Daniel J. Thomasch, a litigation partner in Gibson Dunn’s New York office, represents clients in complex, high- value cases across a broad range of practice areas and industries.

Dan is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and is a past chair of the College’s Federal Rules of Evidence Committee. He has tried cases to verdict in federal and state courts in California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Nebraska, New York, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, and has argued appeals in the United States Courts of Appeal for the Second, Third, Sixth, Ninth, Eleventh and Federal Circuits, and in the highest courts of New York, Georgia and Maryland. Dan is regularly asked to assume lead responsibility for ongoing matters after unfavorable pre-trial rulings or other developments have increased the stakes of the litigation and/or diminished the likelihood of success at trial. He has a record of consistent success in those situations.

Lawdragon has ranked Dan as among the “Top 500 Lawyers” and as one of the “500 Leading Litigators.” Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business has repeatedly ranked Dan nationally for Product Liability and Mass Torts, and in New York for Intellectual Property. Chambers notes that he “is an outstanding litigator,” and “very strategic, very smart and extremely good on his feet in court.” Managing Intellectual Property consistently names Dan as a “Patent Star,” and he was designated a “Life Sciences Star” in the inaugural publication of LMG Life Sciences 2012 and in each subsequent issue. Dan is also ranked by IAM Patent 1000 in patent litigation, and “Life Sciences: Product Liability” in PLC’s Which Lawyer?, Benchmark Litigation: The Definitive Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys named Dan a “Litigation Star” in New York and nationally for Product Liability and Commercial Litigation. The Best Lawyers in America® named Dan a leading attorney for Product Liability Litigation, and Law & Politics has named him “a Super Lawyer” every year since 2006 for intellectual property litigation, product liability defense, or business litigation. 

Dan is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the New York Intellectual Property Law Association, the Federal Bar Council and The Association of the Bar of the City of New York (Thurgood Marshall Award, 1998).

Dan received his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and recipient of the Young B. Smith Award. His undergraduate degree is from Northwestern University. After law school, Dan was a law clerk to the Honorable Thomas P. Griesa of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The following is a representative sample of Dan’s cases.*

Patent Litigation

  • Western Digital Technologies, Inc. (WD):  Lead trial counsel in a patent infringement action tried to verdict in the Central District of California in October 2024.  Dan successfully argued WD’s Rule 50(a) motion at the close of plaintiff’s evidence, striking the patentee’s damages theory and evidence.  Although the trial court permitted plaintiff to argue for damages under a new and undisclosed theory, WD rested without presenting an affirmative case, and the resulting jury verdict in plaintiff’s favor was reduced to $1 nominal damages on WD’s Rule 50(b) motion.  The case is currently on appeal to the Federal Circuit.
  • U.S. Mobile Phone Carrier: Trial and appellate counsel in a patent infringement jury trial in the District of Nebraska. After a multi-week trial, the jury returned a complete defense verdict, finding that all five accused networks  did not infringe any of the six asserted patent claims. On appeal, the Federal Circuit dismissed Plaintiff’s appeal as moot based on its conclusion that the asserted patents recited patent-ineligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101, as argued by Dan on the carrier’s cross-appeal.
  • U.S. Mobile Phone Carrier: Obtained a defense verdict of non-infringement and invalidity on all asserted claims in a jury trial in the Eastern District of Texas, after obtaining pre-trial Daubert rulings dramatically limiting plaintiff’s damages claim.
  • Lawson Software: Lead trial counsel for defendant in a civil contempt case following a plaintiff’s verdict of patent infringement and the entry of a permanent injunction by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in an action defended by a different law firm. Developed trial and appellate strategies for the contempt proceedings that resulted in a complete victory on the contempt charge and vacatur of the underlying injunction.
  • Dow AgroSciences (DAS): Served for more than a decade as lead national trial and appellate counsel on all patent infringement actions against DAS involving patents for making genes and inserting them into plants to make the plants insect-resistant. Devised and implemented a global litigation strategy that successfully defended (through trial verdicts, summary judgment rulings, voluntary dismissals and appellate rulings) DAS’s core business in multiple interrelated patent litigations throughout the United States. He won a qui tam suit against DAS in which plaintiff alleged false marking under 35 U.S.C. § 292. Dan also argued appeals before the Federal Circuit in multiple cases involving patents asserted by and against DAS, and DAS prevailed in each such appeal.*
  • Dow AgroSciences (DAS): Dan first-chaired and won a bet-the-company jury trial in the District of Delaware in which DAS prevailed against a competitor asserting patent claims that were alleged to cover all transgenic corn products, both commercial and pre-market, in the United States.
  • Alcon Laboratories: Successfully defended Alcon in multiple patent litigations involving prescription drugs used for lowering intraocular pressure in patients suffering from glaucoma, including summary judgment in a case of first impression involving method claims and alleged off-label uses of prescription drugs; argued and won appeal of that ruling in the Federal Circuit.*
  • Storz Ophthalmics Company: Obtained dismissal of multiple patent infringement actions involving the design of intraocular lenses and methods for their surgical implantation.*
  • Praxis Biologics, Inc.: Successfully defended American Cyanamid Company and Praxis Biologics, Inc. at trial in a patent infringement action related to human infant vaccines against bacterial infections such as meningitis. Trial verdict upheld on appeal to the Federal Circuit.*
  • American Cyanamid Company: Lead trial counsel in two bench trials in the District of Colorado arising out of an inventorship dispute with associated claims for copyright infringement and common law torts.

Business Litigation

  • Archer Aviation Inc.: Dan represented Archer, an emerging leader in the eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft industry, in the defense of trade secret claims and the assertion of defamation and unfair competition counterclaims in the Northern District of California; the Archer team defeated plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction, obtained dismissal of plaintiff’s most important trade secret claims, and defeated multiple attempts to dismiss Archer’s counterclaims, leading to a favorable settlement.
  • Fraud and Breach of Contract: From 2015 through 2024, Dan served as lead counsel for PwC and multiple individuals in an action brought in California Superior Court by the City of Los Angeles (“City”) alleging fraudulent inducement and breach of contract in the implementation of a new Customer Information System for the City’s Department of Water and Power (LADWP). During discovery, Dan and his team uncovered evidence that the City’s counsel had perpetrated a massive fraud on the Court in a related case, in order to facilitate the City’s efforts to blame PwC falsely for problems with LADWP’s new billing system. That evidence forced LADWP’s highest ranking employee to resign, and, following a federal investigation prompted by PwC’s evidence, that individual was convicted for bribery and sentenced to six years in prison. Pursuant to the same investigation, lead outside counsel for the City in the action against PwC and the supervising attorney within the L.A. City Attorney’s office were also convicted of felonies, as was a second employee of the LADWP. Faced with an array of adverse rulings by the trial court, in September 2019, the City dismissed with prejudice all claims against PwC and the individual defendants. In October 2020, the trial court imposed $2.5 million in sanctions against the City and in favor of PwC. That sanctions order ultimately was upheld by the Supreme Court of the State of California in a unanimous decision.
  • Audit Report Misrepresentation Claims: Dan recently represented a Big Four accounting firm in a $1.8 billion fraud and misrepresentation case brought by a non-client of the accounting firm in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. Dan’s team obtained dismissal with prejudice of all claims on behalf of investors who allegedly relied on the accounting firm’s audit report to purchase debt in a leveraged loan transaction involving that firm’s client, which led to settlement on terms favorable to defendant.
  • ERISA: Dan represented PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”) in a high-stakes ERISA class action brought in the Southern District of New York in which Plaintiffs sought to compel payment of “whipsaw claims” exceeding $1 billion. The case settled while pre-trial motions brought by PwC were pending before the district court. 
  • Wage and Hour Class Actions: As lead trial and appellate counsel for PwC in multiple wage-and-hour class actions, Dan argued and won in the Ninth Circuit an appeal of an issue of first impression under the California Labor Code, obtaining reversal of the District Court’s summary adjudication in favor of a class of approximately 2,000 unlicensed accountants, and leading to a favorable class settlement.

