Position: Of Counsel

TEL: 202.887.3702

FAX: 202.530.9547

Email: Click Here

Website: www.gibsondunn.com

Admitted: District of Columbia; Virginia

Law School: University of Chicago, 2001 Juris Doctor

College: University of Notre Dame, 1998 Bachelor of Arts

Birth Date and Place: 

Practice Areas: Civil Litigation, Appellate Practice, Constitutional Law, Crisis Management, White Collar Criminal Defense, Criminal Investigations

Additional Information: 

Michael J. Edney is of counsel in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is a member of the firm's Litigation Department, and its White Collar Defense and Investigations, Crisis Management, and Appellate and Constitutional Law practice groups. Mr. Edney specializes in complex civil litigation and defending against government investigations.

With regard to civil litigation, Mr. Edney has defended corporations against environmental class actions and malpractice claims by state governments. His civil litigation practice reaches constitutional and public policy issues. He has challenged the legality of federal, state, and local government regulations on behalf of his clients and has served as lead counsel for three former Attorneys General of the United States before the Supreme Court.

With regard to government investigations, Mr. Edney has represented clients before the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Department of State, the Department of Commerce, and congressional committees. Mr. Edney has participated in multiple internal investigations on behalf of corporations and has worked extensively with the audit committees of public companies. Mr. Edney also advises clients with regard to public policy matters, particularly in the national security area.

Mr. Edney’s practice draws on previous government service. From 2007 to 2009, he was a legal advisor on the National Security Council staff. There, he provided legal advice to White House and Executive Branch policymakers regarding national security issues and participated in addressing congressional oversight matters.

From 2005 to 2007, Mr. Edney served in the United States Department of Justice, in its Office of Legal Counsel. The Office of Legal Counsel resolves constitutional and other legal questions of particular importance for the Executive Branch and provides legal advice on all aspects of the Department of Justice's activities, including criminal and civil enforcement matters. Mr. Edney took an active role in litigation matters and represented the United States before international tribunals. The Department of State awarded Mr. Edney its Superior Honor Award.

He is a member of the bars of Virginia and the District of Columbia, the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Sixth, Eighth, Eleventh, and District of Columbia Circuits, and the United States Court of Military Commission Review.

Mr. Edney was a law clerk for the Honorable Danny J. Boggs, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He graduated with high honors from The University of Chicago Law School, where he was Articles Editor of The University of Chicago Law Review, was enrolled in the Order of the Coif, and won the Joseph Henry Beale Prize for outstanding legal writing. He received a B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame. Mr. Edney is a native of Omaha, Nebraska.

Firm Members: Robert Johnson