Grace Hart is a litigation partner in the New York office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the firm’s Litigation Department, the Labor & Employment Practice, the Media, Entertainment & Technology Practice, and the Class Actions Practice.
Grace’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and employment litigation in state and federal courts, at both the trial and appellate levels. She represents multinational companies and individuals in a variety of industries, including technology, life sciences, and retail. She has successfully represented clients in a wide range of matters, including breach of contract, trade secret, and founder disputes. Her employment litigation experience includes matters involving discrimination laws, anti-retaliation and whistleblower protection laws, restrictive covenants, and wage-and-hour laws.
Representative matters include:
- Represented Amazon in litigation with the New York Attorney General involving COVID-19 workplace safety and whistleblower retaliation claims. Obtained complete dismissal of all claims filed by the New York Attorney General.
- Won motion to dismiss race discrimination, retaliation, and COVID-19 workplace safety class action filed against Amazon. Secured affirmance in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
- Represented Guardant Health and its founders in a high-stakes patent inventorship, trade secret, and breach of contract lawsuit filed by Illumina. Secured order dramatically narrowing lawsuit and ultimately achieved a favorable settlement.
- Secured a favorable settlement for Modern Health in a founder’s dispute litigation, involving claims of wrongful termination, retaliation, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, and defamation.
- Won summary judgment for healthcare technology company and its founders in lawsuit filed by early investor alleging breach of contract and fraud.
- Represented a pharmaceutical manufacturer in a breach of contract litigation, which settled with the defendant paying Gibson Dunn’s client $125 million.
- Represented SES in breach of contract and unjust enrichment lawsuit against Intelsat, including a two-week bench trial in federal court.
- Obtained dismissal of lawsuit filed against religious school alleging defamation, breach of contract, and age discrimination under the First Amendment’s ministerial exception. Secured affirmance in the New Jersey Appellate Division and the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Prior to joining the firm, Grace served as a law clerk for the Honorable Robert D. Sack of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Honorable Carol B. Amon of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Grace received her Juris Doctor in 2016 from Yale Law School, where she served as a Notes Editor of the Yale Law Journal and received the Thomas I. Emerson prize for distinguished paper on a subject related to legislation. Grace received her Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude from Dartmouth College in 2013, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Grace maintains an active pro bono practice. She has represented a tenant in filing a Fair Housing Act action in federal court, obtaining a temporary restraining order and securing a favorable settlement, and has represented clients in immigration appeals before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Ninth Circuit. She has also represented numerous clients in amicus briefs filed in courts around the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition, she provides pro bono employment counsel to non-profit organizations.
Grace is admitted to practice in the State of New York, the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second and Ninth Circuits.
Capabilities
- Litigation
- Appellate and Constitutional Law
- Class Actions
- Labor and Employment
- Media, Entertainment, and Technology
- Technology Litigation
Credentials
Education:
- Yale University - 2016 Juris Doctor
- Dartmouth College - 2013 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- New York Bar
Clerkships:
- US Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, Hon. Robert D. Sack, 2017 - 2018
- USDC, Eastern District of New York, Hon. Carol Bagley Amon, 2016 - 2017