzen Group into CLARK and its related investment in CLARK
• H.I.G. Capital on various transactions and bidding processes
• ECM Equity Capital Management / German Equity Partners on various transactions, including
  • on its sale of Intermate Group to SAMY Alliance, a portfolio company of Bridgepoint
  • on its sale of Uroviva to Affidea B.V., a portfolio company of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert S.A.
  • on its sale of Apostroph Group to TransPerfect
  • on its majority investment in ACADEMY group
• Deutsche Private Equity (DPE) in connection with its sale of Primutec Solution Group
• LEA Partners (and its portfolio companies) on various transactions, including
  • on its acquisition of companies to form various portfolio groups, including OneQrew and SYNQONY
  • on its acquisition of easybill
  • on its strategic partnership with ORCA and integration with PROJEKT PRO and SOFTTECH
  • on its sale of SEMA to Bregal Unternehmerkapital
  • on its sale of IDL group to insightsoftware, a portfolio company of TA Associates and Genstar Capital
  • on its sale of BELLIN group to Coupa Software
• Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (LLCP) in various auction processes
• Shareholders of Heubach group on the partnership with SK Capital and their joint acquisition of Clariant’s pigments business
• Shareholders of Aicuris Anti‑infective Cures on the sale to Asahi Kasei, through its subsidiary Veloxis Pharmaceuticals
• General Atlantic on various transactions, including
  • on its joint venture with TX Group, Ringier and La Mobilière to create SMG Swiss Marketplace Group
  • on its investment in AnyDesk in financing round together with existing investors Insight Partners, EQT Ventures and Possible Ventures
• Sartorius AG on various transactions, including its acquisition of select Danaher’s Life Science platform businesses in a mixed share/asset deal
• LGT on its investment in LIQID
• EMH Partners and co-investors on their sale of Native Instruments to Francisco Partners
• Oakley Capital’s portfolio company WindStar Medical on its acquisition of L.A.B Cosmetics
• Shareholders of pantera AG on their sale of majority stake to Nexity S.A.
• Management of Competence Call Center (CCC) group in connection with the sale of CCC to TELUS International
• Pamplona Capital Management on its acquisition and integration of Infiana Group into Loparex

* Includes experience prior to joining Gibson Dunn.

Simon Stöhlker is an associate in the Frankfurt office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Private Equity and Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Groups.

Simon advises strategic and financial investors on private equity and M&A transactions throughout the entire investment cycle, including advice on general corporate law matters. He also maintains an active pro bono practice.

He studied law at the University of Giessen, Germany, and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil. After completing his Second State Examination at the Higher Court of Frankfurt (Main), Germany, Simon obtained a Master’s Degree (LL.M.) in International Business & Economic Law from Georgetown University Law Center, Washington DC, in 2020.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, he worked as an associate in the New York and Frankfurt offices of a renowned U.S. law firm.

Simon is fluent in German and English.

Experience

Representative transactions* include advising:

• EQT in connection with the acquisition of ju:niz Energy GmbH.
• H.I.G. on its strategic investment in IT solutions company TIMETOACT.
• KKR on its growth investment in smaXtec, a leading provider of AI-powered agri-tech solutions for the global dairy industry.
• Stabilus SE in its US$680 million acquisition of U.S. automation specialist DESTACO.
• PSA International Pte Ltd in its acquisition of a minority stake in Duisburg Gateway Terminal GmbH, operator of the first sustainable and 100% climate-neutral container terminal in the European hinterland.
• NielsenIQ and its owner Advent International on its merger with GfK SE, a portfolio company of private equity investor KKR.
• The shareholders of Aicuris Anti‑infective Cures on the €780 million sale to Asahi Kasei, through its subsidiary Veloxis Pharmaceuticals.
• The shareholders of ACXIT Capital Partners on the sale of the company to US investment bank Stifel Financial Corp.
• Investcorp Technology Partners on the €120 million sale of its portfolio company softgarden e-recruiting GmbH to Grupa Pracuj SA, a Polish HR tech company.
• Merck & Co., Inc. on its global reorganization in connection with the spin-off of its women’s health, trusted legacy brands and biosimilars businesses.
• Mubadala Capital on its acquisition of K-MAC Enterprises from Lee Equity Partners Opportunities Fund.
• Mill Rock Capital, a middle market private equity fund, in its acquisition of DRT Holdings, a manufacturer and supplier of precision tools and specialized components.

*Includes experience prior to joining Gibson Dunn

Aliresa Fatemi is of counsel in the Frankfurt office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Private Equity, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Technology Transactions Practice Groups.

Aliresa focuses on domestic and cross-border Private Equity and M&A transactions, joint ventures , and technology transactions. He also advises public and private companies on corporate law matters.

Handelsblatt / The Best Lawyers™ 2025/2026 list him among the best lawyers in Germany for M&A. The Legal 500 Deutschland 2020 cited clients who stressed out that he “has distinguished himself by his very strong expertise and technical knowledge, extensive experience in M&A transactions, his achievements, his commitment and his positive and proactive approach.”

Aliresa regularly publishes on legal matters.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, he was a counsel in the Frankfurt office of a renowned US law firm.

He is a member of the German-American Lawyers’ Association (DAJV), the German-Iranian Lawyers’ Association (DIJV) and the Association for Business and Corporate Law (VGR).

Aliresa is fluent in German and English.