Product Liability and Mass Torts

  • Johnson & Johnson: Co-led product liability team contributing to Gibson Dunn’s independent investigation of company conduct involved in the manufacturing and marketing of talc products and the company’s defense of those claims at trial and on appeal. Our investigation (in conjunction with a corporate governance team) involved the evaluation of general causation and contamination theories through a deep dive into epidemiological and other scientific studies, the analysis of internal documents spanning six decades, and dozens of interviews of fact and expert witnesses. The results of our 18-month investigation were detailed in a 350+ page Special Investigation Report that was publicly filed in the United States District Court (D. N.J.) overseeing shareholder litigation against J&J based on talc litigation liabilities.
  • Wyeth: Served as national lead trial and appellate counsel in nearly 400 product liability cases involving claims that childhood vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal caused autism in vaccinated children, prevailing in every case (no settlements). Successfully tried a two-week Frye hearing in which Wyeth attacked all causation theories purporting to link vaccines to autism, resulting in the exclusion of all of plaintiffs’ expert witnesses. Argued the appeal to Maryland’s highest court and obtained a unanimous affirmance, which effectively adopted a new standard for the admissibility of expert testimony in civil cases, Blackwell v. Wyeth, 408 Md. 575, 971 A.2d 235 (2009). That decision resulted in the dismissal of the claims of all of the approximately 300 plaintiffs in cases then-pending against vaccine manufacturers in Maryland. Devised federal preemption strategy that ultimately resulted in the successful conclusion of the national litigation, and argued preemption motions and appeals in state and federal courts, leading to the Supreme Court’s decision in Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, in which the Court held that all design defect claims involving recommended childhood vaccines are preempted by the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986.*
  • Breg, Inc.: As appellate counsel, obtained reversal of intentional concealment verdict in the California Court of Appeal, resulting in vacatur of a significant punitive damages award and a dramatic reduction in compensatory damages.
  • American Home Products Corporation: First-chaired and won the first jury trial of a case involving alleged neurological injuries from the use of the Norplant System, a contraceptive implant, obtaining a complete defense verdict. Obtained dismissal of numerous cases involving prescription drugs, biologics, medical devices and OTC products, through successful motion practice.*
  • The Dow Chemical Company: Obtained dismissal of claims brought on behalf of up to thousands of Brazilian citizens seeking damages under the Alien Tort Statute and state law for alleged injuries from environmental contamination. In another case, Dan obtained dismissal of state law claims brought by more than 300 residents of Ecuador alleging personal injuries from exposure to a commercial fungicide used on banana crops.*
  • American Cyanamid Company: Successfully defended litigation initiated by the City of New York to recover for property damage and personal injuries alleged to have resulted from exposure to lead pigment-in-paint manufactured by a putative predecessor-in-interest to Cyanamid.*
  • Lederle Laboratories: First-chaired and won three multi-week jury trials of cases involving permanent injuries to infants allegedly resulting from immunization with the whole-cell DTP vaccine. Argued and won the resulting appeals in the United States Courts of Appeal for the Second, Sixth and Eleventh Circuits.*
  • Lederle Laboratories: Obtained summary judgment prior to class certification of a statewide consumer class action involving a popular multi-vitamin, Caltrate®.*
  • Counseling: Dan counsels corporate clients on potential product liability risks arising out of the introduction of new products to market or the acquisition of product manufacturers or specific product lines.

Insurance Coverage Litigation

  • Wyeth: Served as lead counsel in numerous insurance coverage litigations in which the policyholder sought payment of defense costs incurred in the defense of mass tort litigation, and defense and remediation costs for scores of environmental clean-up sites throughout the country. Obtained hundreds of millions of dollars of coverage in highly favorable settlements. Dan has also successfully litigated business interruption claims, claims for coverage under D&O policies and reinsurance disputes.*
  • John Wyeth & Brother: Served as lead counsel in an insurance coverage action over defense costs incurred by Wyeth in the defense of Benzodiazepine product liability litigation. Worked closely with barrister and instructing solicitors in the successful trial of Wyeth’s claims in the Commercial Court of London.*

Other Litigation

  • Dan has also litigated consumer class actions, and criminal and civil antitrust, securities, RICO, breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and replevin cases.

*Representations occurred prior to Dan’s affiliation with Gibson Dunn.

Patrick Cowherd is of counsel in the Houston office of Gibson Dunn where he currently practices with the firm’s Capital Markets, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance Practice Groups. He represents issuers and investment banking firms in connection with public offerings and private placements of both equity and debt securities, including initial public offerings, shelf registrations, and Rule 144A offerings. He has substantial knowledge and transactional experience with exploration and production companies, midstream businesses as well as the oil field services sector.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Patrick served as in-house counsel for nearly a decade at several international companies in the oilfield services industry. He received a J.D., with honors, from The University of Texas School of Law in 2004, and an L.L.M from Georgetown University Law Center in 2005. Patrick earned a B.A., with honors, from The University of Texas at Austin.

Dean Masuda is a partner in the New York office of Gibson Dunn where he is a member of the firm’s Finance Practice Group. He represents borrowers and private equity sponsors in a variety of debt finance transactions.

Dean is recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America 2025 for his work in Banking and Finance Law.

