Praised as ‘fearless in the courtroom’, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP’s litigation team is anchored by senior litigators with distinct areas of focus. In New York, Barry Berke is widely recognized for his expertise in high-stakes white-collar defense and trial advocacy, often in corporate crisis settings, while Reed Brodsky concentrates on major commercial litigation, securities disputes, and governmental investigations, often involving financial institutions and senior executives. Dallas-based Trey Cox specializes in bet-the-company commercial trials, particularly in the energy, real estate, and financial services sectors, while Los Angeles’ Theane Evangelis focuses on constitutional litigation, appellate advocacy, and public law disputes, frequently involving government authority and institutional powers. In Washington DC, Helgi Walker concentrates on Supreme Court and appellate litigation, as well as administrative law and regulatory challenges. Further notable contributors include LA’s Theodore Boutrous, a leading First Amendment and appellate litigator, and New York’s Orin Snyder, commended for complex commercial litigation, regulatory disputes, and headline business conflicts.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Accolades

Client satisfaction: Lawyer & team quality
Client satisfaction: Billing & efficiency
Client satisfaction: Sector knowledge
Client satisfaction: NPS ®

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Best brief writers in the business.’

  • ‘They think outside the box and aren’t limited by black letter law. They have a powerful network and leverage those relationships in addition to their legal acumen. Fearless in the courtroom.’

  • 'Orin Snyder, A unicorn. Orin Snyder is an extraordinary trial lawyer and one of the firm’s true rainmakers. He consistently takes on matters others view as unwinnable and delivers results.'

Key clients

  • Energy Transfer Partners
  • OpenAi
  • Gala Capital Partners
  • Dewberry Capital Group
  • Gray Development Group
  • NCTA
  • Warner Bros. Entertainment
  • DraftKings
  • City of Los Angeles
  • Enel Green Power
  • Meta Platforms
  • Office of the Governor of Texas

Work highlights

Won a landmark $667m jury verdict (March 2025) - the largest corporate damages award in North Dakota history - on behalf of Energy Transfer against Greenpeace, proving that Greenpeace orchestrated an unlawful campaign to block the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Successfully defended OpenAI in the first-ever defamation case arising from generative AI output, with a Georgia court granting full summary judgment and adopting all of the firm’s arguments in holding that ChatGPT’s statements were not defamatory and that OpenAI acted responsibly and without malice.
Successfully defended the City against an effort by the LA Alliance for Human Rights to place its homelessness response under court receivership, persuading the district court to reject nearly all of the Alliance’s claims and uphold the City’s authority to manage its housing and shelter programs, including Mayor Bass’s Inside Safe initiative.

Lawyers

Hall of Fame

The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.

Leading partners

The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Practice head

Barry Berke; Reed Brodsky; Trey Cox; Theane Evangelis; Helgi Walker

Other key lawyers

Theodore Boutrous; Orin Snyder