Experience

Representative transactions* include advising:

• H.I.G. Capital on the acquisition of Spheros group, Valeo’s former bus thermal solutions business, and on the acquisition of TIMETOACT group
• Group of lenders on the sale of Heubach Group to Sudarshan
• Edwards Lifesciences, provider of medical innovations for structural heart disease, on its US$945 million acquisition of JenaValve Technology, developer of a transcatheter treatment of aortic regurgitation
• Aicuris Anti‑infective Cures shareholders on the €780 million sale to Asahi Kasei, through its subsidiary Veloxis Pharmaceuticals
• Viavi Solutions Inc., a network test, measurement and assurance technology company, on corporate matters
• EMK Capital on various transactions, including EMK Capital-backed Garda Group on its acquisition of Gleich Group, vi2vi Group and Schmid-Alarm GmbH
• Astorg on the acquisition of hg medical from Nord Holding
• Platinum Equity and its portfolio companies on various transactions, including Platinum Equity-backed Solenis on the acquisition of Bain Capital-backed Diversey Holdings, Ltd. valued at US $4.6 billion , and on the majority investment in Kohler Energy, the power generator business division of Kohler Co.
• Triton on various transactions, including on the sale of Norres Group
• Raytheon Technologies on the sale of Raytheon Anschütz Group to DMB Dr. Dieter Murmann Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH
• KME S.E. on a sale and lease back agreement of its of its copper production plant in Osnabrück, Germany with funds advised by Crescendo Real Estate Advisors LLP
• Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG) and its portfolio companies on various transactions, including on the acquisition of Pfaudler Process Solutions, the sale of Spheros Group to Valeo, the acquisition of SERO Schröder Elektronik Rohrbach, the acquisition and subsequent sale of Julius Montz GmbH, the acquisition of Cartonplast Group GmbH, the acquisition of a majority stake in in-tech GmbH, the acquisition of Ruetz System Solutions GmbH and on the establishment of MTC Mobility as a joint venture between Munich RE, ERGO, Prof. Lienkamp (TUM) and in-tech GmbH
• Andlinger & Company on a regular basis, including on the sale of Lapp Insulators Group to Quadriga Capital, the acquisition of SUSPA GmbH from Tyrol Equity et al., the sale of SUSPA GmbH to Mr. Pascal Vanhalst and his family-owned company TVH Group, on the acquisition of HEW-Kabel group, and on the acquisition of Mesa Parts group
• J.F. Lehman & Company (JFLCO) in its investment affiliate’s completed acquisition of the assets of the Narda-MITEQ division and the stock of Narda Safety Test Solutions, GmbH (Narda-MITEQ) from L3Harris Technologies, Inc.
• Chevron Technology Ventures on its Series B investment in Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies GmbH at a pre-money valuation of € 500 million and on its Series B investment in enmacc GmbH
• Ardagh Group on various transactions, including on its acquisition of Impress Group, its $3.42 billion acquisition of parts of Ball Corporation’s and Rexam’s metal beverage can business, and on the spin-off and De-SPAC transaction with Gores Holdings V of its beverage can business, valuing the new company at $8.5 billion
• TELUS International on its acquisition of Competence Call Center Group
• American Axle & Manufacturing on various transactions, including the acquisition of the German business of MITEC Automotive AG
• Continental AG on the dissolution of a joint venture with SK Innovation and the acquisition of the automotive division of Kathrein SE
• Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation on various matters, including on the acquisition of a majority shareholding in Wethje Group through its Mitsubishi Rayon division, the acquisition of carbon fiber company CPC S.r.l. in Italy from Innovative Solutions S.r.l., and most recently on the acquisition of all shares in Cleanpart Group GmbH from Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG)
• Coesia S.p.A on various transactions, including on the acquisition of Oystar North America, Inc. from Odewald & Compagnie, and most recently on the acquisition of the digital printing business of Atlantic Zeiser from Orell Füssli Holding AG
• Qatar Investment Authority on various transactions, including on its investment in and the subsequent IPO of HelloFresh
• Allianz on various transactions, including on the sale of its 90.2% stake in stock-listed Oldenburgische Landesbank to Bremer Kreditbank
• General Electric on multiple transactions, including on its $4.3 billion acquisition of the aviation business of Avio S.p.A., on the disposition of its European Wayne direct sales and services business and in the sale of central parts of Alstom’s heavy duty gas turbine business to Ansaldo Energia in connection with its acquisition of Alstom’s power and grid business
• Various dispute matters, including the representation of a OSRAM Opto Seminconductors as defendant in a US patent dispute with Lighting Science Group Corporation, a European life sciences company as respondent in a high-stakes post-M&A arbitration brought by a European chemical company seeking indemnification under a share purchase agreement, Invita AG as a respondent in a three-digit million law suit, and Daimler AG as a respondent in an international arbitration matter

*Includes Experience Prior To Joining Gibson Dunn

Sonja Ruttmann is a partner in the Munich office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of its Mergers and Acquisitions, Business Restructuring and Reorganization, Private Equity, and Capital Markets Practice Groups.

Sonja specializes in private and public M&A, corporate law, and private equity and has advised on many complex domestic and international cross-border mergers and acquisitions including formation and dissolution of joint ventures and carve-out scenarios as well as private equity and venture capital transactions. She represents clients, public and private, in auctions, asset, and share deals as well as mergers across a broad range of sectors, including in particular in the fields of automotive (including autonomous driving), technology and engineering, capital markets, energy and infrastructure, as well as digital security and cybersecurity.

She further advises on stock corporation and capital markets law. Her work includes advising management and supervisory boards, also with regard to corporate governance issues. Another focus of her work is advising on foreign trade issues and investment control laws where she has advised various German, American and Chinese clients and guided them through the administrative process.

Chambers Global and Chambers Germany 2026 recognized Sonja for Corporate/M&A – High-end Capability, with clients stating that she is “very quick and intelligent and understands the business quickly”. The Legal 500 Deutschland 2026 and The Legal 500 EMEA 2025 recommended her in the categories Corporate, M&A, Private Equity and Foreign Trade Law and cite references describing her as providing “very understandable advice even on operational issues, very competent. All-round advice and taking responsibility for the issues,” and saying that “Sonja Ruttmann has an excellent understanding of our industry. Her approach is pragmatic and efficient. Excellent negotiating skills.” In 2025, Sonja was again recognized by WirtschaftsWoche as one of the Top Lawyers in M&A in Germany. The JUVE Handbook 2025/2026 recognized her in the transactional field.