Representative Clients and Transactions*:

  • CapVest Partners in its financing of its acquisition of Recochem Corp.
  • Cole Haan, a portfolio company of Apax Partners in its refinancing of its credit facilities
  • Consolidated Precision Products, a leading manufacturer of highly complex components for the commercial aerospace market, in connection with a refinancing of its existing secured debt and issuance of preferred equity as part of a complicated amend and extend transaction involving more than $1.3 billion in funded debt
  • Digital River Inc., a portfolio company of Siris Capital Group in its amendments of its credit facilities
  • Galaxy Digital Holdings in its financing of its acquisition of Helios bitcoin mining facility from Argo Blockchain
  • Grayshift LLC, a portfolio company of Thoma Bravo in its refinancing of its credit facilities
  • HPS Investment Partners in its financing for the management-led group’s takeover bid for Canaccord Genuity Group Inc.
  • Identity Digital Inc., a portfolio company of ABRY Partners in its refinancing of its credit facilities
  • Integra Parent, a portfolio company of Thoma Bravo in its financing of its acquisition of Cyborg Security Inc.
  • Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and its portfolio companies in various matters including:
    • Acquisition of SunFireMatrix Inc.
    • Acquisition of Janney Montgomery Scott
    • Take-private of Chase Corporation
    • Incremental financings for GeoStabilization International, LLC
    • Industrial Physics in its amendments to its credit facilities
  • Learfield Communications in a comprehensive deleveraging transaction with its lenders and equity partners. Significantly reducing debt by $600 million and raised $150 million in new equity
  • Medusind Solutions, a portfolio company of Alpine Investors in multiple refinancings and acquisition financings
  • Ortholite LLC, a portfolio company of Trilantic Capital Partners in its refinancing of its senior credit facilities
  • Point 41 Capital Partners and its portfolio companies in various financing matters including:
    • Acquisition of Interstate AC Services
    • Acquisition of Kimbro Mechanical Inc.
    • Acquisition of Open Source Controls LLC
    • Acquisition of Anchor Heating and Air
  • Warburg Pincus in its financing of its acquisition of Everise Holdings Inc.
  • 24-7 Intouch Inc., a portfolio company of Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan in its incremental credit facility

Dean earned his Juris Doctor in 2015 from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame in 2012. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, he was a debt finance partner at a global law firm.

*Includes transactions prior to Dean’s association with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

Hanh Pham is a French qualified associate in the Paris office of Gibson Dunn, where she serves as a member of the firm’s Finance and Business Restructuring Practice Groups.

Hanh focuses her practice on structured finance and complex cross-border debt restructuring transactions.

She is also involved in syndicated loans, government guaranteed loans and bond issues. Hanh represents both private and listed companies, senior and junior lenders and borrowers in their significant strategic transactions.

As a former member of an investment bank’s Compliance team, she also has particular experience in Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) and related compliance topics.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Hanh worked for five years as an AML/CFT Compliance Officer within an investment bank and then practiced within the Banking and Finance department of other international law firms in Paris.

Admitted to the Paris Bar, Hanh holds a postgraduate degree in International Business Law and Management from ESSEC Business School, a Master’s degree in Comparative Business Law from University Paris 2 – Panthéon-Assas and a degree in Distressed M&A – Restructuring from University Paris 1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne.

She speaks English, French, and Vietnamese fluently.

Stephen Hui is an of counsel in Hong Kong. He is a member of the firm’s Finance Practice Group. He focuses on complex cross-border financing transactions, including acquisition and leveraged finance, direct lending, and special situations debt investments.

He has extensive experience throughout the Asia-Pacific region and regularly represents prominent private equity sponsors and private credit funds on their most significant and complex financing transactions at all levels of the capital structure. He has also spent time on secondment with KKR to support their capital markets team and their legal team in a wide variety of matters in the region.

Stephen is recognized as a recommended lawyer for banking and finance by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific guide, which highlights his role in handling matters “concerning acquisition and leveraged finance, mezzanine finance, fund finance, direct lending, and special situations debt investments” and notes his “client service level is impressive.”

Some of his recent and most significant experience includes advising:*

  • KKR (and its portfolio companies) on multiple transactions, including: the financing related to its acquisition of a controlling stake in J.B. Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd., which was named “Deal of the Year in Asia” in 2020 by Private Equity International; the financing related to its acquisition of real estate in Singapore; the financing related to its acquisition of infrastructure assets in the Philippines; and the financing related to its acquisition of two waste management companies in South Korea
  • Bain Capital (and its portfolio companies) on multiple transactions, including: the financing related to its acquisition of Evident Corporation; the financing related to its investment in Schwan’s Company; the financing related to its acquisition of Classys; and the financing related to its investment in K-Bank
  • TPG Capital (and its portfolio companies) on multiple transactions, including: the financing related to its joint venture to acquire real estate in the PRC; the financing related to its investment in Nox; and the financing related to its joint venture acquisition of WTT
  • A number of global credit funds and special situations investors on complex structured financings (both onshore and offshore) in the PRC, South Korea, South-East Asia and India

Stephen received his Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Sydney. He is admitted to practice in Hong Kong and in New South Wales, Australia. He is fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

*Includes matters handled prior to joining Gibson Dunn.

Charline Yim is a partner in the New York office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the International Arbitration and Litigation Practice Groups. She also serves on the firm’s Pro Bono and Hiring Committees.

Charline specializes in international arbitration and has extensive experience representing clients in investment treaty and international commercial disputes. She has advised clients in disputes arising under many of the major arbitration rules including ICSID, ICSID Additional Facility, UNCITRAL, AAA, ICDR, ICC, LCIA, SCC, SIAC, AIAC, DIA, OCC, TAI and DIAC, as well as in ad hoc proceedings. Her clients operate in a wide range of industries, and she has particular experience guiding clients through complex, high-stakes disputes relating to the energy, telecommunications, construction, pharmaceutical, consumer products, financial services and banking industries.

Law360 named Charline a International Arbitration “Rising Star,” recognizing her as an “[attorney] under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age” and Benchmark Litigation named her to its 40 & Under list, which identifies “the best and brightest litigators across the US.” Charline is recognized by Chambers USA and Chambers Global in the International Arbitration Counsel category, by Lawdragon500 X – The Next Generation for International Arbitration, Lexology as an Arbitration Future Leader, and by The Best Lawyers in America® for Alternative Dispute Resolution. She has been described by her clients as an “exceptional lawyer who undertakes deep preparation for cases” and “a real legal expert, who drives problem-solving smoothly in a complex environment and picks up new issues quickly.”

In addition to representing clients in international arbitration proceedings, Charline has represented clients in major global investigations, white collar and civil litigation matters. Her experience includes representing clients in investigations by state and national enforcement authorities including the DOJ, the CFTC and the European Commission, as well as securing the acquittal of an individual defendant in a federal jury trial. She also represents clients in litigation matters relating to international arbitration proceedings including the enforcement of arbitral awards in multiple jurisdictions.

Charline maintains a significant pro bono practice and advises individuals and organizations on public international law and international human rights matters. Her most recent matters include representing human rights defenders before United Nations organs, advising leading international human rights organizations on questions of international criminal law, advising clients with international treaty negotiations, advising clients on the development of transitional justice mechanisms in various countries, and presenting various training courses on public international law, international dispute resolution, transitional justice, and media freedom. In addition, she frequently represents clients in asylum and immigration proceedings. For her commitment to pro bono work, she has been awarded Gibson Dunn’s Frank Wheat Memorial Award and Legal Aid Society’s Pro Bono Publico Award. 

