TEL:+1 303.298.5758
FAX:+1 303.313.2870
1801 California Street Suite 4200, Denver, CO 80202-2642 USA
2001 Ross Avenue Suite 2100, Dallas, TX 75201-2923 USA
Robert C. Blume is a partner in the Denver and Dallas offices of Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher. An accomplished trial lawyer, Rob served as a federal prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice for almost a decade and earned four Special Achievement Awards from the Attorney General. In addition to complex civil litigation, Rob’s practice focuses on white-collar defense and investigations, anti-corruption and FCPA, securities enforcement, and crisis management.
Rob has achieved the highest Band 1 ranking by Chambers USA (2012-2024) as a leading lawyer in Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations. He also was selected by Super Lawyers for excellence in Criminal Defense: White Collar (2019-2024) and recognized in The Best Lawyers® in America for work in three areas: Criminal Defense: White-Collar, Commercial Litigation, and Litigation Securities (2013-2024). Benchmark Litigation named Rob a “Litigation Star” both nationally and in Colorado (2018-2024) and previously named him as a “Future Star” (2015-2017). Finally, Law Week Colorado named him “Barrister’s Best White-Collar Lawyer” in 2016.
Rob has prepared for and conducted dozens of bench and jury trials in the federal and state courts of Colorado, Texas, California, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom. His litigation clients include individuals, private and public companies, and one sovereign nation and operate within a variety of industries, such as oil & gas, aerospace, technology and social networking, retail goods, finance, and hospitality. Over the years, Rob has helped clients defend against a plethora of state and federal claims, including among others, breach of contract, fraud, racketeering, theft, conversion, misappropriation of trade secrets, patent infringement, and defamation. To gain and maintain advantages for his civil litigation clients, Rob relies on years of experience and regularly combines nuanced strategy with creative investigation efforts.
Rob’s white-collar, business crimes, and investigations practice pits him against government agencies around the country. He regularly appears before the United States Department of Justice, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the World Bank, and various state law enforcement agencies. These matters often involve allegations of securities fraud, healthcare fraud, corruption and bribery, money laundering, price-fixing and market manipulation, consumer protection violations, improper use of computer and electronic data, and environmental crimes.
With specialized experience and expertise in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Rob helps clients navigate internal investigations, deploy compliance initiatives, and defend against government actions. In that role, Rob has been retained to review and draft anti-bribery and corruption policies under the FCPA and the UK Bribery Act, and to conduct M&A due diligence throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, India, the Middle East, Central and South America, and Australia. Rob works directly with C-Suite executives, Audit Committees, and Boards of Directors regarding internal company practices, compliance programs, disclosure issues, and human resource concerns. Rob also has participated in a number of FCPA Monitorships, including as a lawyer leading the monitor’s investigation team for Siemens.
Finally, Rob defends clients accused of False Claims Act (FCA) violations by the government or individual whistleblowers. Over the years, Rob has successfully convinced DOJ to decline intervention, convinced the Tenth Circuit to adopt a new standard to assess prior public disclosures, defeated FCA whistleblower claims on Summary Judgment, defended that ruling before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, and obtained complete dismissals at the early pleading stage.
Before joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Rob served with distinction as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. Assigned to the Homicide/Major Crimes Section, Rob investigated and tried more than 15 homicide trials and 20 drug and violent crime trials. Rob also served four years with the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, where he investigated and tried organized crime and white collar cases involving RICO, mail and wire fraud, securities fraud, credit card fraud, insurance fraud, computer security breaches, FCPA violations, obstruction of justice, money laundering, and conspiracy.
Rob graduated cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center and was the Associate Editor of the Georgetown Law Journal and a member of the Georgetown Criminal Justice Clinic. Rob received his Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Brown University. He is admitted to practice in Colorado, Texas, and the District of Columbia.
Rob lectures and publishes on many topics, including the FCA, the FCPA, internal investigations, search warrants, legal privilege, and electronic evidence. He also served as a faculty member and instructor at the National Institute of Trial Advocacy’s Advanced Trial Advocacy Program in Washington, DC and its Advanced Deposition Skills training in Boulder, Colorado. Rob is a frequent guest lecturer at the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver and at the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder. Additionally, Rob serves as co-chair of the Rocky Mountain Regional Subcommittee of the ABA’s White-Collar Crime Committee. He previously served as the national co-chair of the Corporate Criminal Liability Subcommittee. Rob also is an elected member of the Texas Bar Foundation.
Georgetown University - 1992 Juris Doctor
Brown University - 1989 Bachelor of Arts
Colorado Bar
District of Columbia Bar
Texas Bar