Implementing a World Class Governance Model with Tony West, SVP and Chief Legal Officer at Uber (Young Leadership)

Tony West is Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and Corporate Secretary at Uber, where he leads the company’s global Legal, Compliance and Ethics, and Security and Cybersecurity functions.
During his time at Uber, Tony has helped lead the company’s cultural transformation, implement a world class governance model, guide the company’s IPO, develop multi-faceted DE&I initiatives and introduce robust corporate transparency initiatives. Under Tony’s leadership, Uber became one of the first tech companies to end mandatory arbitration and the use of confidentiality agreements for sexual assault and misconduct victims, and proactively released a first-of-its-kind US transparency safety report. Tony has more than 25 years of experience spanning both public and private sectors. Prior to joining Uber, he was Executive Vice President Public Policy and Government Affairs, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at PepsiCo.
Tony was twice confirmed by the Senate to serve as a senior official in the Obama administration.
From 2012 to 2014, Tony was the Associate Attorney General of the United States, the US Department of Justice’s third-ranking official, where he supervised many of the department’s divisions, including the Civil Rights, Antitrust, Tax, Environment and Natural Resources, and Civil Divisions, as well as the Office of Justice Programs, the Office on Violence Against Women, and the Community Oriented Policing Services Office. As Associate Attorney General, Tony pursued several financial institutions for their roles in precipitating the 2009 financial crisis, securing nearly $37 billion in fines and restitution for Americans who were harmed.
From 2009 to 2012, Tony was the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Division, the largest litigating division of the Justice Department. As Assistant Attorney General, Tony led the Justice Department's review of the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), advocating strongly and successfully that the department abandon its long-standing defense of the statute because the law was unconstitutional. When Tony left the Obama administration in 2014, Attorney General Eric Holder presented him with the Edmund J. Randolph Award, the Department of Justice's highest honor.
Earlier in his career, Tony was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of California, where he prosecuted a variety of federal crimes. He also served as Special Assistant Attorney General at the California Department of Justice and was a litigation partner at Morrison & Foerster LLP in San Francisco.
Tony graduated with honors from Harvard College, where he served as publisher of the Harvard Political Review, and received his law degree from Stanford Law School, where he was President of the Stanford Law Review. He currently serves on the boards of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and is part of the Obama Foundation’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance Advisory Council

Orin Snyder is widely recognized as one of the country’s leading trial lawyers and litigators. A former federal prosecutor, Mr. Snyder is a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Mr. Snyder was named General Commercial Attorney of the Year for 2020 by Benchmark Litigation. The prestigious Chambers USA 2022 ranks him in Band 1 in New York for both General Commercial Litigation and Media & Entertainment Litigation, and among the top Trial Lawyers in the country. Mr. Snyder is co-chair of Gibson Dunn’s Trials Practice Group.
Awards and Recognition
Chambers Global and Chambers USA have described Mr. Snyder as “absolutely the best – he’s an aggressive, highly motivated and incredibly effective courtroom litigator,” “ultra smart and highly focused,” “totally dedicated to winning,” with “exemplary trial skills” and a “strong voice at the table.” He is singled out for being “exceptional in high-stakes commercial litigation.” “His performance at trial is masterful.” In his Chambers USA Band 1 General Commercial Litigation ranking, clients have remarked: “He is just a very, very talented trial lawyer but also someone who is a great litigator and very strategic. He is the perfect storm.” “Orin is a superstar and one of the best trial lawyers in the country.” In his Band 1 Media & Entertainment Litigation ranking, clients have described him as “a heavyweight in the industry who makes things happen.” In his top Trial Lawyers ranking, clients have praised his “3-D, chess-playing leadership,” and his “aggressive and multifaceted approach” to trial.