Charline regularly publishes, speaks and lectures on topics relating to international arbitration, public international law and international justice. Recent topics include developments under the Energy Charter Treaty, transitional justice processes and racial injustice in the US, and the importance of diversity in international arbitration.

Charline serves on the Board of Directors for the Center for Justice and Accountability and International Senior Lawyers Project, and as a member of the Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge’s USA Sub-Committee. She has previously served on committees for the American Society of International Law and the New York City Bar Association.

Charline earned her law degree in 2011 from Harvard Law School, where she was the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard International Law Journal, Co-President of the HLS Advocates for Human Rights and recipient of the Class of 2011 Dean’s Award for Community Leadership. She graduated summa cum laude in 2008 from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she studied Economics, English and Political Science, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Prior to joining the firm, she was an associate in the dispute resolution group of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP and a fellow to the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Charline is admitted to practice in the State of New York, and before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She has working knowledge of Spanish and Portuguese.

Julian Manasse-Boetani is an associate in Gibson Dunn’s San Francisco office. He practices in the firm’s Litigation Department, with a focus on antitrust and patent issues.

Julian earned his law degree, with honors and pro bono honors, from the University of Chicago Law School in 2023. As a member of the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic he represented Michigan community organizations in state energy regulatory proceedings, seeking increased community solar, grid investment in low-income and BIPOC communities, reduced fossil fuel usage, and other environmental justice goals. During his B.A. in economics, received with honors from the University of Chicago, he completed a year of graduate-level microeconomics coursework and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Immediately before law school Julian worked in the Oakland office of an economic consulting firm for four years, primarily supporting the testimony of professors Carl Shapiro and Fiona Scott Morton in antitrust litigation and regulatory proceedings. While in that role he was part of the trial team that supported Professor Shapiro’s testimony in Steves & Sons, Inc. v. JELD-WEN, Inc., the first private antitrust litigation in which a court has ordered a divestiture remedy. He also worked closely on matters involving fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing rates for standard essential patents, matters involving allegedly exclusionary discounting and/or bundling, and a vertical merger clearance matter before the FTC. 

Julian is admitted to practice law in California.

Sarah Akhtar is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the firm’s Antitrust & Competition and Litigation practice groups. Sarah represents clients in government investigations and high-stakes litigation, including criminal antitrust matters. She also conducts confidential internal investigations and advises clients on managing compliance programs.

Prior to joining the firm, Sarah clerked for Chief Judge R. Guy Cole, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Sarah graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center, where she served as Managing Editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. She earned her undergraduate degree with honors from Harvard University, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard International Review and a recipient of the Thomas T. Hoopes Prize.

Sarah is Vice Chair of the Cartel and Criminal Practice Committee of the ABA Antitrust Law Section. She is admitted to practice in Maryland and Washington, D.C.

Elizabeth A. Dabanka is an associate attorney in the New York office of Gibson Dunn. She practices in the firm’s Litigation Department.

Elizabeth earned her Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School in 2024. While at Columbia, Elizabeth was a member of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review, worked as a student attorney for the Immigration Rights Clinic and served as a teaching assistant for Contracts and Torts. Additionally, Elizabeth was the treasurer of First Generation Professionals and a member of the Black Law Student Association.

Elizabeth received a Bachelor of Arts in 2020 from Brandeis University, where she graduated magna cum laude. She triple majored in Politics, African and African American Studies, and International and Global Studies.

Elizabeth is admitted to practice in New York.

Nicholas is a financial services regulatory and fintech lawyer based in Singapore.

He regularly advises global financial institutions, fund managers, payment service providers, commodities traders, fintechs and Web 3 clients on the full spectrum of legal and regulatory matters, including the regulatory perimeter, structuring and offering of products, conduct of business and compliance, change of control, licence applications and regulatory submissions.

In addition to his regulatory practice, Nicholas is also well-versed in products and commercial work involving the structuring, negotiating and documenting of commercial agreements in the financial services, payments, fintech and digital assets industries.

Nicholas received his Bachelor of Laws from the Singapore Management University in 2022. He is admitted to practice in Singapore.

Robert A. Vincent is a partner in the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is a member of the firm’s Litigation Department and practices in the Intellectual Property Practice Group.

Mr. Vincent’s practice focuses primarily on intellectual property litigation. He also has experience in Lanham Act litigation, trade secret litigation, securities litigation, antitrust and trade regulation, regulatory enforcement proceedings, and punitive damages liability. Mr. Vincent represents leading companies involving a variety of technologies, including biopharmaceuticals and recombinant DNA technology, smartphones, user interfaces, semiconductors, software, video games, data compression, and LCD technology. He has litigated complex patent infringement cases across the country, including the International Trade Commission.

Mr. Vincent’s experience includes all aspects of litigation, including pre-suit investigation, e-discovery, taking and defending numerous fact and expert depositions, summary judgment and Markman proceedings, trial preparation, and post-trial briefing. He has successfully written and argued motions in multiple jurisdictions, including the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas and the District of New Jersey. Mr. Vincent is also recognized by IAM Patent 1000 as a 2025 leading patent lawyer.

Mr. Vincent earned his law degree from Columbia University School of Law in 2006, where he was named a Kent Scholar. He also received the Whitney North Seymour Medal, awarded annually to the student who shows the greatest promise of becoming a distinguished trial advocate. While in law school, Mr. Vincent worked as an extern for the Honorable Sonia Sotomayor of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University in 2003.

Mr. Vincent is a member of the State Bar of Texas. He is also admitted to practice before the United States District Courts for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Sarah E. Erickson is of counsel in the Denver Office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. She is a core member of the firm’s Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Data Innovation; Artificial Intelligence; and Consumer Protection practice groups. Every year since 2021, Sarah has received the Best Lawyers: Ones To Watch recognition for her high caliber work in Commercial Litigation. The Legal 500 USA has also recognized Sarah as a Key Lawyer in Cyber Law (including Data Privacy).

Sarah’s practice focuses on counseling clients in various industries, ranging from start-ups to publicly traded Fortune 100 companies, on strategic compliance with data privacy and consumer protection laws and on representing clients in the technology sector in high-stakes investigations and inquiries by the FTC, CFPB, Congressional committees, and other federal and state consumer protection agencies and in litigation in federal and state court. Representative matters include:

  • successfully representing a leading generative AI company in an FTC investigation into downstream uses of the company’s AI technology, resulting in closure of the investigation with no further action;
  • representing a publicly traded lead generation company in an FTC investigation and enforcement action;
  • serving as a primary contact to a publicly traded social media company for ongoing, strategic advice on implementation of a data privacy compliance program required under a Consent Order following an FTC investigation relating to the company’s use of consumers’ personal information;
  • representing a leading online retailer and video streaming service in responding to two separate orders to file Special Reports under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act;
  • representing a publicly traded fintech company in responding to various market-monitoring orders from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regarding consumer payments and buy now, pay later products;
  • representing a social media company in responding to U.S. House Select Committee investigation into the January 6, 2021 Capitol Riots;
  • representing a leading social media company in federal and state-level investigations related to the company’s use of consumer data and related litigation;
  • advising Fortune 500 health care company on strategic HIPAA compliance, including conducting risk assessments and preparing risk management plans;
  • advising a leading tech company and a healthcare company on HIPAA compliance in the development of AI tools to assist providers;
  • providing real-time and crisis management advice to companies during investigations of suspected and actual data breaches;
  • conducting HIPAA and FTC consumer protection diligence assessments for mergers & acquisitions involving health care entities and business associates;
  • advising companies from a variety of sectors on compliance with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), state breach notification laws, and federal and state consumer protection laws;
  • advising companies from the financial, technology, and retail sectors on Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) regulatory and compliance matters;
  • providing pro bono counseling to non-profit organizations on compliance with GDPR, state data breach notification statutes, and best practices for cybersecurity and data privacy.

Sarah has also represented clients in the health care, technology, telecommunications, and transportation industries in notice-and-comment rulemaking proceedings, regulatory appeals, and in the federal trial and appellate courts. Representative matters include:

  • representing a Fortune 100 telecommunications company and national trade association in high-stakes rulemaking proceedings before the FCC;
  • successfully challenging an agency ruling under the Administrative Procedures Act in the D.C. Circuit on behalf of the railroad industry, securing vacatur of the rule;
  • representing beverage and advertising trade associations in obtaining a preliminary injunction from the Ninth Circuit enjoining a compelled disclosure on First Amendment grounds;
  • representing state health care provider in challenging a Medicaid disallowance;
  • representing a managed health care company in responding to a proposed rule to change Medicare Advantage reimbursement methodology;
  • represented a health care company in responding to HHS-Office of Civil Rights’ request for information on revisions to HIPAA Privacy Rule.

Sarah also maintains an active pro bono practice that spans a range of subject matter, including representing individual clients seeking asylum in removal proceedings to representing nonprofits on compliance with privacy laws, including HIPAA.

Before joining the firm, Sarah served as law clerk to the Honorable Diana Motz of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

She graduated magna cum laude and in the top 1% of her class at Georgetown University Law Center. While at Georgetown, Sarah received the Charles A. Keigwin Award for achieving the highest GPA at the conclusion of first year courses and served as Articles Editor of The Georgetown Law Journal. She also published student notes on the subjects of civil rights and national security and served as a weekly contributor for SCOTUSblog.

Sarah also holds a Master of Arts in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Düsseldorf, Germany and a Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Prior to private practice, she worked in the field of international development. She speaks German, French, and Dutch.

Caroline Black is an associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Antitrust and Competition Practice Group.

She advises clients on all aspects of antitrust law, with a particular focus on counseling clients on antitrust compliance as well as merger and non-merger investigations before the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice. Caroline also has experience with complex private antitrust litigation. Her antitrust experience spans a wide range of industries, including technology, consumer goods, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, industrials, energy, and financial services.

Caroline currently serves as a Vice Chair in the ABA’s Antitrust Section. Caroline has also previously spent time at the General Court of the European Court of Justice, where she worked on novel competition law cases.

Caroline received her law degree from Columbia Law School.

Representative matters include*

  • American Express Company in its $400 million acquisition of Tock from Squarespace
  • Cadence Bank in its $6 billion merger of equals with BancorpSouth Bank
  • EchoStar Corporation, parent company of DISH Network Corporation, in its $256 million divestiture of certain Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands spectrum assets to Liberty Latin America Ltd.
  • First Horizon in its merger with IBERIABANK
  • Fiserv, Inc. in its $650 million acquisition of Finxact
  • Guardant Health in connection with Illumina’s $8 billion acquisition of GRAIL
  • U.S. Bank on its strategic alliance with State Farm
  • RPX Corp. in an antitrust/IP dispute brought by Xockets, alleging software licensing collusion with Microsoft and NVIDIA
  • Seagen in its $43 billion acquisition by Pfizer
  • SunTrust in its $66 billion merger of equals with BB&T
  • Tadano Ltd. in its $223 million acquisition of Manitex International

*Includes matters handled prior to joining Gibson Dunn.

Caroline is admitted to practice in New York and California.

Jaclyn Hellreich is an associate in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher where she currently practices in the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. Jaclyn has experience in a wide variety of IP litigation matters in various courts including Western and Eastern Districts of Texas, the District of Delaware, and the Northern District of California. She also has extensive experience litigating in the U.S. International Trade Commission, and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Jaclyn has worked on cases covering a wide range of technologies including network communication, computer architecture, software, fintech, and medical devices. In addition, Jaclyn has frequently advised clients on strategic issues related to intellectual property rights.

Jaclyn’s pro bono work includes representing clients in defamation suits, public housing disputes, immigration proceedings, and domestic violence matters. She also advises small businesses on data, privacy and IP matters. 

She received her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School in 2019. At Brooklyn Law School, Jaclyn was an Associate Managing Editor for the Brooklyn Law Review. Her student paper was presented at the NYCLA’s CLE Security in a Cyber World. Prior to law school, she received a B.S. in Biology from SUNY Geneseo and presented her scientific research at the Experimental Biology Conference in 2014 (San Diego) and 2015 (Boston).

Jaclyn is admitted to practice before the Southern and Eastern District Court of New York as well as New York state courts.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, she was an associate in the IP Litigation Department of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in New York.

Sarah Elmiry is an associate in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher.

She received her Juris Doctor, summa cum laude, in 2022 from New York Law School, where she served as Staff Editor of the New York Law School Law Review.

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

William Goldman is of counsel in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is a member of the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group. He concentrates his practice on real estate finance transactions representing banks, debt funds and other institutional lenders in the origination of mortgage loan, mezzanine loans and construction loans across all asset types. Will’s practice also includes the representation of institutional investors and operating companies in connection with the acquisition and financing of real estate, joint ventures and leasing.

William received his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 2012. He received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the City University of New York (CUNY) in 2009.

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

Brandon Stoker is of counsel in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn, where his practice focuses on complex business litigation at the trial and appellate levels. He is a member of the firm’s Antitrust and Competition, Appellate and Constitutional Law, Class Actions, and Labor and Employment Practice Groups.

Brandon works with clients in a variety of industries, including technology, consumer products, energy, healthcare, insurance, and financial services. He has represented clients in antitrust, breach-of-contract, consumer, and employment class actions; constitutional litigation involving challenges based on due process, equal protection, the Commerce Clause, and the First Amendment; and government investigation and enforcement actions involving the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Federal Trade Commission, and state attorneys general.

He has represented clients in 10 trials in federal and state courts throughout the country.  He also represents clients in diverse appellate matters, including briefing dozens of appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, most federal circuits, and numerous state intermediate and supreme courts, and has successfully presented oral argument to the Ninth Circuit. He frequently advises business leaders on issues at the intersection of litigation, regulation, and public policy, and has substantial experience developing risk-mitigation strategies and guiding clients through crisis situations.

