Michael Celio Email & Phone Number

Michael Celio is the Partner in Charge of the Palo Alto Office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is a sought-after trial lawyer with more than two decades of experience trying cases in Silicon Valley and beyond. He has won at every level from state trial courts all the way the United States Supreme Court. His most recent wins include a 9-0 decision in the Supreme Court for Slack, and precedent-setting opinions in the Seventh Circuit for Kleiner Perkins and in the Ninth Circuit for Intuitive Surgical, Inc.Clients call him “an exceptional trial lawyer” and “a resourceful and tenacious litigator.” He is highly-ranked by Chambers & Partners and recognized as one of The Best Lawyers in America® for his work in securities litigation. Michael was named to Lawdragon’s list of 500 Leading Lawyers in America in 2024, has previously been recognized as a “Legal Lion” and a Securities Law MVP by Law 360, and has been named a Super Lawyer in Securities Litigation every year since 2010.He is a recognized expert in the field of securities litigation and is particularly experienced in defending venture capital firms and their partners as well as their portfolio companies. He also has deep experience in defending criminal actions brought by the United States Department of Justice and civil enforcement actions brought by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.Michael has been repeatedly recognized for his superior client service. He has been named a BTI Client Service MVP and an Acritas Star on multiple occasions, with clients calling him “the gold standard” for outside counsel.Earlier in his career, Michael was seconded to the San Francisco district attorney’s office under then-District Attorney Kamala Harris, where he was responsible for dozens of prosecutions and successfully tried numerous cases to verdict. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Ronald Lee Gilman on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.Michael received his law degree, cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he won awards in the both the Williston Contracts Competition and the Best Brief Award in the first year Ames Moot Court Competition. He was named a Chevening Scholar by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom and earned an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He earned an A.B. from Stanford University with Honors and Distinction and was awarded the Firestone Medal for Outstanding Research in Political Science.

Listed skills include White Collar Criminal Defense, Litigation, Class Actions, Criminal Defense, and 11 others.