Jesse A. Cripps

Jesse A. Cripps is a partner in Gibson Dunn's Los Angeles office and a member of the firm's Labor & Employment, Litigation and Class Action Practice Groups.

Jesse has handled the full range of labor and employment matters under both federal and state law, specializing in the defense of high-risk, complex and class action employment litigation. His successes include defeating class and collective action certification, securing the dismissal of class action claims on the pleadings, and securing a variety of merits-based victories at the trial court and appellate levels.

Jesse has a wide-range of courtroom experience, including state and federal jury trials. He has tried class action employment claims to resolution and has first-chair success in individual employment arbitrations and high-stakes administrative hearings. He has successfully argued several times before the California Court of Appeal and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, resulting in favorable published opinions for his clients.

His representative matters include the defense of statewide and nationwide employment class actions, the representation of employers in high-stakes non-compete and trade secret disputes, and the defense of discrimination, retaliation, and whistleblowing claims. Jesse also represents employers in matters involving reductions in force, family and medical leave, federal contract compliance, and occupational safety and health. In addition to his courtroom experience, Jesse also spends time counseling clients on preventative planning under state and federal laws.

Benchmark Litigation named Jesse as a 2024 “Labor & Employment Star” and he is routinely recognized as a leading employment lawyer by Chambers USA, Law360, Los Angeles and Law & Politics magazines. Most recently, Jesse was recognized for Labor & Employment (Litigation) in the Lawdragon 500 Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers 2024-2025 guides, which features “the nation’s top advisors to businesses, universities, nonprofits and other organizations dealing with the mind-bending matrix of today’s global workforce,” the third time he has been named since 2022. He was also recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for his work in Employment Law – Management in 2024, and as one of the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2023 "Leaders of Influence – Labor & Employment Attorneys." He has been named one of “California’s Top Labor & Employment Lawyers” by the Daily Journal, and his work has been featured among its list of “Top Verdicts” and “Top Appellate Reversals.”

He has served on the Executive Committee for the Los Angeles County Bar Association Counsel for Justice, as Board Chair for the Hillsides organization, and as a faculty member for Lawyers Without Borders in Kenya. Jesse speaks regularly on employment issues, including programs and presentations for the California Employment Law Council, Strafford, Bridgeport, Bloomberg BNA, and various Fortune 500 companies.

He graduated summa cum laude from Pepperdine Law School in 2002, where he served as Note and Comment Editor for the Pepperdine Law Review. He is also a contributor to the Gonzaga Law Review and Employment Discrimination Law (settlement chapter) (BNA), as well as California Lawyer magazine.

Jesse is admitted to practice in the State of California.

Capabilities

• Labor and Employment
• Appellate and Constitutional Law
• Litigation
• Trials

Credentials

Education:

• Pepperdine University - 2002 Juris Doctor
• Pepperdine University - 1997 Bachelor of Arts

Admissions:

• California Bar