Justine Goeke is a partner in Gibson Dunn’s New York office. Her practice focuses on high-stakes commercial litigation and trials. She has experience in a broad range of substantive areas, including products liability, environmental and mass torts, class actions, bankruptcy, and trade secrets. She currently serves as national legal strategy and briefing counsel for several consumer-products companies facing mass litigation.
Justine has represented clients in their most important trials and evidentiary proceedings. Representative experience includes:
- Co-lead trial counsel for SES in a high-stakes two-week federal court bench trial against Intelsat in a breach of contract case. After the bankruptcy court found for Intelsat, the district court reversed on appeal, describing the record evidence adduced by SES at trial as “extensive,” “very strong,” and “perhaps outcome-determinative.” SES has since announced its planned acquisition of Intelsat.
- Trial counsel for a Fortune 250 company in securing a complete defense verdict after a three-week jury trial in the Northern District of Ohio arising out of asset-backed financing related to an alleged “Ponzi” scheme.
- Trial counsel for global law firm in securing a complete defense verdict following a week-long arbitration brought by the firm’s former client.
- Trial counsel for the former CEO of a publicly-traded technology company in an eight-week securities and wire fraud jury trial in the Southern District of New York. Defeated government request for a 20+ year prison sentence to secure a sentence of no time in prison.
- Secured a sweeping preliminary injunction against a former executive of DraftKings, enforcing his restrictive covenants after an evidentiary hearing. Justine was part of the team that earned recognition in The American Lawyer as “Litigator of the Week Runner-Up” for this trade secrets and noncompete win.
- Succeeded in restoring New York-based business’s license to operate after CPLR Article 78 proceeding and multi-day regulatory agency appeal evidentiary hearings.
Justine has secured significant wins on dispositive motions in bet-the-company litigation. Representative matters include:
- Secured complete dismissal of a putative class action lawsuit against Nasdaq in the High-Frequency Trading Litigation filed against U.S. stock exchanges in the Southern District of New York.
- Won a motion to dismiss for Guardant Health and its founders in the District of Delaware in a trade secret misappropriation and inventorship lawsuit brought by Illumina.
- Won summary judgment for a healthcare technology company and its founders in a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York filed by an early investor alleging breaches of contract and fraud.
She has also represented multinational companies and individuals in actions and investigations by regulatory agencies, including the Department of Justice, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Justine has been recognized as “One to Watch” by Best Lawyers in America for 2023 and a “future leader of the law” in Lawdragon’s 500 X – The Next Generation 2024 guide.
Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Justine served as a law clerk to the Honorable Ann M. Donnelly in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York and to the Honorable D. Brock Hornby in the United States District Court for the District of Maine.
Justine graduated in 2013 from Harvard Law School, where she was Secretary-Treasurer for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, and a finalist in the National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition. Originally from Iowa, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, where she graduated magna cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Justine maintains an active pro bono practice that includes impact litigation regarding police brutality and conditions of criminal detention. She secured a favorable settlement from the City of New York on behalf of a former detainee at Rikers Island for violations of his constitutional rights. She has successfully assisted New Yorkers in securing public housing repairs from the New York City Housing Authority and obtaining asylum.
Justine is admitted to practice in the State of New York, and before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second and First Circuits and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
Capabilities
- Litigation
- Class Actions
- Crisis Management
- Environmental Litigation and Mass Tort
- Media, Entertainment, and Technology
- Trials
- White Collar Defense and Investigations
Credentials
Education:
- Harvard University - 2013 Juris Doctor
- St. Olaf College - 2010 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- New York Bar
Clerkships:
- USDC, Eastern District of New York, Hon. Ann M. Donnelly, 2015 - 2017
- USDC, Maine, Hon. D. Brock Hornby, 2014 - 2015