Orin Snyder

Orin Snyder is widely recognized as one of the country’s leading trial lawyers, litigators, and corporate advisors. A former federal prosecutor, Orin is a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. The prestigious Chambers USA 2024 ranks him in Band 1 in New York for both General Commercial Litigation and Media & Entertainment Litigation, and in Band 1 Nationwide for Litigation: Trial Lawyers.  Orin is co-chair of Gibson Dunn’s Trials Practice Group.

Awards and Recognition

Acclaimed by clients as “a maestro in the courtroom" and "The only person I would hire in a crisis,” Orin is known for being “strategic, brilliant and able to find a solution to any issue." Orin is described as “absolutely the best – he’s an aggressive, highly motivated and incredibly effective courtroom litigator,” “ultra smart and highly focused,” “totally dedicated to winning,” with “exemplary trial skills” and a “strong voice at the table.” He is singled out for being “exceptional in high-stakes commercial litigation.” “His performance at trial is masterful.” In his Chambers USA Band 1 General Commercial Litigation ranking, clients have remarked: “He is just a very, very talented trial lawyer but also someone who is a great litigator and very strategic. He is the perfect storm.” “Orin is a superstar and one of the best trial lawyers in the country.” In his Band 1 Media & Entertainment Litigation ranking, clients have described him as “a heavyweight in the industry who makes things happen.” In his top Trial Lawyers ranking, clients note he “knows his way around commercial litigation and the courtroom” and have praised his “3-D, chess-playing leadership,” and his “aggressive and multifaceted approach” to trial.

Orin has been named a “Leading Lawyer” by The Legal 500 – United States, where corporate counsel state that “we always use him as chief litigator,” he is “great in court” and has “excellent technical skills.” Following his cross-examination in one high-profile trial, an article described Orin as “the deadliest trial lawyer in tech.” Forbes named Orin to its inaugural America’s Top 200 Lawyers 2024 list, a “collection of elite lawyers who have been involved in the most consequential recent cases, deals or legal trends.” Benchmark Litigation, the definitive guide to litigation firms and attorneys in the United States, recognizes him as a “Litigation Star”, as one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America”, and a General Commercial Attorney of the Year for 2020. Orin was recognized by Law360 as a "Media & Entertainment MVP." He was named by Lawdragon as one of the "100 Leading AI & Legal Tech Advisors," one of the "500 Leading Litigators in America," and honored in Lawdragon's  2024 Leading Global Litigators guide, highlighting "advisors...at the forefront resolving global disputes" with a "worldwide vision and reach." He has also been acknowledged by The Best Lawyers in America® as a Leading Lawyer and recognized by Who's Who Legal in its Commercial Litigation and Thought Leaders USA guides. The Daily Journalnamed him to its 2024 list of leading Commercial Litigators. For the third consecutive year, Billboard named him to its “Top Music Lawyers” list, which features “the best attorneys in the business” (2022-2024). The Hollywood Reporter consistently names him to its prestigious “Power Lawyers” list, and he was also named to Variety’s 2024, and prior, Legal Impact Reports, an annual list of the leading lawyers in the entertainment industry. At The National Law Journal’s annual awards ceremony, Orin was named a finalist in the 2022 Winning Litigators category, featuring attorneys who have “significant wins in a jury or bench trial,” including “prevailing when substantial damages were at stake, setting a legal precedent or overcoming an unfriendly jurisdiction.”

Fortune 100 companies, financial institutions, technology companies, pharmaceutical companies, media companies, and other enterprises hire Orin for their most important enterprise-shaping matters.

Representative Clients

Orin represents clients across virtually every industry sector, across numerous practice areas. Clients in the technology industry have include d Meta (Facebook), Uber, OpenAI, Square, Polymarket, Bolt, Modern Health, Blink Health, Yahoo, Infor, Archer Aviation, Gro Intelligence and Hyperloop One Technologies. Media and entertainment clients have included Time Warner, NBC Universal, Sony, AMC Networks, Warner Music Group, Cablevision, DISH Network, Rocket Music Entertainment Group, Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, Home Box Office, and Cable News Network. Additional notable work has involved matters for clients such as MacAndrews & Forbes, Goldman Sachs, Aetna, Freddie Mac, Perella Weinberg, Chobani, PepsiCo, Starbucks, Capital One, and DraftKings.

Orin has represented well-known individuals in significant matters, including Julie Andrews, Marc Anthony, Mariah Carey, Gary Cohn, Anderson Cooper, Cindy Crawford, Jack Dorsey, Bob Dylan, Nancy Grace, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, LeBron James, Elton John, Lady Gaga, Led Zeppelin, David Letterman, Jennifer Lopez, Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne, The Rolling Stones, Jerry Seinfeld, Jessica Seinfeld, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Hamdi Ulukaya, Barbara Walters, Montel Williams and Mark Zuckerberg.

