Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
- Designation: National
- Head Count: 1,086
- Gross Revenues: $1,290,500,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $1,190,000
- Profits Per Partner: $2,810,000
- Year Over Year Change: 2
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher has had a record run lately. It won unprecedented back–to–back Litigation Department of the Year designations from The American Lawyer in 2010 and 2012 (the contest is biennial). And its profits and revenue continue to climb.
Success, it seems, breeds contentment. Instead of heading for the exits, Gibson associates are purposely avoiding them: They ranked the firm seventh in The American Lawyer’s 2011 Midlevel Associates Survey (it was fourth in 2010). Summer associates are even more gaga for Gibson; their scores placed the firm first in 2011. Pro bono? Yup, that’s stellar, too, with Gibson ranking tenth on our 2011 survey. Little wonder, then, that the firm wound up fourth on The American Lawyer’s 2011 A–List, which hones in on the 20 firms that have best blended diversity, revenue per lawyer, associate satisfaction, and pro bono work.
While Gibson’s practice runs the gamut, its trump card has long been its top–ranking litigation department (which has been a winner, finalist, or honorable mention in every one of The American Lawyer’s Litigation Department of the Year contests). The group contributes nearly 60 percent of the firm’s revenue and has produced a long list of headline–grabbing wins in recent years for clients including Dole Food Company, United Parcel Service, and Wal–Mart Stores, Inc.
Gibson is well–known, too, for its busy appellate practice. Among the department’s stars is Ted Olson, who by the start of 2012 had argued nearly 60 U.S. Supreme Court cases in his career and was responsible for two of the appellate group’s highest–profile recent wins: the successful challenge to California’s Proposition 8, and the invalidation of major portions of the McCain–Feingold campaign finance laws restricting corporate political contributions.
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 10 | 2 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 10 | 2 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 21 | 2 | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | 4 | no change | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 10 | 1 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 66 | 1 | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 7 | 3 | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 1 | 2 | Summer programs |
In the News
MOVERS
: The National Law Journal : May 13, 2013
Adrienne Pitts joins Baker & McKenzie as partner in the Chicago office. Plus more law firm movers in this week's column.
Wal-Mart Attacks $187.6 Million Class Action
Amaris Elliott-Engel : The Legal Intelligencer : May 13, 2013
As retail titan Wal-Mart seeks to overturn a $187.6 million class action, one of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices hearing oral arguments in Harrisburg questioned how the class of employees could have proven its case without using the company's payroll records.
Texas' Top Deals of 2012
Brenda Sapino Jeffreys : Texas Lawyer : May 13, 2013
The top 10 deals in Texas in 2012.
Law Firms and Laterals Keep Houston Market Humming
Tom Huddleston Jr. : The Am Law Daily : May 13, 2013
Taken together, Katten Muchin Rosenman's recent move into Houston and a spate of lateral hires shows that a boom in energy-related work continues to attract new Am Law firms to Space City while motivating those already doing business there to bulk up.
In High Court Argument, Wal-Mart Attacks $187.6 Mil. Class Action
Amaris Elliott-Engel : The Legal Intelligencer : May 10, 2013
As retail titan Wal-Mart seeks to overturn a $187.6 million class action, one of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices hearing oral arguments Wednesday in Harrisburg questioned how the class of employees could have proven its case without using the company's payroll records.
Federal Contractors Face Rising Debarment Threat
Sue Reisinger : Corporate Counsel : May 10, 2013
The number of suspensions and debarments of federal contractors is at an all-time high, and one veteran contracts lawyer called the current environment for these corporations, "in a word: hostile."
Federal Circuit Limits Patenting of Abstract Ideas
Jan Wolfe : The Litigation Daily : May 10, 2013
Federal Contractors Face Rising Debarment Threat
Sue Reisinger : Corporate Counsel : May 10, 2013
The number of suspensions and debarments of federal contractors is at an all-time high, and one veteran contracts lawyer called the current environment for these corporations, "in a word: hostile."
The 2013 IP Hot List
: The National Law Journal : May 7, 2013
These 20 law firms' cases often have billions at stake, and patents involving impressive advancements in science and technology, including groundbreaking pharmaceuticals; the contents of the food we put on our tables; and the ways we communicate with each other.
The Churn: Lateral Moves in The Am Law 200
Diane Jeantet : The Am Law Daily : May 7, 2013
Edwards Wildman Palmer expands its newly launched Miami office; a Department of Justice lawyer joins Steptoe & Johnson in Washington, D.C.; and Chadbourne & Parke loses a project finance partner in New York. The Churn is constant. Please send all announcements to thechurn@alm.com.
- Adams and Reese
- Akerman Senterfitt
- Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
- Allen & Overy
- Ashurst
- Baker & Hostetler
- Baker & McKenzie
- Bingham McCutchen
- Brown Rudnick
- Buist Moore
- Cahill Gordon & Reindel
- Carlton Fields
- Clayton Utz
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
- Clifford Chance
- Cooley
- Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Dewey & LeBoeuf
- Diamond McCarthy
- Dickinson Wright
- DLA Piper
- Dorsey & Whitney
- Dreier LLP
- Freehills
- Freshfields
- Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
- Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
- Greenberg Traurig
- Haynes and Boone
- Herbert Smith
- Herrick, Feinstein
- Hogan Lovells
- Howrey
- Jenner & Block
- Jones Day
- K&L Gates
- Kilpatrick Townsend
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Kutak Rock
- Lane Powell
- Latham & Watkins
- Linklaters
- McCarter & English
- McDermott Will & Emery
- McKenna Long & Aldridge
- McKool Smith
- Minter Ellison
- Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo
- Moore & Van Allen
- Morrison & Foerster
- Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
- Nexsen Pruet
- Nixon Peabody
- Norton Rose
- O?Melveny & Myers
- Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,
- Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
- Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein
- Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker
- Perkins Coie
- Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pitman
- Potter Anderson & Corroon
- Proskauer Rose
- Reed Smith
- Richards, Layton & Finger
- Robinson & Cole
- Ropes & Gray
- Ruden McClosky
- Seyfarth Shaw
- Shea & Gould
- Shearman & Sterling
- Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
- Simmons & Simmons
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
- Stroock & Stroock & Lavan
- Sullivan & Cromwell
- Sullivan & Worcester
- Weil, Gotshal & Manges
- White & Case
- Wiley Rein
- Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
- Winston & Strawn
- Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice
