Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partners Theodore Boutrous Jr., Theane Evangelis, and Joshua Lipshutz led the firm’s effort to win decertification for Uber in an appeal closely watched by gig economy companies where thousands of current and former drivers alleged they were misclassified as independent contractors. Partners Jeffrey Thomas, Samuel Liversidge, and  Blaine Evanson successfully defended Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. from about $100 million in copyright claims against competitor Oracle Corp. Partners Scott Edelman, Christopher Chorba, and Perlette Jura won decertification and a complete reversal for Yahoo in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act case where more than 320,000 potential class members pitted the company with more than $480 million in potential exposure. Meanwhile, Richard Doren, Jason Lo, and Daniel Swanson represented major consumer electronics manufacturers in their licensing dustup with Qualcomm.

That resume landed Gibson Dunn as one of six finalists for the Tech Litigation Department of the Year as part of The Recorder’s California Leaders in Tech Law and Innovation Awards. The winner will be announced at a ceremony celebrating all winners and finalists Nov. 6. In the run-up to next month’s announcement, The Recorder checked in with Boutrous, Gibson Dunn’s litigation practice group co-chairman, about what sets Gibson Dunn litigators apart.