Her experience includes advising:

• Bosch, inter alia in connection with
  • the disposal of its worldwide automotive steering and transmission pump business to Fidelium Partners
  • the acquisition of BSH from Siemens (€3 billion) and the dissolution of the corresponding joint venture
  • the acquisition of ZF steering business from ZF and the dissolution of the corresponding joint venture
  • the disposal of the global wind turbines and large gears by Bosch Rexroth to ZF
  • the formation of the international joint venture in the field of autonomous driving with Mitsubishi, u-blox and Geo++
  • the disposal of its worldwide “Around the Wheel” business to Stargate Capital
• Giesecke+Devrient on various transactions, inter alia on its acquisition of the payment and identity solutions business of Valid USA 
• Dr. Barbara Sturm, a German molecular cosmetics brand, on its sale to Puig, a global premium beauty brand
• Aicuris Anti‑infective Cures shareholders on the €780 million sale to Asahi Kasei, through its subsidiary Veloxis Pharmaceuticals
• Stryder Corp., dba Handshake, in its acquisition of TalentSpace GmbH, developer of a virtual recruiting events platform
• Muehlhan AG on the sale of its European and U.S. business to One Equity Partners
• NetApp, a global, cloud-led, data-centric software company, in its acquisition of Instaclustr, a US/Australia/German SaaS open source software company
• Platinum Equity Advisors on its $5.25 billion acquisition of Solenis from BASF SE and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
• Astorg on the acquisition of hg medical from Nord Holding
• Stone Canyon Industries and its subsidiary BWAY on the $2.3 billion acquisition of Mauser Group, a leading industrial packaging company, from Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.
• Stem, Inc. on its acquisition of Also Energy Holdings (including advice related to investment control)
• Dresser Utility Solutions on its acquisition of Itron’s Global Gas Regulator and European C&I Gas Metering Business.

Sonja is a member of Gibson Dunn’s Diversity Committee. She was recently seconded to the firm’s New York office. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Sonja worked at another major international law firm in Munich and gained in house experience on her secondment to the legal department of one of the world’s leading global engineering and technology firms.

Sonja is co-author of Hölters/Weber “Kommentar zum Aktiengesetz”, 5th edition 2024, and of Breyer/Najdecki “Beck’sches Formularbuch GmbH-Recht”, 2nd edition 2024, on the chapters about the supervisory board in a limited liability company and on joint ventures. She regularly publishes articles in M&A magazines and client alerts on investment control and corporate law aspects.

Sonja studied law at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and has been admitted as a German lawyer (Rechtsanwältin) since 2010. A native German speaker, she is fluent in English and speaks French as well as Spanish.

Dirk Oberbracht is the Partner in Charge of the Frankfurt office of Gibson Dunn and a leading Private Equity and M&A lawyer.

Dirk advises private equity investors, management teams, corporate clients and families, and has extensive expertise in complex mid- and large-cap transactions.

Chambers and Partners ranked Dirk in Band 3 for Private Equity and Band 4 in Corporate/M&A: High-end Capability (Chambers Germany 2025). Chambers Global 2026 also ranked him for the 20th year in Germany for Corporate/M&A: High-end Capability. His clients hold him in high esteem: “[Dirk] is fantastic in leading the discussions and structuring transactions which are super complex” and “goes to great lengths to understand the underlying matter in detail and come up with the most commercial and practical propositions”, reflecting that “the depth of experience and number of transactions have honed Dirk Oberbracht’s strategic oversight and execution.” They further emphasize that “[He] thinks ahead of the commercial issues and not just the legal implications, gives good impulses and goes beyond the purely legal dimension” and “Dirk Oberbracht was wonderful throughout the transaction. […] He was flexible in terms of availability and legal expertise and really went the extra mile to facilitate a difficult deal.” Dirk is a member of The Legal 500 Hall of Fame as a recognition for his continued excellence and praise from clients in Private Equity over several years and he was named as Lawyer of the Year 2022 for Private Equity by Handelsblatt / The Best Lawyers™. In 2023, he was recognized by WirtschaftsWoche as one of the Top Lawyers in M&A. He is also recommended by The Legal 500, Best Lawyers™ in Germany, Who’s Who Legal – Germany and IFLR1000. JUVE Handbook 2025/2026 lists him as “frequently recommended” for Private Equity and M&A.

Selected private equity deals:

• Astorg on the acquisition of hg medical from Nord Holding
• Blue Earth Capital and Future Energy Ventures in connection with their co-lead investment in reev, a leading software provider for electric vehicle charging stations
• EMK Capital in connection with several acquisitions comprising Freihoff Group, Gleich Group, Schmid-Alarm GmbH, and vi2vi Group as part of a platform in the security technology sector
• EQT in connection with the acquisition of ju:niz Energy GmbH
• KKR on its growth investment in smaXtec, a leading provider of AI-powered agri-tech solutions for the global dairy industry
• MBCC management team on sale of MBCC to Sika and the sale of the Admix business to Cinven
• Motive Partners on the acquisition of embedded/capital GmbH, a European fintech venture capital platform
• One Equity Partners on its investments in Alltub Group, SGB-SMIT, and various other deals
• PJT Partners on Silver Lake’s takeover offer for Software AG
• Platinum Equity Advisors on its US$5.25 billion acquisition of Solenis from BASF SE and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
• Stone Canyon Industries on the US$2.3 billion acquisition of Mauser from CD&R and the acquisition of Morton Salt from K+S
• Triton on its acquisition of Lamina Technologies SA as well as on its investment in Meine Radiologie Holding and its sale to EQT Infrastructure
• U.S. private equity investor on several mid and large cap transactions in Europe
• Various management teams in connection with Management Equity Programs
• Veritas Capital on various acquisitions
• Xella International S.A., a holding company of funds advised by Goldman Sachs and PAI Partners, on the sale of Xella to Lone Star.

Selected corporate deals:

• Aicuris Anti‑infective Cures shareholders on the €780 million sale to Asahi Kasei, through its subsidiary Veloxis Pharmaceuticals
• Atlas Copco in connection with the €1.1 billion tender offer for ISRA VISION AG (value €1.1 billion)
• CANAL+ on the €1 billion acquisition of M7 Group, a European pay-TV operator, from Astorg, a private equity firm (value €1 billion)
• Celanese on the acquisition of Nouryon’s Elotex® brand redispersible polymer powders business
• Clariant and Ashland on the €257 million sale of ASK Chemicals, a leading manufacturer of foundry chemicals with facilities in 25 countries, to Rhône Capital
• Edwards Lifesciences, provider of medical innovations for structural heart disease, on its US$945 million acquisition of JenaValve Technology, developer of a transcatheter treatment of aortic regurgitation
• Gilead Sciences, Inc. on its acquisition of MYR GmbH (approx. €1.15 billion plus up to €300 million milestone payment, named Deal of the Month by JUVE, February 2021)
• Heska Corporation, a manufacturer and supplier of diagnostic and specialty solutions for veterinary practitioners, in its acquisition by Mars, Inc. for US$1.5 billion
• HJM Investment GmbH & Co. KG on the sale of a stake in RENOLIT SE and the acquisition of RKW SE
• Muehlhan AG on the sale of its European and U.S. business to One Equity Partners
• PJT Partners in connection with the Porsche IPO
• Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. on the acquisition of a majority shareholding in Südkabel GmbH from Wilms Group

Dirk studied law at the Goethe University Frankfurt, from where he also earned his Dr. jur. degree and is admitted as a German lawyer (Rechtsanwalt). Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Dirk was a corporate partner in the Frankfurt office of a renowned U.S. law firm and headed that office for several years. He speaks German and English.

Zach Schreiber is Of Counsel in Gibson Dunn’s Litigation Department and a member of the Firm’s Sports Law Practice Group. His practice focuses on complex litigation and investigations, with a particular emphasis on the sports, media, and entertainment industries. Zach represents clients in high-stakes disputes involving intellectual property, antitrust, labor and employment, and commercial issues, as well as in internal investigations and strategic advisory matters. He also counsels clients, including elite athletes, on sports and entertainment transactions, such as those involving name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights, media rights, and sponsorship arrangements.

Before entering private practice, Zach worked as a sports agent representing professional basketball players around the world and held front-office positions with two NBA teams. This experience gives him a rare insider’s perspective on the business of sports and the dynamics that drive disputes and deals in this fast-evolving space. He is recognized for blending business insight with rigorous legal strategy, helping clients navigate sensitive and high stakes matters that attract public attention and industry scrutiny.

Zach has played key roles in major litigations, regulatory investigations, and arbitration proceedings, often involving complex factual and reputational issues. He regularly works alongside senior executives and in-house counsel to develop coordinated strategies that protect both legal and commercial interests. His clients value his poise under pressure, command of the sports and media ecosystem, and commitment to practical, results-driven advocacy.

Zach was recently recognized in the inaugural Conduct Detrimental: The Intersection of Sports and Law “10 Under 10” list, which highlights sports lawyers who are shaping the sports legal field, and was elected to serve as a member of Law360’s Sports & Betting Editorial Board. Zach is also the author of Lexology’s annual Sports Law Panoramic.

Representative Matters*

Sports Law

• NBA #1 draft pick Zion Williamson and Creative Artists Agency in connection with two multi-hundred million dollar litigations in North Carolina federal court and Florida state court arising out of a marketing agreement with Williamson’s former agent, which involve breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets claims
• Shohei Ohtani in connection with his sponsorship by the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
• A leading television broadcaster in various sports-related antitrust matters, including the NFL Sunday Ticket and NCAA “Grant-In-Aid” litigations.
• A leading online event ticket reseller in a $100 million arbitration with a top professional sports league.
• Multiple professional athletes in internal investigations and related litigation concerning allegations of player misconduct.

Intellectual Property/Media Law

• Alibaba Group in a putative class action regarding intellectual property infringement claims stemming from products sold on its e-commerce platforms.
• Covetrus, a global animal-health technology and services company, in two state court lawsuits brought against it by online animal retailer Chewy regarding the sale of regulated pet prescription products, as well as alleged defamation and libel claims regarding statements Covetrus made about Chewy.
• The Association of American Publishers in connection with antitrust, licensing, copyright, and other intellectual property issues.

Corporate Sports Advisory

• A private equity firm in its analysis and potential acquisition of a streaming service with respect to various name, image, and likeness (“NIL”) and right of publicity concerns related to high school athletes and minors.
• A private equity firm in its potential acquisition of a satellite television distributor, including an analysis of the distributor’s sports broadcast rights.
• A publicly-traded global hospitality and entertainment company regarding the cancellation of various live performances at its properties due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other Trial and Investigations Experience

• The National Women’s Soccer League Players’ Association in a landmark investigation into alleged abuse, harassment, and misconduct in women’s soccer, which aims to identify and address systemic failures in order to better protect player health and safety.
• The special committee of a multi-billion dollar real estate company in an internal investigation into the liability of the officers and directors in connection with its chapter 11 restructuring.
• The special committee of Exide Holdings in an internal investigation into pre-bankruptcy financial transactions related to its Chapter 11 filing.
• CBL Properties in a bench trial against certain secured lenders in connection with their restructuring of more than $4 billion of obligations.

Zach also has an active pro bono practice. He has represented students who faced egregious antisemitism on their college campuses, he has advised student authors and student-run newspapers who faced First Amendment and censorship issues over their works by their institutions, he has represented clients that suffer from physical disabilities in seeking reasonable accommodations from their landlords to provide his clients with greater accessibility to their homes. He has also represented immigrant victims of domestic abuse seeking to lift restrictions on United States residency after the victims had successfully left their abusive spouses.

Zach is a member of the New York City Bar’s Sports Law Committee. He also serves on the boards of the Semester at Sea Alumni Association and the Fordham Law Alumni Association.

Zach received his B.A. from Tulane University and his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Fordham Sports Law Forum and a Notes and Articles Editor for the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal.

