Franziska Knecht is an associate attorney in the Munich office of Gibson Dunn where she currently practices with the firm’s Litigation Department.

She studied law at the University of Augsburg and passed her first state examination in 2020. During her legal clerkship she worked for a renowned law firm in Munich and London. In 2022 Franziska passed her second state examination at the Higher Regional Court Munich and has been admitted as a German lawyer (Rechtsanwältin) since 2023.

Franziska speaks German and English.

Lars A. Hauck is an associate in the Munich office of Gibson Dunn where he is part of the firm’s Litigation and International Arbitration Practice Groups.

Lars advises clients on complex commercial litigation, both domestic and cross-border, as well as on domestic and international arbitration.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Lars wrote a Ph.D. thesis in international investment law at Bucerius Law School and, as a visiting researcher, at the University of Oxford. He gained legal experience as a trainee lawyer at various other international law firms, the Federal German Parliament and the German Federal Chancellor´s Office in Berlin, as well as at the Permanent Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations in New York.

Lars studied at Bucerius Law School in Hamburg and at the University of Miami where he received a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in international arbitration. He has been admitted as a German lawyer (Rechtsanwalt) since 2024.

In addition to his native German, he speaks English and French.

Kriti Hannon is an associate in the Orange County office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. She currently practices in the firm’s Corporate Department.

Kriti earned her law degree from Yale Law School in 2024, where she received the Stephen J. Massey Prize for her work on behalf of clients in the Community and Economic Development Clinic. She was also Chair of the South Asian Law Students Association. Prior to law school, Kriti was policy analyst at a think tank in Washington, DC.

Kriti earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy Studies from the University of Chicago in 2018, where she was a Student Marshal and Phi Beta Kappa.

Kriti is admitted to practice law in the State of California, and has been admitted to USDC, Central District of CA.

Sam Learner is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn. He practices in the firm’s Litigation Department.

Sam earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2023, where he served as an editor on the Virginia Journal of International Law. During law school, he also interned with the Legal Aid Society of New York, Juvenile Rights Practice, and the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Virginia.

Sam received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 2015 from Bates College, where he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, with honors in history. He earned his Master’s degree in history from the University of Cambridge, graduating with Distinction. Prior to law school, Sam worked in campaign politics in Massachusetts.

Sam is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and the State of New York.

Andrew Barron is a litigation associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He joined the firm after serving as a law clerk to Judge Kermit V. Lipez of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and Judge Catherine C. Blake of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Andrew earned his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, graduating with Order of the Coif honors in 2021. While in law school, Andrew was an Executive Editor for the California Law Review and competed on the Moot Court team. 

Andrew graduated with a degree in Political Science from Baylor University, where he was awarded a full-tuition scholarship as a member of the policy debate team.

Andrew is licensed to practice law in California and the District of Columbia. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Chaplin J. Carmichael is a litigation associate in the Palo Alto office of Gibson Dunn. Chaplin’s practice focuses on complex business and commercial litigation, with an emphasis on securities litigation, along with government and internal investigations and enforcement matters.

Chaplin is a member of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee and maintains an active pro bono practice. He represented Mr. Jones in the firm’s historic jury trial victory over an LAPD officer in Jones v. City of Los Angeles (C.D. Cal.), in which a federal jury unanimously awarded $375,000 in compensatory and punitive damages after a weeklong jury trial. Chaplin also represents clients in a variety of other pro bono matters, including helping domestic violence survivors obtain legal protections against their abusers.

Chaplin earned his J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of California, Irvine School of Law, where he was articles editor for the UC Irvine Law Review and vice president of the Student Bar Association, among other activities. Chaplin also successfully briefed and argued a First Amendment appeal on behalf of an indigent prisoner in the Ninth Circuit, was a legal extern in the civil division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, and did pro bono work for the Orange County Public Defender’s Writs & Appeals Unit. He earned his B.A. in Political Science and minor in Environmental Studies from the University of Michigan.

Chaplin is a member of the California Bar and is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Tina Samanta is a partner in the New York office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the firm’s Litigation, Securities Enforcement, White Collar Defense and Investigations, and Securities Litigation Practice Groups.