Mr. Snyder has been named a “Leading Lawyer” by The Legal 500 – United States, where corporate counsel state that “we always use him as chief litigator,” he is “great in court” and has “excellent technical skills.” Following his cross-examination in one high-profile trial, an article described Mr. Snyder as “the deadliest trial lawyer in tech.” Benchmark Litigation, the definitive guide to litigation firms and attorneys in the United States, recognizes him as a “Litigation Star” and as one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America.” Mr. Snyder was recognized by Law360 as a “Media & Entertainment MVP,” by Lawdragon as one of the “500 Leading Litigators in America,” and “500 Leading Litigators in America,” as a leading lawyer by The Best Lawyers in America®, and was also recognized by Who’s Who Legal in its Commercial Litigation and Thought Leaders USA guides. In 2022 and 2023, Billboard named him to its “Top Music Lawyers” lists, featuring “the best attorneys in the business." The Hollywood Reporter consistently names him to its prestigious “Power Lawyers” list, and he was also named to Variety’s 2023, and prior, Legal Impact Reports, an annual list of the leading lawyers in the entertainment industry. Additionally, at The National Law Journal’s annual awards ceremony, Mr. Snyder was named a finalist in the 2022 Winning Litigators? category, featuring attorneys who have “significant wins in a jury or bench trial," including “prevailing when substantial damages were at stake, setting a legal precedent or overcoming an unfriendly jurisdiction."
Mr. Snyder has a proven track record of success across a broad range of practice areas and industry sectors in courts throughout the country.
Representative Clients
Mr. Snyder represents clients across a wide range of industry sectors and practice areas. Clients in the technology industry include Meta (Facebook), Pinterest, PayPal, Uber, Square, Coinbase, Modern Health, Blink Health, Yahoo, Infor, VeriFone, Inc., Archer Aviation, Gro Intelligence, Hyperloop One Technologies. Media and entertainment clients have included Time Warner, NBC Universal, Sony, AMC Networks, Warner Music Group, Cablevision, DISH Network, Rocket Music Entertainment Group, Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, Home Box Office, and Cable News Network. Additional notable work has involved matters for clients such as MacAndrews & Forbes, Goldman Sachs, Aetna, Freddie Mac, Perella Weinberg, Chobani, PepsiCo, Starbucks and Capital One.
Mr. Snyder has represented well-known individuals in significant matters, including Julie Andrews, Marc Anthony, Mariah Carey, Gary Cohn, Anderson Cooper, Cindy Crawford, Diddy, Jack Dorsey, Bob Dylan, Nancy Grace, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, LeBron James, Elton John, Kid Rock, Lady Gaga, Led Zeppelin, David Letterman, Jennifer Lopez, Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne, The Rolling Stones, Jerry Seinfeld, Jessica Seinfeld, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Hamdi Ulukaya, Barbara Walters, Montel Williams and Mark Zuckerberg.
Mr. Snyder has represented numerous nonprofit institutions, such as The Clinton Foundation, the American Red Cross, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Intrepid Air and Space Museum, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Larson Foundation and The Museum of the American Indian.
Technology Industry Experience
Mr. Snyder is one of the go-to lawyers for Silicon Valley and other technology companies, representing clients in some of today’s most high-profile cases. Clients include companies, executives and funds. Mr. Snyder has represented Facebook in some of its most significant matters dating back to 2007. He presently represents the company in securities and consumer class actions and other related matters in connection with the misuse of Facebook data by Cambridge Analytica. Mr. Snyder has also represented Uber in a variety of high-profile matters, including important regulatory questions. Mr. Snyder also has represented Rubicon Global in antitrust matters; Blink Health, Machine Zone and other clients in trade secret and commercial disputes; Facebook, Square, Hyperloop One and Yik Yak in founder litigation; and VeriFone in litigation involving digital in-taxi advertising technology.
Media and Entertainment Experience
Mr. Snyder represents both digital and traditional media and entertainment clients, which often seek him out for their bet-the-company cases. Mr. Snyder is lead counsel defending AMC Networks Inc. in the biggest profit participation cases ever brought in the cable television industry relating to the hit show “The Walking Dead.” For VOOM HD Holdings, a former subsidiary of Cablevision, he obtained a lucrative settlement as lead trial counsel during a jury trial in a multibillion-dollar breach of contract action against DISH Network. The settlement, one of the largest in a breach of contract case in New York State court history, was valued at well over $1 billion. For NBC Universal Mr. Snyder obtained a rare preliminary injunction victory following a three-day evidentiary hearing, blocking the move of one of cable TV’s most popular programs, “Project Runway,” to Lifetime. And for Home Box Office he litigated and tried copyright and trademark cases that resulted in important legal precedents. Mr. Snyder also represents prominent individuals – including Bob Dylan, Jerry Seinfeld, Elton John, Lady Gaga, and David Letterman – in their litigation matters.
