Amanda M. Aycock

Amanda M. Aycock is a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. She is a member of the firm’s Litigation Department, as well as the Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data Innovation Practice Group, the Crisis Management Practice Group, the Media, Entertainment, and Technology Practice Group, and the White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Group.

Amanda has represented multinational companies and senior executives in a variety of industries (including technology, media, entertainment, and banking/finance) in complex commercial litigation, crisis management, and regulatory and white collar defense and investigations. She has particular expertise helping clients navigate complex legal matters involving a confluence of legal actions and inquiries—for example, from regulators, prosecutors, public representatives, and private plaintiffs—all at once. Substantively, her practice is cross-disciplinary and includes experience in consumer protection, data privacy, contract, employment, constitutional, antitrust, and criminal law; she is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US).

The Legal 500 has twice recognized Amanda as a “Rising Star” in corporate investigations and white collar criminal defense, and recommends her for matters involving privacy, cybersecurity, and consumer protection, and for white collar matters emanating from the technology, media, and entertainment industries. She has also been recognized five times by The Best Lawyers in America® as “One to Watch” in Criminal Defense: White-Collar (2020 - 2025).

Representative matters include:

• Facebook: Represents Facebook in wide-ranging and intense matters related to the aftermath of the widely reported Cambridge Analytica issues, leading a complex and novel internal investigation related to data privacy risk from historical developer activity on the Facebook platform, and assisting with numerous domestic and international regulatory investigations, nationwide consumer class actions, and government enforcement actions.
• Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg: Represented Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg in a high-profile breach of contract action brought by Paul Ceglia in Federal Court in Buffalo, New York alleging an ownership interest in Facebook. Obtained expedited discovery against Plaintiff, developing evidence of spoliation and fraud concerning Plaintiff’s lawsuit, including Plaintiff’s doctoring the contract sued upon and manipulation of digital evidence. Successfully moved for dismissal of the case, which the Court dismissed as a fraud on the Court, and prevailed on appeal in the Second Circuit.
• DraftKings: Represented daily fantasy sports company when industry was in crisis, developing comprehensive strategy across several wide-ranging and high-profile civil, criminal, and regulatory actions. In particular, defended company in enforcement action brought by New York Attorney General seeking to enjoin DraftKings from ongoing operations, and brought civil action against Illinois Attorney General that sought emergency relief for constitutional violations.
• Media and Technology Company: Represented industry-leading media and technology company in a federal antitrust trial.
• Major Telecommunications Company: Represented company in antitrust action brought by DOJ, which settled favorably following a motion to dismiss.
• Multinational Fortune 500 Company: Represented company in SEC investigation into possible revenue recognition issues, stemming from information provided by former employee whistleblower; the SEC declined to pursue enforcement action.
• Multinational European Bank: Represented European Head of Treasury in DOJ LIBOR investigation.

Amanda maintains an active pro bono practice. For example, she represented Migrant Justice—a Vermont non-profit dedicated to protecting the rights of the migrant farmworker community—in a lawsuit against the federal and local government that alleges unlawful surveillance and harassment in violation of the First Amendment. A team of Gibson Dunn attorneys, including Amanda, engaged in a deep dive into policing throughout the United States as contributing authors to “New Era of Public Safety: A Guide to Fair, Safe, and Effective Community Policing,” a comprehensive report and toolkit completed in collaboration with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. In a blog post entitled “How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change,” President Obama referenced and linked to the Report. Amanda sits on the Junior Advisory Board of Her Justice, a non-profit that provides free legal services to women living in poverty in New York City to address individual and systemic legal barriers.

From 2014 to 2015, Amanda served as a law clerk to the Honorable Katherine Polk Failla in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Amanda graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2010 with joint degree, consisting of a Juris Doctor, cum laude, and the French equivalent of an LL.M., cum laude, sponsored jointly by the Sorbonne and the Institut d’Études Politiques (Sciences Po). While at Penn Law, she was a Levy Scholar and an Associate Editor of the University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law. Amanda received her Bachelor of Arts in 2007 from the University of Pennsylvania, magna cum laude.

Amanda is admitted to practice in the State of New York, and before the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

Capabilities

• Litigation
• Crisis Management
• Media, Entertainment, and Technology
• Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Data Innovation
• Tech and Innovation
• Technology Litigation
• Trials
• White Collar Defense and Investigations

Credentials

Education:

• University of Pennsylvania - 2010 Juris Doctor
• Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne - 2010 Masters
• University of Pennsylvania - 2007 Bachelor of Arts

Admissions:

• New York Bar

Clerkships:

• USDC, Southern District of New York, Hon. Katherine Polk Failla, 2014 - 2015