Barbara Becker is Chair and Managing Partner of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. She is the seventh Chair and Managing Partner in the firm’s 133-year history. Prior to assuming this role, Barbara served as Global Co-Chair of the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Group for over a decade and as the inaugural Chair of the firmwide Diversity Committee for nearly two decades.Barbara advises companies on all significant business and legal issues, including domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs, joint ventures and general corporate matters. Barbara also advises boards of directors and special committees of public companies. She represents corporations and investment banks based in and outside of the United States. Barbara focuses on clients in the consumer/retail, technology, healthcare and industrial industries. An elite M&A lawyer, Barbara has been recognized by Chambers Global, Chambers USA, Crain’s New York Business, IFLR1000, Law360, Lawdragon, New York Law Journal, The AmLaw Daily, The Best Lawyers in America, The Deal, The Legal 500 US, The National Law Journal, and Who’s Who Legal, among other publications and outlets. She was also named Managing Partner of the Year at the 2023 American Lawyer Industry Awards, and received the 2022 AJC Judge Learned Hand Award.