Trey Cox and Tom Dupree Describe Gibson Dunn Litigation Practice’s Structured Approach to Associate Development
In the Media | November 19, 2025
The AmLaw Litigation Daily
With trial opportunities decreasing and client expectations increasing, elite law firms are looking for novel ways to ensure that junior associates get significant litigation experience early in their careers, notes an article in The AmLaw Litigation Daily.
Partners Trey Cox and Tom Dupree told the publication about the structured approach to associate development taken by Gibson Dunn’s litigation practice, a finalist for The American Lawyer’s recent Litigation Department of the Year award. The Firm’s litigators in Texas, for example, use “lunch and learn” programs that are akin to coaching clinics to train associates on practical trial skills, while the Washington, D.C., office holds monthly appellate group meetings where associates — not partners — make presentations about recent oral arguments. By clearing a “path to the podium,” the Firm positions associates for leading courtroom roles.
Trey is Co-Chair of our global Litigation Practice Group and Co-Partner in Charge of the Dallas office. A trial lawyer with a robust commercial litigation practice, he represents clients from a range of industries in large, complex, high-profile business disputes.
Tom is Co-Chair of our nationwide Appellate and Constitutional Law Practice Group and Co-Partner in Charge of the Washington, D.C. office. A highly experienced trial and appellate advocate, he has argued more than 100 appeals in the federal courts, including in all 13 circuits as well as the United States Supreme Court.