Criminal Defense: White-Collar
David Debold
Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2014 Awarded Practice Areas
Biography
For more information, please visit www.gibsondunn.com/lawyer/debold-david/.
Overview
- Harvard University, J.D., graduated 1985
- Wayne State College, BA
- Michigan, United States
- District of Columbia, United States
- Michigan, United States
- District of Columbia, United States
- Harvard University, J.D., graduated 1985
- Wayne State College, BA
Client Testimonials
Awards & Focus
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 for work in:
- Criminal Defense: White-Collar
Additional Areas of Practice:
- Appellate Practice
- Litigation - Securities
News & Media
Additional Information
- Part 2
- Comcast v. FCC. Mr. Debold supervised the briefing among four law firms, as well as the oral argument preparation, in a successful petition to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The Court, in rejecting an FCC regulation that limited the size of cable services providers, took the rare step of vacating the rule in its entirety rather than remanding for further proceedings.
- United States v. McWane Pipe et al. Mr. Debold took the lead in drafting appellate briefs in the Eleventh Circuit challenging several convictions under the Clean Water Act. The Court reversed all convictions on all counts of all four defendants, and Mr. Debold and his colleagues successfully opposed the Solicitor General’s petition for Supreme Court review of the decision.
- Part 3
- Mr. Debold successfully negotiated a non-prosecution agreement for a company that, at the time Gibson Dunn was hired, faced imminent indictment in Michigan for environmental crimes. The agreement avoided prosecution of any individuals and dispensed with appointment of a monitor and other costly remediation measures initially proposed by the EPA. Mr. Debold also successfully negotiated the termination of the 3-year agreement after only 6 months.
- In appellate pro bono matters, Mr. Debold took over for apro se defendant and won a rare remand from the court of appeals for an evidentiary hearing on his claim of racial discrimination in jury selection. He also has taken the lead role in multiple amicus briefs for national criminal defense and immigration advocacy groups before the United States Supreme Court, including a 6-3 victory inVartelas v. Holder (2012), which protected the travel rights of lawful permanent resident aliens.
- Representative matters handled by Mr. Debold include:
- United States v. Conrad M. Black. Mr. Debold co-wrote the successful petition for writ of certiorari and merits briefs that Gibson Dunn filed in the United States Supreme Court on behalf of media entrepreneur Conrad Black. The Supreme Court unanimously reversed a court of appeals judgment that had upheld Mr. Black’s mail fraud and obstruction convictions. Mr. Debold was lead counsel at Mr. Black’s resentencing on remand in Chicago, and he helped achieve a three-year sentence reduction for Mr. Black.
- United States v. Paul S. Minor. Mr. Debold represented Paul Minor, a highly successful lawyer in Mississippi, at his resentencing on honest-services fraud convictions. Mr. Debold persuaded the trial judge to reduce Mr. Minor’s sentence by three years, even after the judge determined there had been no change in the applicable Sentencing Guidelines range.
- FINRA Dept. of Enforcement v. Stephen H. Brinck. Mr. Debold played a major role in defending the former head of the fixed income desk at a broker-dealer against fraud charges. Following a 2-week evidentiary hearing in San Francisco and post-hearing briefing, the hearing panel cleared Mr. Brinck of the sole charge levied against him.
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