Mayer Brown Recruits Gibson Dunn Partner to Co-Lead Employment Litigation Practice

Mayer Brown is among the latest in Big Law to add strength in litigation, announcing on Tuesday the arrival of “first-rate” trial lawyer Gabrielle Levin from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in New York. The firm said she will co-lead its employment litigation and counseling practice.

The move comes as both litigation and labor and employment demand in law firms have stayed strong in 2024, growing 3.8% and 1%, respectively, in the first quarter of the year, according to the Law Firm Financial Index. Several firms, including Hogan Lovells and Shook, Hardy & Bacon, have also made significant moves to bolster litigation this spring.

Mayer Brown has added other notable litigation laterals so far this year, including Tony Weibell and Sophia Mancall-Bitel, partners from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati who work with tech companies, as well as a handful of additions last year with significant government experience in New York and Washington, D.C.

For her part, Levin has first-chaired trials in federal court, represented employers in whistleblower claims and has significant experience representing public companies in class actions. She also handles C-suite-level issues in the financial services sector, which Mayer Brown noted in a release was “a key strength” of the firm.

Levin spent 18 years at Gibson Dunn. A spokesperson for that firm said on Tuesday that Gibson Dunn wishes Levin well.

Levin herself said in a statement that the firm’s reputation in litigation, international footprint and financial services expertise were all draws. In an email, she also pointed to her co-leaders in the practice, Ruth Zadikany in Los Angeles and Andrew Roseman in Chicago, and that they had “nearly 40 litigators across the firm’s international platform.”

“Her expertise greatly enhances our crisis management practice, currently representing top corporate officers in significant disputes. Moreover, she complements our investigations and regulatory enforcement team, especially in internal HR investigations,” added Richard Spehr, leader of Mayer Brown’s litigation and dispute resolutions practice, in a statement.

Spehr also called Levin a “first-rate, first-chair trial lawyer who has led some of the most high-profile employment-related cases in recent years.”

Levin joins the firm’s New York office, which firm leaders have identified as an area where it can press its strength.

The firm noted that Levin serves on the board of directors of The HOPE Program, a nonprofit focused on fighting poverty in New York through skills and job training, and that she is “renowned” in the city’s legal world.

Her addition is “a clear indication of our commitment to developing a versatile practice in New York,” added Matthew Ingber, managing partner of the firm’s New York office.

Levin added in an email that she expects employment-related litigation matters, including class actions, to continue to increase.She also alluded to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year on affirmative action, saying it is expected to generate employment litigation, particularly “reverse discrimination” class actions and challenges to internal diversity programs.

“These types of cases are viewed as important litigation matters for clients,” she said.

Mayer Brown saw an 8.2% dip in equity partners firmwide but increased its revenue by 2.7% in 2023 and inched closer to the $2 billion mark.