Selected Publications:

The Time Is Now: Why the United States Should Adopt the British Model of Sports Betting Legislation,” Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal, Vol. 27, No. 2017 (2017)

The Right to Play: How Sports Leagues Worldwide Interfere with the Fundamental Right to Work,” 25 Sports Law. J. 19 (2018)

Leveling the Playing Field for Sports Agents: How the Two-Hat Theory and the Model Rules of Professional Conduct Collide,” 19 Texas Rev. Ent. & Sports L. 13 (2018)

 

*Includes matters handled prior to joining Gibson Dunn

John M. Williams is a partner in Gibson Dunn’s Orange County office and is a member of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity Practice Groups.

John has extensive experience in representing boards of directors and private equity funds in structuring, negotiating and closing transactions for public and private companies. These transactions have included domestic and cross-border mergers, stock and asset acquisitions, joint ventures and restructurings. He also has significant experience in advising boards of directors in corporate governance, securities compliance and general corporate matters. John has also served as counsel to investment banks as an advisor in securities and M&A transactions.

John has been selected by members of the southern California legal community for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® as an expert in mergers and acquisitions every year since 2008. Over the course of his career, John has represented clients in a wide range of industries including manufacturing, hospitality, energy, consumer/retail, sports, life sciences, communications, technology and industrial.

John received his Juris Doctor cum laude from Georgetown University where he was Editor-in-Chief of Law and Policy in International Business. He holds a Master’s Degree in public administration with an emphasis in intergovernmental management from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of California at Irvine. He is admitted as a member of the Bars of California and Washington, D.C. Prior to attending law school, John worked in municipal management in California and then spent several years in Washington, D.C. as the assistant director of a legislative advocacy firm.

An active member of the Orange County community, John is the Chair of the Board of Governors of the Orange County Community Foundation (OCCF), a nonprofit organization which manages assets in excess of $850 million and facilitates annual grants of over $100 million from family offices and other donors to nonprofit organizations that have been reviewed and screened by OCCF. He also sits on the Board of Councilors for the School of Social Sciences at the University of California, Irvine.

Representative Transactions:

• WM Technology, Inc.: Represented the founders of this technology company in a $1.5 billion merger with Silver Spike Acquisition, a publicly-traded SPAC.
• Cellular Biomedicine Group: Advised this publicly-traded biotech company in connection with a management-led going private transaction.
• Compass Diversified Holdings: Represented this publicly-traded private equity firm in the $450 million acquisition of BOA, a designer and marketer of dial-based fit systems for footwear, headwear and medical bracing products.
• MGM Resorts International: Represented MGM in the sale of Circus Circus Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for $825 million.
• MGM Resorts International: Represented MGM in the acquisition of Empire City Casino and Racetrack in New York for $850 million.
• MGM Resorts International: Represented MGM in the acquisition of the Hard Rock Rocksino in Ohio for $1.06 billion.
• HMI Cardinal: Represented the shareholders of HMI Cardinal, a manufacturing company based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the sale of the company to private equity firm Riverside Companies.
• Viant Technology/Time Inc.: Represented Viant in the acquisition of the company by Time Inc.
• MGM Resorts International: Represented MGM in a joint venture transaction with Anschutz Entertainment Group to develop and operate the T-Mobile 20,000 seat arena in Las Vegas.
• Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Uranerz Energy Corporation: Advised the independent committee in its proposed merger with Energy Fuels, Inc. to create the largest integrated uranium production company in the United States.
• Compass Group: Represented this private equity firm in the acquisition of SternoCandleLamp.
• Argyros family/DST Systems, Inc.: Represented the Argyros family in a proposed proxy contest involving DST Systems, Inc. and the subsequent repurchase of the family’s equity position.
• Richland Towers: Represented the shareholders of Richland in the sale of the company to American Tower Corporation.
• MGM Resorts International: Represented MGM in a joint venture to finance, develop and operate a resort and casino in Baltimore, Maryland.
• Edison International: Represented Edison in a joint venture transaction with TIAA-CREF and Cook Inlet Region, Inc. to form and finance an entity to fund development of wind energy projects in North America.
• Walters Wholesale Electric Co.: Represented the shareholders of Walters in the sale of the company to Consolidated Electrical Distributors, Inc.
• Edwards Lifesciences: Represented Edwards in the acquisition of Embrella Cardiovascular as well as more than ten other acquisitions and dispositions.
• The Ergo Baby Carrier, Inc.: Represented Ergo Baby in the acquisition of baby products maker Orbit Baby, Inc.
• Compass Group: Represented Compass in the acquisition of The Ergo Baby Carrier, Inc.
• Diedrich Coffee, Inc.: Represented Diedrich Coffee in a public company merger transaction with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.
• Document Sciences Corporation: Represented Document Sciences in the sale of the company to EMC Corporation.
• Johnny Rockets Group, Inc.: Represented the private equity owners of Johnny Rockets in the sale of the company to private equity firm RedZone Capital Management.
• Advantage Sales and Marketing: Represented the management team at Advantage in the sale of the company to a private equity buyer.
• Edison Mission Energy: Represented Edison in the sale of a 50% equity interest in Brooklyn Navy Yard Cogeneration Partners to Delta Power Company.
• Edison Mission Energy: Represented Edison in the sale of James River Cogeneration Company to NRG Energy, Inc.
• Knott’s Berry Farm: Represented the shareholders of this amusement park operator in the sale of the company to publicly-listed Cedar Fair, L.P.

Francis Petrie is of counsel in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn and is a member of the firm’s Business Restructuring and Reorganization Practice Group. His practice focuses on corporate restructurings, distressed financing, liability management transactions, and other special situation transactions in acquisitions, out-of-court restructurings, and Chapter 11 cases.

His representative matters include: *

• An ad hoc group of lenders in the prepackaged Chapter 11 cases of Cumulus Media Inc. in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

• An ad hoc group of lenders, term loan DIP lenders, and stalking horse bidder in the Chapter 11 cases of Del Monte Foods Corporation in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.

• A DIP lender in the Chapter 11 cases of Genesis Healthcare, Inc. in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas.

