Justice for Women and Girls

Each year, our attorneys dedicate thousands of hours to providing zealous representation to survivors of domestic violence. Gibson Dunn provides full-scope representation to survivors of domestic violence, helping them draft, file, and litigate petitions for restraining orders against their abusers. Most recently, we had the privilege of representing Ms. C in her case against an abusive ex-partner who subjected her to years of sexual and financial abuse—and also committed acts of sexual abuse against her daughter. Although Ms. C had previously obtained a temporary order of protection, she needed legal support to secure a permanent restraining order to safeguard herself and her children. She also needed legal support to resolve debts the abuser coerced her to incur. A team of Gibson Dunn attorneys worked diligently with Ms. C to prepare for an evidentiary hearing on her case. On the eve of the hearing, Gibson Dunn successfully negotiated a favorable settlement, which included a three-year restraining order protecting Ms. C and her children, along with crucial financial remedies and the return of property belonging to Ms. C. The court approved the agreement and issued a final order of protection.

In another case we represented Ms. T, who had been abused by her former partner for more than a decade and filed a domestic violence restraining order (“DVRO”) request. Despite abuse ranging from physical and verbal violence to psychological violence, including threatening to kill himself if Ms. T did not stay with him, the trial court repeatedly cut off Ms. T’s testimony, limited its questions to incidents that occurred in the few months before her DVRO request, and ultimately denied her request without even hearing from her former partner because it found her allegations insufficient as a matter of law to constitute abuse. We appealed to the California Court of Appeal, arguing the trial court’s ruling was erroneous and should be reversed. Following a contentious oral argument, the Court reversed and vacated the trial court’s decision. On remand, the trial court conducted a new hearing, granted Ms. T’s DVRO request, and granted Ms. T sole legal and physical custody of her child.

In 2025 we also used our pro bono practice to expand women and girls’ access to healthcare. Our attorneys used their transactional expertise to advise 4th Trimester, a nonprofit organization committed to improving the postpartum experience for new parents and caregivers by providing economic assistance, resources, emotional care, and advocacy to help parents during the critical months following birth. The organization serves new parents and caregivers, particularly those from underserved communities such as low-income, immigrant, asylum-seeking, and disaster-impacted families. As 4th Trimester’s programs and reach have expanded in recent years, our team has provided comprehensive governance and structural updates to help position the organization for its next phase of growth and development.

We also fought for access to healthcare through affirmative litigation. Gibson Dunn, along with Wyoming counsel, has continued to represent a group of women, OBGYNs, and abortion providers in challenging Wyoming’s anti-abortion legislation. On January 6, 2026, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled in a landmark decision that two total abortion bans—one prohibiting nearly all abortions with limited exceptions, and another imposing a complete ban on medication abortion—are unconstitutional under the Wyoming Constitution. The Supreme Court’s decision arises from the State’s appeal of a November 2024 ruling by a Teton County district court, which had reached a similar conclusion and enjoined enforcement of the laws. In a 4–1 decision, the Supreme Court held that Article 1, Section 38 of the Wyoming Constitution, a 2012 voter-approved amendment guaranteeing competent adults the right to make their own health care decisions, protected a “woman’s fundamental right to make to make her own healthcare decisions,” which includes the decision to have an abortion. Because the laws burdened a fundamental constitutional right, the court applied strict scrutiny, requiring the State to show the bans were narrowly tailored to serve a compelling interest. The Supreme Court concluded that the State failed to meet that standard, rendering the bans unconstitutional and unenforceable. The firm remains actively engaged in ongoing litigation challenging Wyoming’s TRAP (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) laws, which were preliminarily enjoined in April and June 2025.

And we made sure that women’s organizations had their voices heard in the most important cases impacting women’s healthcare, like Medina v. Planned Parenthood of South Atlantic. That case involved an executive order by the governor of South Carolina, prohibiting any clinic that provides abortion care from participating in the state’s Medicaid program. As a result, Planned Parenthood was notified that it could not continue as a Medicaid-designated provider for any of the healthcare services it provides. Planned Parenthood challenged that action in Medina, arguing that it violated a provision of the Medicaid statute allowing recipients to receive care from “any qualified provider.” Gibson Dunn filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Women’s Bar Association of DC that explored the challenges female Medicaid recipients face in receiving primary care and preventative health services in both rural and urban settings—even without arbitrary limitations on what is considered a “qualified provider”—and the negative implications South Carolina’s actions have for women’s health in America.

The Firm’s Justice for Women and Girls Initiative has an international scope that matches the Firm’s international reach. This is exemplified by the pro bono advice our attorneys are providing Landesverband Frauenlisten Bayern e.V., a Bavarian nonprofit association dedicated to promoting women’s equal political participation, on the legal and practical avenues for securing state funding, among other things. Gibson Dunn’s work for the organization aims to address the significant financial barriers faced by nonpartisan women’s political groups, which currently face obstacles to obtaining public funding, and could have a transformative impact by enhancing the visibility, sustainability, and inclusivity of women’s political engagement across Bavaria.