Tina’s practice focuses on representing financial institutions, corporations, and individuals in sensitive and high-stakes securities-related investigations and litigation. She has represented clients in investigations conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the New York Attorney General’s Office, and numerous other regulatory authorities. She has also represented a diverse range of clients in all phases of litigation, including trial, before federal and state courts across the country.

Tina is a frequent speaker and author on matters relating to enforcement of the securities laws. She is a co-author of the Securities Enforcement chapter in the Practicing Law Institute Treatise, Securities Litigation: A Practitioner’s Guide.

Representative Securities Enforcement Matters and Investigations

• Represented broker-dealer and investment bank in multiple coordinated regulatory investigations and class actions arising out of sale of structured products issued by Lehman Brothers.
• Represented former employee of financial technology company in SEC investigation relating to proprietary trading in dark pool.
• Represented broker-dealer in SEC investigation of municipal bond offering and secondary trading practices.
• Represented broker-dealer in SEC investigation of mutual fund sales charges.
• Represented insurance company in SEC investigation of variable annuity contracts.
• Represented audit committee of financial services company in internal investigation and review of compliance and audit issues arising out of whistleblower complaint.
• Represented market making divisions of financial institution in regulatory review of “flash crash.”
• Represented government-sponsored enterprise in New York Attorney General investigation of appraisal practices.
• Represented Chief Executive Officer of investment bank in NASD investigation relating to alleged research analyst conflicts of interest.
• Represented multiple financial institution employees in FINRA investigations relating to registration requirements.

Representative Litigation Matters

• Represented former outside directors of Bear Stearns in Southern District of New York derivative and ERISA class action litigation relating to the near collapse of Bear Stearns.
• Represented financial institution underwriters of Washington Mutual debt in Western District of Washington securities class action litigation.
• Represented insurance company in New Jersey State Superior Court litigation relating to alleged damages arising from September 11 World Trade Center attack.
• Represented investment banker in successful Second Circuit appeal of obstruction of justice charges.
• Represented private equity firm in successful California Superior Court jury trial and subsequent appeal alleging breaches of contract and fiduciary duty relating to initial public offering of online ticketing company

Representative Speaking Engagements

• Panelist, DOJ and SEC Enforcement Updates, 2023 EY Integrity and Compliance Seminar.
• Moderator, Establishing an Effective Hedge and Private Fund Compliance Program, 2023 PLI Hedge Fund and Private Equity Enforcement & Regulatory Developments Seminar.
• Panelist, Top of Mind Financial Industry Trends, 2023 SIFMA C&L St. Louis Regional Seminar.
• Panelist, Supervision and Oversight of Hybrid and Remote Employees, 2023 SIFMA C&L Annual Conference.
• Panelist, Recent Regulatory Developments and Perspectives, 2022 SIFMA C&L St. Louis Regional Seminar.
• Panelist, ESG Litigation and Enforcement, 2022 ABA Litigation Section Corporate Counsel Seminar.
• Panelist, Recent Regulatory Developments, 2017 SIFMA C&L St. Louis Regional Seminar.

Tina maintains an active pro bono practice and has worked on a diverse range of pro bono matters. She is a certified mediator with Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.

Tina earned her Juris Doctor cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School in 2002, where she was an editor of the Michigan Law Review. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from Johns Hopkins University in 1999.

Tina is admitted to practice in the State of New York, as well as in the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. She is a Co-Chair of the New York Office Women’s Committee.

William Zhou is an associate in the Hong Kong office. He is a member of the firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice.

William’s practice focuses on advising clients on government and internal investigations and compliance counseling across the Asia-Pacific region. William has represented clients before Hong Kong courts involving potential corporate criminal liabilities, and various internal investigations relating to allegations of fraud and corruption. William also counsels clients on designing and implementing anti-corruption and compliance programs.

He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Melbourne in 2019. He earned a Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy from the University of California – Los Angeles in 2016. William is admitted to practice in Hong Kong and Australia. He is a native Mandarin speaker.

Natalia Toh is an associate in the London office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and a member of the firm’s Transportation and Space and Finance Practice Groups.

Natalia represents banks, institutional investors, and leasing companies and has acted on a range of complex transactions, including secured debt financings, warehouse financings, sale and leasebacks, operating and finance leases, and portfolio sales and acquisitions.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Natalia was a member of another major international law firm’s asset finance group.

Natalia is dually qualified admitted to practice in England and Wales and New York.

