Early clients of the firm include several utility and gas and oil companies, such as Los Angeles Gas & Electric Company; Amalgamated, Union, and Akron oil companies; and
Henry E. Huntington and
Pacific Light & Power Company. Some of the firm's notable cases and clients include: •
Chevron, in its long-running, $27 billion environmental dispute in
Ecuador. According to
The Intercept, Gibson Dunn has hired private investigators to track
Steven Donziger and created "a team of hundreds of lawyers to fight him". This resulted in a boycott launched in April 2021 by the student group Law Students for Climate Accountability. •
CNN, in its lawsuit against
President Trump and many of his staff on the basis of
Jim Acosta's right to a "hard pass", a clearance to enter the White House. •
Xerox, in the financing of its approximately $1.5 billion acquisition of
Lexmark International. •
American Foundation for Equal Rights, in its litigation challenging California's
Proposition 8 and supporting marriage equality. The litigation ultimately led to the overturning of Proposition 8. • U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in its suit against the federal government seeking a restoration of federal support for the church's immigration programs. • Mother and child victims of domestic violence at the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. •
Apple, Inc., in its patent infringement suit against
Samsung (
Apple v. Samsung) relating to the
Galaxy Nexus smartphone, and won an injunction in June 2012 blocking the sale of the Galaxy Nexus phone in the United States. The injunction was vacated in October 2012 based on the results of the trial. It also represented Apple in
Epic Games v. Apple, a lawsuit related to Apple's practices in the
App Store and the removal of
Fortnite from the App Store. •
Mark Zuckerberg, founder of
Facebook, in a $17 billion contract dispute with purported seed money financier
Paul Ceglia in 2011 The case was thrown out and Ceglia was charged with fraud in 2012; he became a fugitive. •
George W. Bush, in
Bush v. Gore, the litigation contesting certification of Florida's results in the
2000 United States presidential election.
Theodore Olsen, the partner who argued the case for Bush in the Supreme Court, went on to serve as solicitor general in the Bush administration. •
Citizens United, firm partner
Theodore B. Olson successfully argued
Citizens United v. FEC (2010) in its favor. The verdict sanctioned businesses' limitless campaign spending, which, according to nonpartisan legal organization Campaign Legal Center, promoted corruption and black money. •
Intel, in its defense against several multibillion-dollar antitrust lawsuits filed by
AMD and the
European Union. •
NBC Universal in its 2009 contract dispute with
Conan O'Brien. •
Viacom, in its billion-dollar copyright infringement lawsuit against
Google and
YouTube in
Viacom International Inc. v. YouTube, Inc. After multiple rulings at the District Court and Appellate Court, the case was settled in 2014. • Governor
Chris Christie hired Gibson Dunn attorney Randy Mastro to conduct an internal investigation of the circumstances surrounding the
Fort Lee lane closure scandal and representing the Governor in a later federal investigation. The firm was later criticized by U.S. District Judge
Susan Wigenton for its methods of record keeping, and accused the firm of "opacity and gamesmanship". • Plaintiffs in
Haaland v. Brackeen,
pro bono litigation seeking to overturn the
Indian Child Welfare Act. This has led to accusations that Gibson Dunn is seeking to weaken federal protections for Native American tribes overall, opening the way for corporate exploitation of natural resources or
Native American gaming. •
Pioneer Natural Resources, in its $59.5 billion acquisition by
ExxonMobil. •
Hewlett-Packard, in its £7 billion bid for
Autonomy Corporation. •
Kraft. in its $19.7 billion bid for
Cadbury. •
Heineken, in its $7.6 billion buyout of Mexican brewing conglomerate
FEMSA. • Collaboration with the
Center for Individual Rights and the Election Law Center in representing Arnold Davis in
Davis v. Guam, successfully challenging
Guam's race-based voting restrictions. •
International Paper, represented by partner David Fotouhi in lawsuits to defend its use of
PFAS ("forever chemicals") during the 2010s. •
Walt Disney in his efforts to establish Disneyland. • Gibson Dunn has argued in favor of laws that bar homeless encampments in public spaces. Gibson Dunn represented Boise, Idaho in a case that challenged the constitutionality of the city’s ban on homeless encampments. The case,
Martin v. Boise, was settled in 2021 when the city agreed to not cite or arrest people for sleeping outdoors when no shelter was available. The firm represented the city of Grants Pass, Oregon in the
2024 Supreme Court decision that would allow cities to enact bans on sleeping in public; the decision effectively overturned Martin v. Boise. == Criticism ==