Matt Benjamin

Matt Benjamin is a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is a member of Gibson Dunn's General Commercial Litigation, White Collar Defense and Investigations, Crisis Management, and Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data Innovation Practice Groups, among others. Matt has also served on the firm's Hiring, Diversity, and Community Affairs Committees.

Matt has been recognized as a leading Criminal Defense: White-Collar attorney in The Best Lawyers® in America's 2024 and 2025 guides. In addition, he has been consistently named in the Super Lawyers: New York Metro “Rising Stars” list in the area of litigation since 2013.

Matt's practice focuses on complex litigation, white collar criminal defense and internal investigations, and crisis management. Matt has deep experience counseling prominent individuals and companies in sensitive and often confidential privacy and defamation matters, reputational recovery matters, private investigations, and founders’ disputes.

Representative matters include:

• Tinder: Represented the founders and early employees of the popular dating app Tinder in multibillion-dollar litigation against InterActiveCorp (IAC) and Match Group, Tinder’s parent companies, in New York State Supreme Court, Commercial Division. After a nearly four-week jury trial and days before the case was scheduled to go to verdict, the defendants agreed to pay $441 million to settle.
• Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg: Represented Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg in a high-profile breach of contract action brought by Paul Ceglia alleging a significant ownership interest in Facebook. Obtained expedited discovery developing substantial evidence of forgery, manipulation of digital evidence, and spoliation. Successfully moved for dismissal of the action as a fraud on the court and prevailed on appeal in the Second Circuit. Relatedly, represented Facebook and Mr. Zuckerberg as victims in the federal criminal prosecution of Plaintiff who was indicted on two felony counts for bringing the lawsuit.
• Office of the Governor of the State of New Jersey: Represented the Office of the Governor of the State of New Jersey in a high-profile internal investigation related to allegations concerning the George Washington Bridge toll lane realignment in September 2013, including preparation of an exhaustive 340-page report of findings and recommendations.
• DraftKings: Represented DraftKings in wide-ranging internal investigation, defense of numerous criminal and regulatory investigations, and civil actions related to compliance with federal and state gaming laws, including enforcement action brought by New York Attorney General seeking to enjoin DraftKings from ongoing operations.

Matt has a particular expertise in federal sentencing law and policy. In 2012, Matt was appointed a non-voting member of the United States Sentencing Commission's Practitioners Advisory Group, through which the national defense bar provides the Commission with input on a variety of sentencing-related issues, including proposed amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and legislative initiatives. In 2014, Matt was appointed a member of the Federal Bar Council's Committee on Sentencing and Alternatives to Incarceration. He has written numerous articles about federal sentencing policy, including in the Federal Sentencing Reporter, and is an annual contributor to the ABA's two-volume treatise, “Practice Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines,” a comprehensive sentencing resource.

Matt graduated in 2006 from New York University School of Law, where he served as an Executive Articles Editor for the Annual Survey of American Law and a research assistant to Professor Amy Adler. He graduated cum laude from Yale College with a Bachelor of Arts in the History of Art in 2003. From 2008 to 2009, Matt served as a law clerk to the Honorable George Z. Singal in the United States District Court for the District of Maine.

Matt maintains a robust pro bono practice. In 2015, the Federal Bar Council selected Matt to receive the Thurgood Marshall Award for Exceptional Pro Bono Service, recognizing his “extraordinary contribution to public service and persistent dedication to enhancing access to justice for those most in need.” In particular, Matt was honored for his efforts in developing Gibson Dunn’s groundbreaking pro bono program in support of the Alternatives to Incarceration programs of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Through this program, Gibson Dunn attorneys have provided pro bono civil legal services, including representation in housing, public assistance benefits, immigration, professional licensing, transactional, and family law matters, to dozens of defendant participants in the ATI programs. Matt has also represented individual clients in federal courts and agencies in immigration, veterans, criminal, and family court matters. He currently represents the surviving family of a high-profile murder victim in law enforcement and related matters. Matt currently serves on the Board of Directors of Classic Stage Company (CSC), a leading Off-Broadway theater.

Matt is admitted to practice in the State of New York, and before the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

Capabilities

• Litigation
• Anti-Corruption & FCPA
• Crisis Management
• Media, Entertainment, and Technology
• Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Data Innovation
• Tech and Innovation
• Technology Litigation
• Trials
• White Collar Defense and Investigations

Credentials

Education:

• New York University - 2006 Juris Doctor
• Yale University - 2003 Bachelor of Arts

Admissions:

• New York Bar

Clerkships:

• USDC, Maine, Hon. George A. Singal, 2008 - 2009