Crisis Management

Overview

In today’s fast-paced environment, the right response to a crisis — whether it’s a whistleblower allegation, an unexpected accounting issue, a product recall, a government investigation, or an industrial incident — demands a cohesive and strategic team capable of immediately responding on multiple fronts before the narrative is shaped in the public eye.

Gibson Dunn’s Crisis Management Practice Group provides clients with coordinated and efficient guidance on government investigations, potential prosecutions, civil litigation, and the unpredictable “x factors” that inevitably arise in high-stakes, high-profile situations. We offer legal and strategic counsel both inside and outside the courtroom, leveraging our extensive experience in public relations—an essential skill when facing serious and fast-moving legal challenges. Our team advises on risk reduction and strategy even before matters turn into a crisis, ensuring that clients are looking around corners and are well-prepared to handle proactively potential legislative, regulatory, social and legal issues impacting their business and industry.

When a company’s leadership is faced with an unexpected crisis, they encounter a complex array of challenges. In these moments, experience and integrated multidisciplinary solutions are essential. Gibson Dunn has handled hundreds of such cases and investigations with a proven track record of successfully guiding clients through difficult events.

Our team includes former prosecutors, judges, and senior government officials, all of whom are highly effective at navigating the complexities of U.S. federal government agencies, state law enforcement, regulatory officials, and international regulators. We are also well-versed in U.S. congressional investigations, boasting a bipartisan team that includes high-ranking federal and state officials who provide expert guidance to the business community. The group’s experience extends to all manner of issues that can arise in a corporate crisis, including criminal law and complex civil litigation; securities and corporate governance; antitrust; environmental regulation; privacy, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence; banking and accounting; international trade; government and internal investigations; and employment matters.

At the heart of our success is a culture of global teamwork and extraordinary collaboration, allowing us to offer unparalleled support to clients in crisis. Our practice has been recognized by top industry publications: the 2024 Chambers Crisis & Risk Management Guide ranks Gibson Dunn among the leading firms both in the U.S. and globally for crisis management. The American Lawyer commended our Crisis Management team, noting that our litigators “aren’t shy when it comes to engaging the media” and praising our media savvy as a key differentiator. Additionally, Gibson Dunn has won The American Lawyer’s Litigation Department of the Year award an unprecedented four times. In 2023, The National Law Journal also named us the Crisis Management and Government Oversight winner.