James Sullivan is an associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn where he practices in the firm’s Capital Markets Practice Group. He represents financial institutions, private equity firms, and issuers on a broad range of domestic and cross-border financing transactions, including private credit solutions, high-yield debt offerings, initial public offerings, and secondary equity offerings.

James earned his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from American University Washington College of Law in 2020, where he was selected as a member of the Order of the Coif. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Colgate University in 2017. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, he spent over four years in the New York office of a global law firm in their Capital Markets group and was previously seconded to BofA Securities, where he advised on a broad array of equity and equity-linked capital markets transactions.

Hannah Wilkens is a litigation associate in the Orange County office of Gibson Dunn.

Hannah earned her law degree from Boston College Law School, where she graduated cum laude. While at the Law School, Hannah was a Grimes Moot Court Quarter-Finalist and Negotiations Competition Semi-Finalist. Hannah earned her Bachelor of Arts degrees in History and Spanish from Hillsdale College, where she graduated magna cum laude.

Hannah is a member of the State Bar of California and is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Central District of California. 

Sofia is an associate in the Palo Alto office of Gibson Dunn. She practices in the firm’s Litigation Department and is a member of the firm’s Securities Litigation Group. 

Sofia’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation in state and federal courts, with an emphasis on securities class actions, shareholder actions alleging breaches of fiduciary duties, and government enforcement matters. She also represents companies, boards and special committees in internal and government investigations involving allegations of corporate fraud and misconduct and issues relating to financial reporting and internal controls. In addition, Sofia has experience handling a wide range of other high stakes disputes involving issues such as breach of contract, fraud, and mass torts.

Sofia’s clients have included companies, board committees and individuals in various industries, including technology, venture capital, healthcare, pharma, banking, and energy. Sofia has successfully represented companies at all stages of their lifecycle, from defending established and newly public companies against Exchange Act and Securities Act claims, to representing startups and their boards and founders in business disputes and investigations.

Sofia graduated from Columbia Law School in 2018 and was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. She received her Bachelor of Law with First Class Honours from the University of Edinburgh in 2014.

Sofia is admitted to practice law in the states of New York and California, and before the United States District Courts for the Central and Northern Districts of California, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Lauren Blas is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn where her practice focuses on class actions, labor and employment litigation, and complex commercial litigation in the trial courts and on appeal.

Lauren represents clients in class actions in state and federal court, including several class action trials. She has litigated a wide range of appellate matters as well. She has special expertise in employment class actions under California law (including PAGA) and federal law (including Title VII, the Equal Pay Act, USERRA, and the ADA). She also has extensive experience litigating class actions under California’s consumer protection statutes, including the Unfair Competition Law, the False Advertising Law, and the Consumers Legal Remedies Act.

Lauren has been recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a “Future Star” and acknowledged by Lawdragon for her exceptional litigation skills, as a “Leading Litigator in America” and “Leading Corporate Employment Lawyer” with more than a decade of experience. Additionally, Lauren has also been named a “Rising Star” by Law360, recognized as “One to Watch” in Labor and Employment by The Best Lawyers in America®, and designated a “Rising Star” in Class Actions/Mass Torts and Appellate Litigation in Southern California by Super Lawyers Magazine.

Recent representative matters include:

• Defeated certification of a class of content moderators bringing claims for negligence under a joint-employment theory (Young v. Bytedance) and obtained complete defense verdict in related individual arbitration.
• Defeated certification of a class of employees bringing claims under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (Mahone v. Amazon).
• Obtained Ninth Circuit affirmance of dismissal of putative class action alleging disability discrimination against pharmacy customers (Smith v. Walgreens Boots Alliance).
• Defeated certification of a class of employees seeking reimbursement for home internet expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic (Williams v. Amazon).
• Defeated certification in full of a class of printer owners bringing claims relating to the use of color ink in printing (Cepelak v. HP Inc.).
• Secured an order denying Rule 23(b)(2) and (b)(3) certification in a putative consumer class action challenging the accuracy of ad targeting (IMB v. Facebook, Inc.).
• Obtained complete grant of summary judgment for university client in employment arbitration involving defamation and related claims.
• Obtained favorable Ninth Circuit decision on an issue of first impression regarding the scope of a California statute relating to business and professional relationships (Judd v. Weinstein).
• Core member of the appellate team in New Jersey’s successful challenge to the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act before the U.S. Supreme Court (Murphy v. NCAA).

Lauren also maintains an active pro bono practice, including filing amicus briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court and representing immigration clients in removal proceedings both in the immigration courts and on appeal. She also served as co-lead counsel in securing a six-figure damages award after a weeklong jury trial for a young man wounded by a rubber bullet while peacefully protesting in Los Angeles (Jones v. City of Los Angeles). For that work, The Daily Journal honored Lauren as a 2024 “California Lawyer of the Year.”

Before joining the firm, Lauren served as a law clerk to the Honorable Sandra S. Ikuta of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Lauren graduated from Yale Law School and holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Economics and History from Yale, where she graduated with honors and distinction in both majors. While in law school, she served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Richard J. Sullivan, now of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Lauren serves on the Firm’s Hiring, Well-Being, and Professional Development committees. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Barnsdall Art Park Foundation, the ABA’s Judicial Intern Opportunity Program in Los Angeles, USC/Gould’s Institute for Corporate Counsel, the Los Angeles chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and as a member of the amicus panel for the Civil Justice Association of California.

Teddy Rube is an associate in Gibson Dunn’s Washington, D.C. office. He practices in the firm’s Litigation Department. 

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Teddy served as a law clerk to the Honorable Carolyn N. Lerner of the United States Court of Federal Claims. 

Teddy received his J.D. cum laude from New York University School of Law in 2023, where he served as the Senior Online Editor of the NYU Journal of Legislation and Public Policy. While in law school, he interned at the White House National Economic Council, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and the Brennan Center for Justice. Teddy graduated summa cum laude from Bates College in 2016 with a B.A. in Classical and Medieval Studies. 

Teddy is a member of the bar of the District of Columbia and is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Federal Claims.

Justine Drohan is a litigation associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn.

She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Patty Shwartz of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the Honorable Margo K. Brodie of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. 

Justine received her Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2021, where she served as the online executive editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review and chair of the Edwin R. Keedy Cup moot court board, and taught first-year legal writing.

Prior to law school, Justine worked as a financial services consultant focused on market risk, regulatory implementation, and derivatives valuation. Justine received a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

Justine is a member of the New York State bar. She is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

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

Nicole received her Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School, where she was member of the Chicago Journal of International Law. Nicole graduated with honors from the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and a minor in Global Studies. Prior to law school, Nicole worked in sales and revenue management for a global hospitality company.

Nicole has represented some of the largest technology companies in the world, including OpenAI in 2024 on the largest lease in San Francisco since 2018 and the largest lease in San Francisco for that year, and Salesforce, Meta, and LinkedIn on four of the top ten real estate deals in San Francisco of 2023.

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

Harry Moran is an associate in Gibson Dunn’s Washington, D.C. office, where he practices in the firm’s Litigation group, with a focus on antitrust and competition, and white collar defense and investigations.

Harry earned his Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School, where he was a James Kent Scholar, a Harlan Fisk Stone Scholar, and a Hamilton Fellow. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University.

During law school, Harry interned with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the New York State Attorney General’s Office, and the Fraud Section in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division. Prior to law school, Harry was a paralegal at the Federal Trade Commission.

Harry is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia.

Nick Gilvear is an associate in the London office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is a member of the Business Restructuring and Reorganization, and Finance Practice Groups.

Nick has a broad restructuring and finance practice and has advised multinational corporations, financial institutions, financial sponsors, directors, and insolvency practitioners on a variety of complex cross-border restructuring and finance transactions across Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Nick was awarded a Bachelor of Business (Economics) (BBus) and Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the University of Technology Sydney. He is admitted to practice in New South Wales, Australia.

Prior to joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Nick was an associate in the London office of another major law firm.

Charlotte Brown is a New Zealand qualified Of Counsel in the London office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the firm’s Dispute Resolution Group.

Charlotte specialises in commercial litigation and arbitration. She has significant trial and appellate experience and has practised in a broad range of fields, including financial services, oil and gas, telecoms, insurance, and human rights law.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Charlotte practised at a major New Zealand firm. She has also practised at the New Zealand Crown Law Office, as Assistant to the Solicitor-General of New Zealand, and clerked for a Judge at the New Zealand Court of Appeal. Charlotte was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand in August 2005.