Gibson Dunn
Interesting selling points
- Renowned for its litigation capabilities, the firm is often engaged in high-profile, cross-border disputes and investigations.
- Chambers and Partners has awarded the firm Band 2 rankings for its International Arbitration: Commercial Arbitration. and International Arbitration: Investor-State Arbitration departments.
- Recognising the growing importance of technology and AI, the firm established the Artificial Intelligence and Automated Systems practice group in 2018.
- Gibson Dunn’s smaller intake size provides trainees with ample hands-on experience from the beginning.
- The firm offers a "free market" training system, which it claims gives trainees the flexibility to explore a broader range of work by asking to help out on any matters that interest them.
- Seeking to build a strong reputation in the technology sector as seen by its hires of in-house lawyers from Google, Meta and Apple as well as its development of the Art of Product Counseling Method.
- Significant commitment to D&I establishing its DEI Task Force, Affinity Groups and the Gibson Dunn Families Program.
- Works with a number of pro bono organisations including The Clooney Foundation for Justice, Immigration4Ukraine and International Senior Lawyers Project.
We cover these selling points in more detail below, alongside other relevant firm facts and characteristics.
Practice areas / services
Gibson Dunn is a full-service law firm, with a broad range of practice areas including:
- Litigation
- Antitrust and Competition
- Capital Markets
- Class Actions
- Derivatives
- Emerging Companies
- Energy
- Global Finance
- International Trade
- Intellectual Property
- Projects
- Tax
- Sports Law
- Real Estate
- Regulatory
- Transactional
Chambers and Partners, a leading analyst of the legal market, has awarded Gibson Dunn its ‘Band 2’ ranking for the following departments: International Arbitration: Commercial Arbitration and International Arbitration: Investor-State Arbitration. See here for more information
Key sectors / industries
Gibson Dunn services a broad range of industries, with some of its highest-value clients operating in the following sectors:
- Energy
- Emerging Companies
- Insurance and Reinsurance
- Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT)
In addition, Gibson Dunn services the following industries; betting and gaming; fashion, retail and consumer products; FDA and health care; life sciences; media, entertainment and technology; sports law; and transportation and space.
Work
Gibson Dunn consistently advises on high-profile, cross border matters. Some examples of its recent work include:
- Mondelēz International: The firm represented Mondelēz International, one of the world’s largest snack companies, on a $500 million notes offering.
- Goldman Sachs: Gibson Dunn advised Goldman Sachs as financial advisor to Kellanova in its $35.9 billion sale to Mars, Incorporated.
- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: The firm advised the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in connection with a $11 billion loan credit facility.
Offices / global footprint / expansion
Headquarters: Los Angeles, Wells Fargo Tower
Offices: Gibson Dunn has 21 offices across the world, in cities including San Francisco, Munich, Paris and Singapore.
Insights, internships and other opportunities
Gibson Dunn offers a number of opportunities for individuals wishing to gain experience in the legal industry and learn more about life at the firm. Opportunities for interested applicants include: a General Open Day, which offers select penultimate and final year Law students, final year non-Law students, and graduates the chance to attend a virtual day of seminars and talks; a ‘First Year Insight Day’, which offers informative panel sessions, commercial awareness workshops and trainee Q&As for first years; and a summer vacation scheme, which lasts for three weeks and involves seminars, workshops, and the chance to get involved in real work.
Training contract
Gibson Dunn offers a four-seat training contract, with each seat lasting six months. Trainees must spend at least one seat in a transactional team and another in the dispute resolution department, and will often share an office with a partner or senior associate in each team. The small intake size can provide trainees with the chance to gain ample hands-on experience from the get-go.
The firm also offers a "free market" training system, which it claims gives trainees the flexibility to explore a broader range of work by asking to help out on any matters that interest them.
Secondments
Gibson Dunn offers trainees the opportunity to apply for international secondments, with previous secondments taking place in locations including Dubai and Hong Kong. Client secondments are also sometimes offered, for example at the firm’s major investment banking clients.
Technology and innovation
Gibson Dunn is committed to utilising technology to provide clients with flexible and innovative legal services, with related initiatives including:
- Artificial intelligence: Gibson Dunn has shown its commitment to remaining at the forefront of technological changes, in part through launching its new practice group - ‘Artificial Intelligence and Automated Systems’ - in 2018.
- Art of Product Counseling Method: The firm developed the Art of Product Counseling Method which is an innovative model for developing strategic mitigations to address key risks and requirements during product launches.
- In-house legal hires: Gibson Dun has hired executives from Apple, Meta and Google to support its Technology and Innovation practice area, in a bid to increase the firm’s expertise in AI.
Corporate social responsibility
Gibson Dunn prides itself on its long tradition of approaching pro bono work with the ‘same passion, creativity and motivation’ it applies to all its legal matters. Some recent examples of pro bono work include:
- The Clooney Foundation for Justice: The firm has developed a pro bono relationship with the Clooney Foundation for Justice which sees the firm’s lawyers collaborate with CFJ’s TrialWatch Project to advocate for fair trials around the world and guard against sham trials.
- Immigration4Ukraine: Gibson Dunn’s German office launched Immigration4Ukraine which is a pro bono initiative to help Ukrainian refugees in Germany.
- International Senior Lawyers Project: The firm collaborated with ISLP to deliver a one-week workshop in Guyana on international arbitration procedures as the ISLP provides pro bono legal assistance to governments and civil society organisations to build robust legal frameworks that align with international best practices.
Diversity and inclusion
Gibson Dunn asserts that it is ‘crucial’ that it incorporates ‘diverse competencies, experiences and viewpoints’ across its workforce. To this end, the firm has established a number of related initiatives, including:
- Affinity Groups: The firm has 20 active firmwide affinity groups which host programming and activities designed to facilitate a sense of community for its employees.
- DEI Task Force: Gibson Dunn launched its own DEI Task Force which is designed to help clients and non-profit organisations navigate the DEI landscape.
- Gibson Dunn Families Program: The firm provides support to working parents through the program which provides individual coaching to expecting and new parents to help with off-ramping, on-ramping and adjusting to having a new baby.