Gibson Dunn
Elite global law firm handling high-stakes litigation and major corporate deals.
On the record
Checkpoint: April 2027 Am Law 100 report shows FY2026 revenue and PEP, first real test of AI-driven fee compression
The call
Revenue and profit per partner are both climbing sharply, with AI tools so far speeding up the work rather than replacing the lawyers who sell it.
Gibson Dunn is a large law partnership that handles complex corporate legal work for major clients. It is hard to replace because clients trust it for serious cases, lawyers need to pass the bar to compete, and Big Four accounting firms are blocked by law from offering full legal services. The real question is whether AI tools like Harvey will convince clients to handle routine legal tasks themselves, which could hurt the firm's ability to train junior lawyers and make money the traditional way.
Why
01
AI pressure: Harvey (legal AI platform). Harvey and similar tools absorb first-pass research and document review, but can't appear in court or carry malpractice liability. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: Deloitte Legal, PwC Legal, EY Law (Big Four). Big Four want a legal beachhead but unauthorized-practice-of-law rules block them from directly competing in the US market. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.
03
What protects it. Bar admission, malpractice liability coverage, and decades of bet-the-company client trust that no software or accounting firm can hold.
What would change this call
April 2027 Am Law 100 report shows FY2026 revenue and PEP figures for Gibson Dunn. A decline would signal AI-driven fee compression or client attrition beginning.
Additional senior partners depart to Harvey or other legal-AI vendors after Keith Enright. Would show specialist talent migrating to AI platforms rather than staying in traditional practice.
A major state loosens unauthorized-practice-of-law rules enabling Big Four legal entry. Would remove a regulatory moat currently blocking Deloitte Legal, PwC Legal, EY Law from competing.
Additional senior partners depart to Harvey or other legal-AI vendors after Keith Enright. Would show specialist talent migrating to AI platforms rather than staying in traditional practice.
A major state loosens unauthorized-practice-of-law rules enabling Big Four legal entry. Would remove a regulatory moat currently blocking Deloitte Legal, PwC Legal, EY Law from competing.
Key numbers
- FY2025 revenue $4.2B, up 18%
- FY2025 PEP $8.89M, up 23.9%
- Founded 1890, still ranked 5th on Am Law 200
Named risks
- Legal-AI platforms poaching senior AI-practice talent, as with Keith Enright to Harvey.
- Intensifying Big Law lateral hiring arms race could destabilize practice groups.
- AI tools compressing billable associate-level research and drafting work over time.
- Rapid multi-office expansion (Riyadh, Madrid, London scale-up) could strain integration and culture.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Wachtell Lipton | contesting | Wachtell PEP hit $12.15M in 2026 Am Law 100, above Gibson Dunn's $8.89M |
| Kirkland & Ellis | contesting | Kirkland posted about $10.5B revenue in 2025, ahead of Gibson Dunn's $4.2B |
| Sullivan & Cromwell | gaining on | Gibson Dunn poached 4-partner appellate team led by Jeffrey Wall, April 2026 |
| Simpson Thacher | gaining on | Hired real estate partner Angus Lennox from Simpson Thacher, July 2026 |
| Harvey | losing to | AI practice co-chair Keith Enright left for Harvey as Chief Strategy Officer, March 2026 |
Questions people ask
- Is Gibson Dunn profitable in 2026?
- Yes. Gibson Dunn reported FY2025 gross revenue of $4.2 billion (up 18%) and profits per equity partner of $8.89 million, up 23.9% year over year, ranking 5th among Am Law 100 firms as of April 2026.
- Could AI replace Gibson Dunn lawyers?
- Unlikely for elite work. AI can handle first pass research, document review, and drafting, but Gibson Dunn litigation co-chair Trey Cox said in April 2026 AI's value is 'strategic compression' of decision making, not a replacement for courtroom advocacy or bar admitted judgment.
- Who is Gibson Dunn's biggest competitor?
- Its closest peers are Kirkland & Ellis, Wachtell, Latham & Watkins and Skadden. Per the 2026 Am Law 100, Wachtell led profits per equity partner at $12.15 million and Kirkland posted about $10.5 billion in revenue, both ahead of Gibson Dunn's $8.89 million PEP.
- Who owns Gibson Dunn?
- Gibson Dunn is a private law partnership owned by its equity partners; there is no external investor or public shareholder structure. Barbara Becker has served as Chair and Managing Partner since 2021.
- Did Gibson Dunn lose staff to AI companies?
- Yes. Keith Enright, co-chair of Gibson Dunn's AI practice group and former Google chief privacy officer, left in March 2026 to become Chief Strategy Officer at legal-AI platform Harvey, a signal of AI-talent poaching from elite law firms.
- What is Gibson Dunn's revenue in 2025?
- Gibson Dunn's FY2025 gross revenue was $4.2 billion, an 18% increase reported by American Lawyer on April 8, 2026, continuing multi-year growth from $3.557 billion in FY2024 and $3.07 billion in FY2023.
Timeline
- 2026-07-21Hired real estate partner Angus Lennox from Simpson Thacher
- 2026-07-20Named official legal services provider for LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games
- 2026-04-27Opened new Madrid office, expanding European transactional platform
- 2026-04-22Hired four-partner appellate litigation team led by Jeffrey Wall from Sullivan & Cromwell
- 2026-04-152026 Am Law 100 ranked Gibson Dunn's PEP at $8.89M, up 23.9%, 5th place
- 2026-04-08Reported FY2025 gross revenue of $4.2 billion, up 18%
- 2026-03-23AI practice co-chair Keith Enright departed to become Chief Strategy Officer at Harvey
- 2026-02-20Published client alert on SDNY ruling against privilege for consumer AI outputs
- 2025-12-17Promoted largest-ever partner class of 42 lawyers, effective Jan 1 2026
- 2025-10-20Shortlisted for FT Innovative Lawyers Awards for OpenAI defamation defense
Revision history
23 July 2026
First assessed. Hard to displace. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Gibson Dunn Posts 18% Revenue Increase to $4.2B (2026-04-08)
- The 2026 Am Law 100 Is Out, And Surprise: The Rich Law Firms Got Richer (2026-04-15)
- Gibson Dunn Achieves $7.2M in PEP, 15.7% Revenue Rise (2025-04-03)
- Gibson Dunn revenue tops $3bn as PEP grows nearly 13.4% (2024-03-19)
- Gibson Dunn -> History
- Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Global 2026
- Gibson Dunn Expands European Transactional Platform With New Madrid Office (2026-04-27)
- Mergers and Acquisitions (2026-07-22)
- Gibson Dunn (New York office) (2026-07-23)
- Gibson Dunn (Abu Dhabi office) (2026-07-22)
- Gibson Dunn (homepage) (2026-07-20)
- Gibson Dunn (DC people page) (2026-06-04)