Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher has hired another tech-focused partner in its Palo Alto office.
Vivek Mohan will co-chair the firm’s artificial intelligence and automated systems practice group, Gibson Dunn said Wednesday. The former in-house lawyer at Apple Inc. and Microsoft, Inc. will advise tech companies “on some of their most complex regulatory issues,” he said.
“The broader technology regulatory space is getting really hot, and it’s only going to get hotter in the months and years to come,” Mohan said. “And not just here, in Silicon Valley. The attention is from regulators around the world.”
Big Law firms are playing the long game to bolster their Silicon Valley offices, drawn by Big Tech clients. Privacy has long been “the tip of the spear” of regulatory issues facing those companies – but that focus is evolving beyond issues of privacy and cybersecurity and into broader regulation, Mohan said.
The Biden administration has long been expected to take a closer look at the tech industry. The US Federal Trade Commission this May pumped new life into an antitrust probe of Amazon.com Inc.
Mohan was a partner in Mayer Brown’s San Francisco office prior to joining Gibson Dunn. He spent five years as a senior attorney at Apple, where he was head of information security law and served on the global privacy law and policy team. He was also an attorney at Microsoft earlier in his career. That in-house experience is “part of our bread and butter” at Gibson Dunn, Mohan said.
Gibson Dunn is among the country’s 15 largest law firms, bringing in nearly $2.5 billion in revenue last year, acccording to data compiled by the American Lawyer. The firm’s partners earned more than $4.4 million apiece on average last year. Its clients include Apple, Amazon, Uber, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.
“Having worked with Vivek when I was in-house, I know firsthand how sharp and pragmatic his counsel is, particularly on novel technical issues,” said Ashlie Beringer, partner and co-chair of the firm’s Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data Innovation Practice Group in a news release. “His in-house experience and his fluency with technology platforms and business models give him an invaluable perspective into the real world challenges our clients are facing.”
