Theodore Olson

Theodore Olson General Information

Biography

Mr. Theodore Olson serves as Partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He was a Solicitor General of the United States during the period 2001-2004. From 1981-1984, he was Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice. Except for those two intervals, he has been a lawyer with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. since 1965. Selected by Time magazine in 2010 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, Mr. Olson is one of the nation's premier appellate and United States Supreme Court advocates. He has argued 63 cases in the Supreme Court and has prevailed in over 75% of those arguments. These cases include the two Bush v. Gore cases arising out of the 2000 presidential election; Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission; and Hollingsworth v. Perry, the case upholding the overturning of California's Proposition 8, banning same-sex marriages. Mr. Olson's practice is concentrated on appellate and constitutional law, federal legislation, media, and commercial disputes, and assisting clients with strategies for the containment, management, and resolution of major legal crises occurring at the federal/state, criminal/civil, and domestic/international levels. He has handled cases at all levels of state and federal court systems throughout the United States. Mr. Olson's Supreme Court arguments have included cases involving separation of powers; federalism; voting rights; the Tenth Amendment; the First Amendment; the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses; jury trial rights; punitive damages; takings of property and just compensation; the Commerce Clause; taxation; criminal law; sports wagering; copyright; antitrust; securities; campaign finance; foreign sovereign immunities; telecommunications; the environment; the internet; and other federal constitutional and statutory questions.