• An ad hoc group of lenders in connection with City Brewing Company LLC’s fully consensual strategic transaction to reduce its debt and secure new capital.

• An ad hoc group of lenders and term loan DIP lenders in the Chapter 11 cases of Ascend Performance Materials Holdings Inc. in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.  During the proceedings, Ascend addressed over $2 billion funded debt obligations in a comprehensive deleveraging transaction.

• Thrasio Holdings, Inc. and 240 of its affiliates in their prearranged Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. Thrasio is the largest aggregator of Amazon brands in the world and, upon exit from Chapter 11, comprehensively restructured over $3 billion of funded debt and preferred equity obligations and injected $90 million of new money financing into the go-forward business.

• Invitae Corporation and certain of its affiliates in their prearranged Chapter 11 cases and successful sale of assets to LabCorp in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.

• Wahoo Fitness, a global leader in smart fitness and training for endurance athletes and fitness enthusiasts, in an out-of-court recapitalization that provided significant liquidity and fully eliminated all of Wahoo’s existing debt.

• BNGL Holdings, LLC as DIP lender and Plan Sponsor to Reverse Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. in their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

• BlockFi Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries, an industry-leading provider of cryptocurrency related products and services, in their Chapter 11 cases in the District of New Jersey.  Following disruption in the cryptocurrency industry, BlockFi commenced Chapter 11 to stabilize its business and consummate a comprehensive restructuring transaction to maximize value for its clients and stakeholders.

• Altera Infrastructure L.P. and certain of its affiliates, a leading international midstream services provider to the oil and gas industry, in their prearranged Chapter 11 cases filed in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

• IPC Systems, Inc, a leading global provider of secure, compliant communications and networking solutions for the global financial markets, in a comprehensive out-of-court restructuring. The transaction reduced IPC’s leverage by over $400 million, extended its debt maturity schedule by 5 years, and provided $125 million of new capital.

• Array Canada, a global leader in in-store merchandising services for retailers and brands, and its affiliates in a comprehensive out-of-court restructuring. The cross-border transaction reduced Array’s leverage by more than 50%, increased liquidity, and extended its debt maturities.

• Seadrill Limited  and certain of its direct and indirect subsidiaries, a leading global provider of offshore contract drilling services that employs nearly 3,100 individuals across 15 countries and five continents, in their multi-jurisdictional restructuring of approximately $6.1 billion of funded debt.  Seadrill’s Chapter 11 cases, one of the largest filings of 2021, equitized approximately $4.9 billion of secured debt across twelve silos and facilitated a capital investment of $350 million, enabling Seadrill to continue to operate its modern fleet of drilling units.

• California Pizza Kitchen, Inc. and its affiliates in their prearranged Chapter 11 restructuring in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. CPK’s plan received near unanimous approval from all voting classes and allowed CPK to emerge from Chapter 11 in November 2020, reducing its debt obligations by over $225 million.

• McDermott International, Inc.  and 225 of its subsidiaries and affiliates (including 107 foreign domiciled entities) a premier, global upstream and downstream engineering, procurement, construction, and installation company that employs over 42,000 individuals across 54 countries and six continents, in their prepackaged Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of Texas. McDermott’s prepackaged Chapter 11 cases were confirmed in less than 60 days and re-equitized the company, deleveraged over $4 billion of funded debt, preserved an unprecedented $2.4 billion in prepetition letters of credit, left trade claims unimpaired, and included a sale of McDermott’s Lummus technology business for $2.725 billion.

• Clover Technologies Group, LLC, a provider of aftermarket management services for mobile device carriers that historically operated as a collector and remanufacturer of printer cartridges, in connection with its restructuring of $650 million of term loan indebtedness. As part of its comprehensive restructuring, Clover sold its printer cartridge remanufacturing business for over $200 million, acquired an additional company for synergies with the remaining mobile device business, and entered into a restructuring support agreement for the equitization of the vast majority of the term loan indebtedness.

• Vanguard Natural Resources Inc. and its affiliates, an independent exploration and production company focused on the production and development of oil and natural gas properties in the United States with operations in the Gulf Coast, Permian and Anadarko Basins, in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of Texas.  Vanguard had approximately $850 million in debt at the time of filing and obtained a commitment for a $130 million debtor-in-possession financing facility, which included $65 million in new money.

• Represented a subsidiary of JDH Capital LLC in the successful purchase of all assets under section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Sam Kane Beef Chapter 11 cases in the Southern District of Texas.

• Windstream Holdings, Inc., and its debtor subsidiaries in their Chapter 11 restructuring in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Windstream is a leading provider of advanced network communications, technology, broadband, entertainment and security solutions to consumers and small businesses in 18 states. In bankruptcy, Windstream commenced litigation to recharacterize a $3.5 billion spin-off and master lease of certain telecommunications network assets. That litigation resulted in an innovative settlement that provided over approximately $1.2 billion in net present value and billions of dollars of improvement to Windstream’s telecommunications infrastructure. Windstream also confirmed a Chapter 11 plan or reorganization that addresses more than $5.6 billion in funded debt obligations, provides for a $750 million equity rights offering, and positions Windstream to achieve its long-term goals.

• Gastar Exploration Inc., and its wholly-owned subsidiary Northwest Property Ventures LLC, in their prepackaged Chapter 11 restructuring in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Gastar is a publicly-traded oil and natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Houston, Texas with assets concentrated in the STACK shale play in Oklahoma.

• Mission Coal Company, LLC and its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama. The company was headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee with coal mining operations in West Virginia and Alabama.

• Cenveo, Inc. and its domestic subsidiaries in their prearranged Chapter 11 restructuring in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Cenveo, Inc. is a leading global provider of print and related resources headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut with a worldwide distribution platform.

• EXCO Resources, Inc., an oil and natural gas exploration, exploitation, acquisition, development and production company headquartered in Dallas, Texas with principal operations in Texas, North Louisiana and the Appalachia region, in its Chapter 11 restructuring in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. EXCO listed approximately $1.4 billion of funded debt obligations at the time of filing.

