September 1, 2020
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that Craig Varnen has joined the firm’s Los Angeles office as a partner. Varnen, formerly a partner at Irell & Manella, will continue to focus on securities litigation and other complex litigation at Gibson Dunn.
“We are pleased to welcome Craig to the firm,” said Ken Doran, Chairman and Managing Partner of Gibson Dunn. “Craig is highly regarded as a leading securities litigator, with decades of experience representing public companies and their officers/directors in the defense of federal and state securities class actions, derivative actions and regulatory proceedings. He is an experienced trial lawyer who has represented clients in a broad range of complex, ‘bet the company’ commercial disputes, including consumer class actions, partnership disputes, trade secrets and employment matters, and corporate governance and breach of fiduciary duty matters.”
“Craig will bring additional capacity to our thriving litigation practice,” said Jay Srinivasan, Co-Partner in Charge of the Los Angeles office. “His securities litigation practice covers class actions and derivative matters, and he has substantial experience with SEC regulatory matters and in FINRA arbitrations. Our lawyers have worked alongside him over the years on various matters, and we’ve long admired Craig’s professionalism and talent. We are looking forward to having him on board as a member of the team.”
“I’m delighted to make the move to Gibson Dunn,” said Varnen. “The firm is home to a stellar group of securities practitioners, and the firm has an extremely broad and top-flight litigation platform. I look forward to joining their ranks.”
About Craig Varnen
A senior, complex commercial litigator with nearly 30 years of experience, Varnen represents companies in federal and state securities class actions, derivative actions and regulatory proceedings relating to public offerings, M&A, insider trading, and accounting and disclosure practices. He also has significant experience in a wide array of class actions, including consumer class actions, as well as partnership and employee departure disputes. Varnen also is regularly retained to conduct high-profile internal investigations and advise companies on corporate governance issues.
Before joining Gibson Dunn, Varnen served as a member of the executive committee, chair of the securities litigation practice and a vice chair of the litigation group at Irell & Manella.
He received his J.D., Order of the Coif, from University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 1993. He earned his B.A. in Economics from the University of California, San Diego in 1990, summa cum laude. He served as a clerk to Judge Cynthia Holcomb Hall of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.