Since 2018, Brandon has been named a “Rising Star” in Class Action Litigation in the yearly Super Lawyers edition of Los Angeles Magazine, and since 2022 he has been recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America®. His litigation wins have been profiled in awards conferred by a variety of publications, including: “Litigators of the Week,” The Am Law Litigation Daily (June 2021); “Litigators of the Week,” The Am Law Litigation Daily (February 2018); “Top Verdicts of 2017,” Los Angeles Daily Journal (February 2018); “Litigation Department of the Year,” The American Lawyer (January 2016); “Top Verdicts of 2014,” Los Angeles Daily Journal (February 2015); “Practice Group Performs In Spotlight and Under Pressure,” Los Angeles Daily Journal (March 2012); and “Litigation Department of the Year,” The American Lawyer (January 2012).

Representative Matters:

  • The Standard Fire Ins. Co. v. Knowles (U.S. Supreme Court): Winning a unanimous victory in the first Supreme Court decision to interpret the jurisdictional limitations of the Class Action Fairness Act.
  • Campbell v. Uber Technologies, Inc. (Mass. Super. Ct.): Representing Uber in an enforcement action brought by the Massachusetts Attorney General in which the government sought injunctive and declaratory relief that drivers who use Uber’s rideshare application have been misclassified as independent contractors.  The parties reached a favorable settlement on the eve of closing argument following a three-week trial.
  • Razak v. Uber Technologies, Inc. (E.D. Pa.):  Representing Uber in two jury trials on misclassification claims asserted by luxury vehicle fleet owners who use Uber Black.  After both trials resulted in split verdicts favoring Uber, the court dismissed the action with prejudice.
  • Ballejos v. Facebook, Inc. (San Mateo Super. Ct.; Cal. App.): Winning dismissal with prejudice, and unanimous affirmance on appeal, of a consumer class action alleging undisclosed data sharing of user profile information on the Facebook platform.
  • In re Uber Technologies Wage and Hour Cases (S.F. Super. Ct.): Representing Uber in a series of putative class and government enforcement actions in California asserting that Uber has misclassified drivers as independent contractors, including defeating four preliminary injunction motions, winning several motions to enforce arbitration agreements, and securing an emergency stay on the eve of a statewide shutdown of Uber’s ridesharing platform in California.
  • In Facebook, Inc. Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation (N.D. Cal.); New Mexico v. Meta Platforms, Inc. (Santa Fe Dist. Ct.): Representing Meta in a series of putative class actions and government enforcement actions relating to data privacy issues arising out of the Cambridge Analytica events.
  • Persian Gulf Inc. v. BP West Coast Prods. (S.D. Cal.): Representing Chevron U.S.A. in antitrust class actions alleging a conspiracy among eight oil companies to reduce supply and inflate gasoline prices in California. The Court granted summary judgment on all claims, excluded plaintiffs’ experts, and entered judgment for all defendants.
  • Cepelak v. HP, Inc. (N.D. Cal):  Representing HP in a consumer class action brought asserting claims of unfair competition and fraud on behalf of a sweeping class of HP inkjet printer owners. After the court issued a decisive order denying class certification, plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the case.
  • Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Oracle Corp. (Santa Clara Super. Ct.): Securing a verdict finding that Oracle breached its agreement to continue porting software to HP’s high-performance Itanium servers. The jury awarded HP more than $3 billion in damages—one of the largest single-plaintiff verdicts in United States history.  The California Court of Appeal unanimously affirmed the judgment.
  • Bay Area Surgical Management et al. v. Aetna Life Insurance Company (N.D. Cal.): Representing Aetna in an antitrust action alleging an unlawful conspiracy to restrain trade in the healthcare market. The case successfully settled after the court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss.
  • Lawson v. Grubhub Inc. (N.D. Cal.): In a landmark case for the “gig economy,” preemptively defeating class certification and winning a verdict for Grubhub finding that a delivery service provider was properly classified as an independent contractor.
  • Mohamed/Gillette v. Uber Technologies, Inc. (Ninth Circuit): Persuading the Ninth Circuit to grant interlocutory review of a class certification order and obtaining unanimous decisions enforcing Uber’s arbitration agreements and decertifying a class of hundreds of thousands of drivers.
  • Parsons Constr. v. L.A. Cnty. Metro. Transp. Auth. (Cal. App.): Securing unanimous reversal of a $100 million judgment, on a 17-year trial record, arising from a contract dispute relating to the construction of the L.A. Metro Red Line.
  • Fischer v. Time Warner Cable, Inc. (Cal. App.): Persuading the court to unanimously affirm dismissal of a $6 billion class action against Time Warner Cable, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Los Angeles Lakers, alleging that it is unlawful to include sports programming in bundled cable packages.
  • Vergara v. California (L.A. Super. Ct.): Winning a significant ruling, following an eight-week trial, that California’s teacher tenure laws violate students’ fundamental right to education under the California Constitution. Named among the “Top Verdicts” of the year by the Daily Journal, Vergara was described by The New York Times Editorial Board as a landmark decision that “opens a new chapter in the equal education struggle,” and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan called the ruling a “mandate to fix the problems” that beset California’s public schools.

Brandon maintains an active pro bono practice that focuses on youth advocacy, military veterans, and first-generation entrepreneurs. In recent years, he has represented unaccompanied minors in petitions for asylum and secured permanent restraining orders on behalf of domestic violence survivors. He also presented oral argument to the Ninth Circuit and won unanimous reversal of an order dismissing the claims of a pro se civil rights petitioner.

He has written and presented on a variety of subjects, including class actions, arbitration, employment, and constitutional law. Brandon co-authored The Changed Landscape of Businesses’ Right to Enforce Arbitration Agreements: A Survey of Class Actions Involving Petitions to Compel Arbitration After Concepcion (Bloomberg/BNA Class Action Litigation Report), and contributes to chapters and updates in A Practitioner’s Guide to Class Actions (American Bar Association).

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Brandon served as a law clerk to the Honorable N. Randy Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He graduated magna cum laude and Order of the Coif from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the law review. While in law school, he externed with the Honorable David Sam of the United States District Court for the District of Utah and received the John S. Welch Prize for Outstanding Legal Writing.

Howard S. Hogan is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and is chair of the Consumer and Retail practice group. Over the course of his career, Howard has handled numerous complex cases in a variety of federal and state courts in several different substantive areas including general commercial, securities and employment matters, and internal investigations.

Howard has been repeatedly recognized as a leading voice in the intellectual property legal community, including being highly ranked in Chambers USA, by Managing IP as an IP Star for both trademark and copyright matters, in World Trademark Review’s list of “World’s Leading Trademark Professionals” and its “Global Leaders Guide,” and in serving as a committee chair with the International Trademark Association.  In 2024, WTR described Howard as a “tenacious litigator” who “knows how to deliver a convincing argument and makes all the right strategic moves to put an end to disputes swiftly.”