General Commercial Litigation
Mr. Snyder’s broad trial lawyer practice has encompassed a wide range of other commercial matters. For example, he successfully represented the Chobani founder and CEO in a multibillion-dollar lawsuit brought by an individual seeking ownership of the company. For Starbucks he secured dismissal in a dispute with singer-songwriter Carly Simon over the disappointing sales for her album. For Capital One he obtained a high-value settlement before trial against a former chief executive officer alleged to have breached a restrictive covenant. And for Perella Weinberg he successfully served as lead trial counsel in complex litigation alleging trade secret misappropriation, fraud, and various breaches of contract and employment duties in connection with a joint venture.
New York Attorney General Experience
Mr. Snyder’s practice extends to high-stakes matters involving the New York Attorney General. Among his achievements for clients is a groundbreaking settlement that he negotiated for Facebook in the area of Internet safety that was hailed as a model of compliance. For Warner Music Group he negotiated an industry-changing settlement concerning the record promotion industry. And for Freddie Mac he negotiated new standards for the home mortgage industry.
Investigations Experience
In addition to his very public litigation work, Mr. Snyder regularly works in the regulatory and investigative arena, counseling clients – both corporations and senior executives – on confidential issues, such as criminal and other government investigations that require expert handling of public relations. These matters include whistleblower cases, FCPA and money laundering, sanctions, fraud investigations, obstruction of justice, insider trading, tax fraud and allegations of personal misconduct. He has handled numerous internal investigations involving alleged insider trading, bank fraud, mail and wire fraud, tax evasion and alleged sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace.
Advisory Experience
Mr. Snyder often acts as an advisor to the CEOs of large companies, founders and fund owners in connection with strategic planning, governance, and other corporate topics and concerns.
Pro Bono Experience
Mr. Snyder is deeply committed to pro bono work and is engaged in cases ranging from racial justice and criminal justice reform, to defending the First Amendment, and advocating for the rights of individuals impacted by discriminatory policies. Mr. Snyder currently serves as lead trial counsel in Deon Jones v. City of Los Angeles, a civil rights action asserting First and Fourth Amendment claims against the LAPD and others for shooting Mr. Jones in the face while he was peacefully protesting in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder. He is also co-lead trial counsel in Buchanan v. Trump, seeking to hold accountable members of the Trump administration for their audacious and offensive—and obviously unconstitutional—attack on peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square in June 2020. In addition, Mr. Snyder recently led the Gibson Dunn team that filed an amicus curiae brief with the United States Supreme Court on behalf of constitutional law scholars in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The case addresses the constitutionality of a Mississippi law prohibiting abortions performed at or after 15 weeks. The brief argues that overturning Roe v. Wade, which Mississippi asks the Court to do in upholding its law, would place women and their families at the mercy of state legislatures, denying them the basic right to make among perhaps the most personal decisions about their bodies, their families, and their futures.
Boards and Other Professional Affiliations
Mr. Snyder is active in the community and in public affairs. He is Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, a member of the Board of Trustees of the David Lynch Foundation, and a member of Tent Partnership for Refugees' Board of Directors.
Prior Professional Experience
Before joining Gibson Dunn, Mr. Snyder was a name partner at Parcher, Hayes & Snyder, a prominent litigation boutique firm. He also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted organized crime and white collar crime cases and served as Chief of the Narcotics Unit. As a federal prosecutor, Mr. Snyder handled one of the largest pension fund fraud prosecutions ever brought by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Education
Mr. Snyder earned his Juris Doctor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, cum laude, and his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated with high honors.