• Avaya Inc. and certain of its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases. Avaya is a leading multinational technology company that specializes in telephony, wireless data communications, customer relationship management software, and networking. Avaya and its debtor-affiliates had more than $6 billion in funded debt obligations as of the commencement of their Chapter 11 cases, with annual revenues in excess of $3 billion. In 2018, the Turnaround Management Association recognized the successful restructuring of Avaya Inc. with its “Mega Company Transaction of the Year Award.”

Francis earned his Juris Doctor in 2016 from the University of Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree in 2011 from Columbia University.  After law school, he served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Brendan L. Shannon in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Francis is admitted to practice in California and New York and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

*Representations also include those that occurred prior to his association with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

Jessica Shin is a litigation associate in the San Francisco office of Gibson Dunn, where she practices in the firm’s Artificial Intelligence and Privacy, Cyber & Data Innovation practice groups.

Jessica earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School, where she served as co-President of the Stanford Law Association and was awarded the Hilmer Oehlmann, Jr. Award for Excellence in Federal Litigation Research and Writing. She also holds an LL.M. with distinction from the University of Vienna, where she focused on comparing technology platform regulation and third-party liability frameworks under EU and U.S. law.

Prior to law school, Jessica conducted research in Securities Class Actions and Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs).

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

Robert C. Blume is a partner in the Denver and Dallas offices of Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher. An accomplished trial lawyer, Rob served as a federal prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice and earned four Special Achievement Awards from the Attorney General. In addition to complex civil litigation, Rob’s practice focuses on internal investigations, compliance, and the defense of business crimes. Rob is an active member of the Firm’s Global White-Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Group, Litigation Practice Group, False Claims Act/Qui Tam Defense Practice Group, Crisis Management Practice Group, and Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Data Innovation Practice Group.

Rob was most recently recognized in Lawdragon 500 as a Global Leader in Crisis Management (2025-2026). He has achieved the highest Band 1 ranking by Chambers USA (2012-2025) as a leading lawyer in Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations. He also was selected by Super Lawyers for excellence in Criminal Defense: White Collar (2019-2024) and recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® for work in three areas: Criminal Defense: White-Collar, Commercial Litigation, and Litigation Securities (2013-2026). Who’s Who Legal recognized Rob in the 2024 edition of their Global Investigations Guide and Benchmark Litigation named Rob a “Litigation Star” both nationally and in Colorado (2018-2025), after previously labeling him a “Future Star” (2015-2017). Finally, Law Week Colorado has named Rob “Best White-Collar Lawyer” (2016).

During his more than 30 years as a trial lawyer, Rob has prepared for and conducted many dozens of bench and jury trials in the federal and state courts of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington, DC, as well as in Canada, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom. His litigation clients include executives, private and public companies, and a sovereign African nation, and they operate within the health care, financial services, oil & gas, aerospace, technology and digital media, retail goods, and hospitality industries. Rob has defended clients against state and federal claims for breach of contract, fraud, racketeering, theft, conversion, misappropriation of trade secrets, patent infringement, and defamation. He also has served as plaintiff’s counsel for clients in the oil and gas industry, including as a key part of the trial team that helped Chevron win a two-month RICO trial barring the enforcement of a $9 billion fraudulent Ecuadorian judgment, which The American Lawyer called “The Case of the Century” and The Wall Street Journal labeled “The Legal Fraud of the Century.” 

Rob’s white-collar, business crimes, and investigations practice pits him against government agencies around the country, including the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the World Bank, and various State Attorneys General and related law enforcement agencies. In this context, Rob represents clients accused of antitrust violations, securities fraud, healthcare fraud, corruption and bribery, cybersecurity issues, money laundering, consumer protection violations, and environmental crimes.

In addition, Rob defends clients accused of federal and state False Claims Act (FCA) violations involving breach of contract, kickback, and Medicare/Medicaid fraud theories. Rob’s government contracting clients include diagnostic laboratories, insurers, medical supply companies, third-party billers, defense contractors, and a provider of investigative services. In district and appellate courts, Rob has, among other things, convinced DOJ to decline intervention, summarily defeated whistleblower claims, successfully argued for new statutory interpretations, and obtained early-stage dismissals of FCA claims for his clients.

Rob also is recognized as an expert in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and has helped clients navigate internal investigations, deploy compliance initiatives, and defend against government actions. In that role, Rob has conducted investigations and due diligence reviews in the United States, Europe, Asia, Africa, India, the Middle East, Central and South America, and Australia. Rob advises executives and Boards regarding internal company practices, compliance programs and training, fiduciary duties, disclosure issues, and human resource concerns. Rob has participated in three separate FCPA Monitorships, including as a lawyer leading the monitor’s investigation team for Siemens.

Rob lectures, publishes, and trains on topics including the attorney-client privilege, internal investigations, the FCPA, the FCA, search warrants/dawn raids, off-channel communications, electronic evidence, and trial advocacy. Most recently, Reuters published his insights on minimizing third-party risk under the FCPA in Practical Law: The Journal. Rob served as a faculty member and instructor at the National Institute of Trial Advocacy’s Advanced Trial Advocacy Program in Washington, DC and its Advanced Deposition Skills training in Boulder, Colorado and is a frequent guest lecturer at the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver and at the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder. He also traveled to Africa with Lawyers Without Borders to train prosecutors and judges as part of the Kenyan Wildlife Crime Project.

Additionally, Rob serves as co-chair of the Rocky Mountain Regional Subcommittee of the ABA’s White-Collar Crime Committee and previously served as the national co-chair of the Corporate Criminal Liability Subcommittee. Rob is an elected member of the Texas Bar Foundation.

Before joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Rob served with distinction as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. Assigned to the Homicide/Major Crimes Section, Rob investigated and tried more than 35 homicide, drug, and violent crime trials. Before that, Rob was with the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, where he investigated and tried a number of organized crime and white-collar cases involving RICO, mail and wire fraud, securities fraud, credit card fraud, insurance fraud, cybersecurity breaches, FCPA violations, obstruction of justice, money laundering, and conspiracy.