Howard’s practice focuses on IP litigation and counseling, including trademark, false advertising, copyright, right of publicity, licensing, trade secret, and patent matters. Howard has represented various corporations and individuals in a broad range of industries, including fashion, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, financial services, sports, entertainment, transportation, and online services. A significant portion of Howard’s practice involves computer, Internet, and new media-related issues. Many of Howard’s matters have tested the application of traditional legal principles to the Internet and emerging technologies, such as in connection with issues of Internet jurisdiction, online contracting, and the application of trademark and copyright law to search engines, social media, mobile apps, and artificial intelligence. Howard has been involved in cutting edge matters concerning the protection of data, and he has assisted clients with several substantial trade secrets and information security matters.  Howard also represents clients in connection with rights of publicity, Name Image and Likeness (NIL) rights, and the developing legal framework that governs uses of digital replicas.

Representative Matters

  • Represented TikTok and ByteDance Ltd. in a seven-day trademark infringement trial where plaintiffs asked the jury to award $116 million in damages. Howard’s direct and cross-examinations of expert witnesses helped convince the jury to unanimously reject the plaintiff’s claims.
  • Represented a real estate company in a trademark infringement case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Howard and the Gibson Dunn team convinced the appellate court to reverse the district court’s grant of judgment and to reinstate the plaintiff’s claims.
  • Served as lead counsel to A SHOC Beverage, LLC and Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. in a trade dress and false advertising lawsuit brought by the owner of the Celsius beverage brand that sought to ban the A SHOC Accelerator product from the marketplace. The district court granted Gibson Dunn’s motion to dismiss the claims with prejudice and ordered that plaintiff’s counsel reimburse defendants for $249,357 in fees.
  • Represented Brooks Sports, Inc. in a hotly contested trademark infringement suit in the Eastern District of Virginia against a prominent Chinese sporting goods company. Howard and the Gibson Dunn team built an extensive record of the defendant’s extreme discovery misconduct, leading to a default judgment sanction in Brooks’ favor. The parties then entered into a settlement agreement.
  • Argued a high-profile copyright case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which resulted in a published decision reversing an injunction that had purported to prohibit the sale and marketing of an allegedly infringing book written by Gibson Dunn’s client.
  • Served as lead counsel to Kimberly-Clark Corporation in a trademark infringement action seeking millions of dollars in damages because of Kimberly-Clark’s alleged use of the plaintiff’s registered phrase in online advertising. After eliciting testimony in which the plaintiff admitted that he could not meet his required burden of establishing a likelihood of confusion, the case was resolved on confidential terms.
  • Represented Heaven’s Door Spirits LLC, marketer of its “Heaven’s Door” line of premium whiskeys in partnership with Bob Dylan, in connection with a trademark infringement action that sought an injunction banning the product. The parties entered into a confidential settlement agreement and “Heaven’s Door” whiskey continues to be sold throughout the United States.
  • Represented Gucci America, Inc., Balenciaga America, Inc., Tiffany & Co., and other luxury brands in a series of trademark infringement actions against operators of websites that sell counterfeit goods, resulting in awards of millions of dollars in damages and broad injunctive relief. In 2009, Howard and the Gibson Dunn team brought claims in the Southern District of New York against Woodforest National Bank and others for their role in processing credit card orders for counterfeits. In June 2010, in a closely watched decision, the court denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss, finding that Gucci’s complaint sufficiently stated a contributory trademark liability claim. Later, in Gucci America, Inc. v. Li, a different court granted Gibson Dunn’s motion to compel the Bank of China to produce counterfeiters’ bank records, despite claims that the documents were protected under Chinese law, and denied the Bank’s cross-motion to relieve its obligation to freeze the counterfeiters’ accounts. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed that decision in relevant part and subsequently refused to stay the district court’s further order holding the Bank of China in contempt of court and assessing daily fines of $50,000 per day. The matter settled on confidential terms.
  • Represented Capital One Financial Corporation in a lawsuit against the most senior officers of BankUnited, Inc., for violation of non-competition agreements that they had entered into in connection with the sale of North Fork Bank to Capital One in 2006 for $13.2 billion. The case settled on favorable terms after Capital One prevailed in a number of discovery disputes, and after the district  court denied Defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Capital One received $20 million in cash, and Defendants agreed to additional non-monetary relief.
  • Represented American Airlines, Inc. in a cutting-edge and hard-fought trademark dispute with Google seeking broad injunctive relief and extensive damages concerning the use of American’s trademarks in Google’s search advertising programs. After intense discovery battles, Gibson Dunn successfully argued to the Court that Google should be sanctioned by requiring Google to provide direct access to its extensive electronic databases so that American could show substantial trademark violations and extensive damages. The case was settled pursuant to a confidential settlement agreement. Gibson Dunn also represented American Airlines in a similar lawsuit against Yahoo alleging identical claims, and Yahoo also settled on the eve of an evidentiary hearing concerning Yahoo’s alleged discovery misconduct.
  • Served as lead counsel for the University of Southern California in a case filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by inventor Dennis Solomon asserting trademark, trade secrets, and other claims. In 2010, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit summarily affirmed the order of dismissal obtained in the District Court below.

Howard is a frequent lecturer and writer on intellectual property and technology-related issues. Howard is the lead author of Fashion Law and Business: Brands and Retailers, a treatise published by the Practising Law Institute and recognized as one of the “21 Best Fashion Books of All Time” by Fashionista in 2023. He is also author of the trademark and domain name chapters of the treatise, Intellectual Property Law in Cyberspace.  Howard has also been a speaker at meetings of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Conference in Austin, Texas; the American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property Law; and Comic-Con San Diego. Howard has provided commentary for CBS News, Bloomberg TV, and National Public Radio, and he has been quoted in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

Howard has long served as the Pro Bono Partner for Gibson Dunn’s Washington, D.C. office, and he devotes significant time to assisting not-for-profit organizations with different issues. In 2008, the Meals on Wheels Association of America honored Howard with its ‘Friend of the Year Award’ for his assistance to MOWAA’s efforts to end senior hunger, and in 2019, the Jewish National Fund honored Howard and a Gibson Dunn team with the organization’s inaugural Presidential Award for their pro bono contributions. Howard has served on the Boards of Directors for the Council for Court Excellence, the National Foundation to End Senior Hunger, and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, among others.

From 1999-2000, Howard was Law Clerk to the Honorable Naomi Reice Buchwald, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York. In 1994, Howard helped to initiate the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps, where he served as a Team Leader until 1996 and received the organization’s Outstanding Leadership Award in 1995.

Howard received his B.S.F.S., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1994 in International Relations, Law, and Organization, Phi Beta Kappa with a European Studies Certificate. In 1999, he received his J.D., cum laude, from New York University School of Law, where he was Editor-in-Chief of The Commentator and Research and Writing Editor for the Moot Court Board. Howard is also an alumnus of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University, where he spent the 1992-93 academic term as a visiting student.

