Theane Evangelis Named Attorney of the Year at California Legal Awards

Accolades  |  June 26, 2025

California Legal Awards


Partner Theane Evangelis, Co-Chair of our firm’s global Litigation Practice Group, has been named Attorney of the Year at this year’s California Legal Awards, presented by Law.com and The Recorder.

The prestigious award honors a California lawyer who has made a mark on the profession, and in the law, with an achievement in the past year that goes beyond service to the client.

Theane was recognized for her landmark victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in Johnson v. City of Grants Pass, Oregon. Representing the City of Grants Pass, she prevailed in what has been widely described as the most consequential case impacting homelessness policy in 40 years. As a result of the decision, municipalities across the U.S. are once again able to address homelessness with a wide range of policy tools, including regulation of public camping that can encourage people to accept much-needed services.

The Grants Pass decision marked the culmination of a years-long effort during which Theane designed and executed the Grants Pass legal strategy, spearheaded a media campaign to tell the City’s story, and led a broad-based effort to recruit amici. Her extraordinary bipartisan coalition of amici — which included 24 states, thousands of cities and counties across the country, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, law professors, and the Retail Litigation Center — was cited more than 60 times in the Court’s majority opinion.

Theane dedicated the award to our late partner and former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson, whom she described as a friend, partner, and mentor — and a “California lawyer for the ages.” She also reflected on her nearly 20-year career at our firm: “We believe not only in fighting for our clients and winning, but in promoting the greater good. We believe that lawyers have a unique role in our society, an opportunity and a duty to enhance access to justice, to promote the rule of law, and to offer critical legal assistance to the most vulnerable members of society. I am so proud to be part of that mission.”

This year’s California Legal Awards also honored Gibson Dunn partners Ashlie Beringer and Cassandra Gaedt-Sheckter as Women Leaders in Tech Law, and our firm was named winner of the Innovation in Diversity and Inclusion award. In addition, Gibson Dunn was a finalist for the Tech Industry Litigation Department of the Year award.