Orin has represented numerous nonprofit institutions, such as The Clinton Foundation, the American Red Cross, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Intrepid Air and Space Museum, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Larson Foundation and The Museum of the American Indian.

Technology Industry Experience

Orin is one of the go-to lawyers for Silicon Valley and other technology companies, representing clients in some of today’s most high-profile cases. Orin has represented major clients like Facebook and Uber in significant legal matters for over two decades, including regulatory issues and antitrust cases for Rubicon Global, as well as trade secret disputes for companies like Blink Health and Machine Zone, while also handling prominent founders and board disputes in the tech industry for firms such as OpenAI, Square, and Hyperloop One.

Media and Entertainment Experience

Orin also represents both digital and traditional media and entertainment clients, which often seek him out for their bet-the-company cases. He serves as lead counsel for AMC Networks Inc. in the largest profit participation cases in cable television history related to "The Walking Dead." He secured a significant settlement for VOOM HD Holdings against DISH Network, valued at over $1 billion, during a multibillion-dollar breach of contract trial. Additionally, he achieved a rare preliminary injunction for NBC Universal, preventing the relocation of "Project Runway" to Lifetime, and litigated important copyright and trademark cases for Home Box Office. Orin also represents MGM Studios in a lawsuit by A&E and provides legal support to prominent individuals, including Bob Dylan, Jerry Seinfeld, and Lady Gaga, in various litigation matters.

General Commercial Litigation

Orin’s broad trial lawyer practice has encompassed a wide range of other high-profile commercial matters. He successfully represented the Chobani founder in a multibillion-dollar ownership lawsuit and secured an appellate win in a contract dispute with his former wife. He also secured dismissal of a case for Starbucks involving Carly Simon over her album's sales, obtained a settlement for Capital One against a former CEO for breaching a restrictive covenant, and led complex litigation for Perella Weinberg regarding trade secret misappropriation. Additionally, he won a key victory for Churchill Downs against Bob Baffert, represented Esperion Therapeutics in a $300 million milestone payment dispute over a cardiovascular drug, represented Curative and its CEO in the favorable resolution of civil litigation and arbitration proceedings involving breach of contract and fraud claims, and secured order dramatically narrowing trade secret and inventorship lawsuit against Guardant Health and its founders, and ultimately secured favorable settlement.

New York Attorney General Experience

Orin’s practice extends to high-stakes matters involving the New York Attorney General. He has successfully negotiated several landmark settlements, including a model compliance agreement for Facebook on Internet safety, an industry-changing deal for Warner Music Group in record promotion, and new standards for the home mortgage industry with Freddie Mac.

Investigations Experience

In addition to his very public litigation work, Orin provides counsel to corporations and senior executives on sensitive regulatory and investigative matters, including criminal investigations and public relations strategies. His extensive experience includes handling internal investigations related to insider trading, fraud, tax evasion, and workplace misconduct.

Advisory Experience

Orin often acts as an advisor to the CEOs of large pubic and private companies, boards of directors, founders and fund owners . Companies select Orin to quarterback external regulatory, legislative, and communication strategies and help drive their business objectives.

Pro Bono Experience

Orin is deeply committed to pro bono work and is engaged in cases ranging from racial justice and criminal justice reform, to defending the First Amendment, and advocating for the rights of individuals impacted by discriminatory policies. Orin has been an advocate against police brutality, successfully leading a team to secure a historic federal jury verdict for Deon Jones, a victim of LAPD violence during the 2020 protests following George Floyd's murder. He also serves as co-lead trial counsel in Buchanan v. Trump, aiming to hold the Trump administration accountable for its unconstitutional actions against peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square. Additionally, Orin recently led a team in filing an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, arguing against the Mississippi law that could overturn Roe v. Wade and threaten women's rights to make personal decisions about their bodies.

Boards Affiliations and Prior Professional Experience

Orin is active in the community and in public affairs. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the David Lynch Foundation, and a member of Tent Partnership for Refugees’ Board of Directors. Before joining Gibson Dunn, Orin was a name partner at Parcher, Hayes & Snyder, a prominent litigation boutique firm. He also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted organized crime and white collar crime cases and served as Chief of the Narcotics Unit. As a federal prosecutor, Orin handled one of the largest pension fund fraud prosecutions ever brought by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Education

Orin earned his Juris Doctor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, cum laude, and his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated with high honors.