Rob graduated cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center, was the Associate Editor of the Georgetown Law Journal, and was a member of Georgetown’s Criminal Justice Clinic. Rob received his Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Brown University and is admitted to practice law in Colorado, Texas, and the District of Columbia.

David P. Burns is a litigation partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is the co-chair of the firm’s National Security Practice Group, and a member of the White Collar and Investigations and Crisis Management practice groups. His practice focuses on white-collar criminal defense, internal investigations, national security, and regulatory enforcement matters. David represents corporations and executives in federal, state, and regulatory investigations involving securities and commodities fraud, sanctions and export controls, theft of trade secrets and economic espionage, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, accounting fraud, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, international and domestic cartel enforcement, health care fraud, government contracting fraud, and the False Claims Act.

David has most recently been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® for his work on Criminal Defense: White-Collar matters (2024-2026). David has also been recognized by Legal 500 US in its 2025 guide for his work in corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense. The publication further highlights David as a “Recommended Lawyer” in the area of Financial Services Litigation. Additionally, he has been recognized by Chambers USA – America’s Leading Business Lawyers as a leading White Collar attorney in the District of Columbia for ten consecutive years. Chambers describes David as “spectacular; there’s no white-collar matter he cannot handle,” and highlights his ability to “think strategically to make important decisions in big-picture matters.” Who’s Who Legal and Global Investigations Review (GIR) recognized him as a leading investigations lawyer, deemed “excellent” for his work across “federal, state, and regulatory investigations.” Benchmark Litigation has also named David a “Litigation Star” for 2025, while Who’s Who Legal has recognized him as a leading lawyer in Business Crime Defense. David was named to Lawdragon’s 500 “Global Leaders in Crisis Management” (2025-2026), a list that highlights individuals recognized for their roles in “high-profile trials and oversight of major federal agencies.”

Prior to re-joining the firm, David served in senior positions in both the Criminal Division and National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Most recently, he served as Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division, where he led more than 600 federal prosecutors who conducted investigations and prosecutions involving securities fraud, health care fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, public corruption, cybercrime, intellectual property theft, money laundering, Bank Secrecy Act violations, child exploitation, international narcotics trafficking, human rights violations, organized and transnational crime, gang violence, and other crimes, as well as matters involving international affairs and sensitive law enforcement techniques. Prior to joining the Criminal Division, David served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the National Security Division from September 2018 to December 2020. In that role, he supervised the Division’s investigations and prosecutions, including counterterrorism, counterintelligence, economic espionage, cyber hacking, FARA, disclosure of classified information, and sanctions and export controls matters. He also spent five years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, Criminal Division, from 2000 to 2005.

Natalie Abshez is an associate in Gibson Dunn’s San Francisco office. She is a member of the firm’s Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance Practice Group and the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Practice Group.

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

She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law, where she served as the Senior Development Manager for the Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law and also advised nonprofit organizations on corporate governance issues through the law school’s Nonprofit Clinic. Natalie graduated magna cum laude from Carleton College. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, she served as a law clerk to The Honorable David T. Thuma, of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Mexico.

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

Jina Choi is a partner in the San Francisco office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Securities Enforcement and White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Groups. Jina represents and counsels major public and private companies and financial institutions, as well as their executives and boards of directors, on government and internal investigations, enforcement-related litigation, whistleblower complaints and compliance programs.

With a unique and rare skill set that allows her to offer clients exceptional and comprehensive legal support, Jina has served in high level roles as a federal prosecutor, SEC enforcement lawyer and defense counsel. Prior to joining the firm, Jina served as the Chief of the Corporate and Securities Fraud Section at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, where she oversaw some of the most complex criminal investigations and prosecutions in the Bay Area, including those involving technology, AI, health care and life sciences companies. Before that, she was a Chambers-ranked defense counsel at a major international law firm and prior to that, she worked for many years in the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where she ultimately served as Director of the SEC’s San Francisco Regional Office (SFRO). As Regional Director, Jina led a staff of over 130 attorneys, accountants, and other professionals responsible for the SEC’s enforcement and compliance programs in the SFRO, which is responsible for the SEC’s enforcement and examination programs in Northern California, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho and Alaska. She supervised and managed teams of attorneys and professionals who investigated and litigated cases involving violations of federal securities laws, including accounting fraud, disclosure fraud, investment fraud, FCPA violations, insider trading, market manipulation and investment adviser/broker dealer fraud. While at the SEC, Jina worked closely with senior staff in Washington, DC and around the country to bring some of the agency’s most complex and groundbreaking enforcement actions.

Jina’s distinguished government experience also includes serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Texas, serving as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and serving as a law clerk for the Honorable Robert P. Patterson, Jr., in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.

Jina received her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Prize Semifinalist and the Executive Editor for the Yale Law and Policy Review, and her B.A. from Oberlin College. With her in-depth knowledge and experience, Jina hasbeen recognized by Lawdragon as a Global Leader in Crisis Management; she was the only attorney chosen in both Securities Enforcement and White Collar in Northern California. She has served as a guest lecturer at Stanford Law School, NYU School of Law, University of California Law San Francisco and University of Virginia School of Law and is a frequent speaker on SEC Enforcement developments, government investigations, regulatory developments, corporate resolutions and compliance.

Saavan Shah is an associate in the London office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the Mergers and Acquisitions and Energy and Infrastructure Practice Groups.

Saav’s experience focuses on transactions and projects in the oil and gas, power and infrastructure sectors as well as general M&A. Saav has broad expertise advising on a wide spectrum of corporate matters, including both cross-border and domestic mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate reorganizations, as well as general corporate governance and advisory work.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Saav worked in the London office of another major global law firm.  Saav has also previously spent time on secondment at the Carlyle Group, working closely with members of the CIEP (Carlyle International Energy Partners) fund as well as their general buyout and strategic funds.