Howard is a member of the bars of New York, Connecticut, and the District of Columbia, and has been admitted to appear before the United States Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the Third Circuit, the Fourth Circuit, the Fifth Circuit, the Ninth Circuit, the Eleventh Circuit, the D.C. Circuit and the Federal Circuit and the United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, and Northern Districts of New York, the District of Columbia, the District of Maryland, and the Eastern District of Texas.

Doug Watson is an English-qualified Partner in the London office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and co-chair of the London Disputes Group. He is a member of the firm’s Dispute Resolution and International Arbitration Groups.

Doug specialises in commercial litigation and international arbitration. He has broad-based experience, encompassing High Court litigation, judicial review, cross-border disputes, regulatory investigations and associated follow-on litigation. He has acted for clients across a wide spectrum of industries including telecommunications, energy, aviation, media and sport.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Doug trained and practised at a Magic Circle firm, where he was seconded to both an international consumer electronics company and Europe’s largest defence contractor.

Doug is recognised in The Legal 500 UK 2025 for Commercial Litigation, Banking Litigation: Investment and Retail, Competition Litigation, International Arbitration and Administrative and public law. He is also ranked for International Arbitration and Litigation in the Lawdragon 500 Global Litigation Lawyers 2024 guide.

Mary G. Murphy is a partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s San Francisco office and is a member of the firm’s Land Use and Development, Real Estate, and Sports Law Practice Groups.

Mary represents a wide variety of developers and investors in real estate transactions and land use issues, with particular experience in public and private partnerships and historic rehabilitation projects. She has strong development experience within San Francisco and around the Bay Area, including extensive experience in significant and historic public/private development deals.

Mary has received numerous local, state, and national honors, including:

  • The Legal 500 U.S. named Mary to its “Hall of Fame,” having recognized her as a Leading Lawyer for Real Estate – Land Use/Zoning since 2017.
  • Expert Guides named Mary to its 2021 and 2022 Guide to the World’s Leading Women in Business Law.
  • Chambers USA as a Band 1 Lawyer in California – Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use.
  • Daily Journal as a 2017 California Lawyer of the Year.
  • San Francisco Business Times named Mary to the list of “100 Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business” several times, and was elevated in 2017 to their “Forever Influential” status.
  • Euromoney LMG Americas Women in Business Law award in Real Estate.
  • Best Lawyers consistently named Mary a Best Lawyer in Real Estate.
  • Who’s Who Legal recognized Mary in 2023 Real Estate

Highlights of Mary’s representations include:

  • Serving as lead counsel to the Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball team in its efforts to develop a new major league baseball stadium. Mary is representing the A’s in the efforts in Las Vegas, Nevada and previously assisted the A’s in working on a stadium and ancillary development in Oakland, California at Howard Terminal, owned by the Port of Oakland.
  • Representing Brookfield Properties in its proposed redevelopment of the Stonestown Galleria shopping center on the west side of San Francisco into a new mixed-use development with over 3000 new housing units. The redevelopment proposal includes a rezoning of the site and a development agreement with the City of San Francisco.
  • Represented the Golden State Warriors in their successful entitlement of a new event center and mixed-use development in the Mission Bay area of San Francisco, including successfully defending the entitlements and CEQA analysis pursuant to AB 900, an expedited judicial review process for CEQA cases and recently successfully entitled a further development of a hotel at the site.
  • Represented Treasure Island Community Developers in its successful negotiations to redevelop Treasure Island, a former naval base in the San Francisco Bay. The Treasure Island project is a complex, multi-year, multi-phase development project involving federal, state and local components. Mary continues to represent Treasure Island in the implementation of the project along with the Gibson Dunn team.
  • Represented Build, Inc. in the successful entitlement of a 1575 unit mixed-use development project with over 15 acres of public use space in the India Basin area of San Francisco.
  • Lead counsel in the successful entitlement for the redevelopment of the 312 acre Parkmerced residential development in San Francisco.
  • Represented Related Company in its 9 million square foot development in Santa Clara, including negotiating a development agreement and related documents and, with the Gibson Dunn team, is assisting in implementing the project.
  • Represented Cedar Fair, the owner of the Great American Theme Park in Santa Clara, in the acquisition of its property.
  • Representing Interfaith Chapel at the Presidio in its negotiations for a ground lease and a related development project at the Presidio.
  • Represented Sports Basement in its negotiations pertaining to its lease in the Presidio.
  • Represented Fortress Investment Group in its efforts to redevelop the Oakland Coliseum City site as a home for the Oakland Raiders.
  • Counsel to URW, formerly Westfield America, the developer of the $420 million public/private retail and entertainment complex, the Westfield San Francisco Centre, an urban 1-million-square-foot retail and entertainment complex, and representing Westfield in its efforts to redevelop a portion of the Centre. Mary also assisted Westfield in its acquisition of the 350,000-square foot SONY Metreon, an urban dining, gaming, music, exhibition, shopping, and movie entertainment complex, located in downtown San Francisco.
  • Represented developers in the public/private partnership with the Port of San Francisco, the rehabilitation of Piers 1 ½, 3 and 5, a historic waterfront property, and was lead counsel to the developers of the San Francisco Ferry Building, a national historic landmark. In 2003, this project was named “Deal of the Year” by the San Francisco Business Times. Both waterfront projects were federal historic tax credit projects.
  • Other important historic building rehabilitations in which Mary was legal counsel include the original Bank of Italy Building (One Powell Street), the old San Francisco Chronicle Building (690 Market Street, San Francisco’s first skyscraper), the Mutual Bank Building (700 Market Street), the Call Building (74 New Montgomery), and the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Building (140 New Montgomery), all located in downtown San Francisco.

Additional relevant information about Mary includes:

  • Appointed by both Presidents Clinton and Bush, Mary served two terms on the Presidio Trust Board, a United States Government Corporation established by Congress in 1996.
  • Mary recently stepped down from her role as the co-chair of the Bay Area Council Housing Committee, as well as a member of the Board of Directors and sits on the Executive Committee of Advance SF (formerly the Committee on JOBS).
  • Mary recently concluded her role on the Board of Trustees of San Francisco Planning & Urban Research and is a former board member of the San Francisco Boys & Girls Club, Hamlin School for Girls, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and the Drew School in San Francisco.
  • She is also a former San Francisco City Commissioner, having served on the San Francisco Board of Appeals, which hears, among other things, appeals from the Planning Commission and Zoning Administrator.
  • Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Mary was a partner at a San Francisco firm, as well as a law clerk for Judges Cecil F. Poole and James R. Browning of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
  • Mary received her law degree from Harvard University, cum laude, in 1986. She was a Rhodes Scholar and graduated from Oxford University with an Honours B.A. in 1983. She received her B.A., cum laude with distinction, from Yale University in 1981.