Gary A. Bornstein is Co-Head of Cravath's Litigation Department. He handles a wide range of high‑stakes commercial disputes, with particular focus on antitrust, M&A and securities litigation. Bornstein regularly litigates challenging business disputes, and has significant first‑chair trial experience.
Bornstein also represents clients in investigations and provides antitrust, fiduciary duty and other transaction‑related advice.
Lawdragon Honors
Bornstein has extensive experience in complex antitrust litigation. Some of his representative matters include:
- Served as lead trial counsel for Epic Games, creator of Fortnite, in two high‑profile antitrust actions against Google and Apple alleging anticompetitive behavior in the distribution of mobile apps and the handling of in‑app payments. Mr. Bornstein continues to represent Epic in connection with both matters.
- After a multi‑week trial in the case against Google, Mr. Bornstein obtained a unanimous jury verdict in favor of Epic on all counts. In connection with this victory, he was recognized as The Am Law Litigation Daily’s “Litigator of the Week,” and the Cravath team received an Impact Case Award from Benchmark Litigation. In July 2025, Mr. Bornstein secured a complete Ninth Circuit victory, which affirmed the jury verdict in Epic’s favor and upheld the permanent injunction against Google.
- Following a three‑week bench trial in the Apple case, Mr. Bornstein secured a permanent injunction against Apple’s anti‑steering policies. After another multi-day trial, he obtained a ruling to enforce the permanent injunction, holding Apple in civil contempt and determining that Apple willfully violated the injunction.
- Representation of Qualcomm in an array of industry‑defining global disputes concerning its patent licensing and modem chipset businesses, including:
- An antitrust suit filed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in California federal court seeking a permanent injunction against several of Qualcomm’s business practices. Mr. Bornstein won a complete defense victory, obtaining a unanimous Ninth Circuit decision that confirmed the lawfulness of Qualcomm’s business model. The widely covered appellate decision was featured as a “top appellate reversal” of the year by the Daily Journal.
- An action filed by Apple in California federal court, which involved breach of contract and antitrust claims. Following opening statements at trial, the parties reached a global settlement that resolved all litigation between Qualcomm and Apple worldwide, including proceedings in Asia, Europe and the U.S. The settlement included a payment from Apple to Qualcomm, and the companies reached a six‑year patent license agreement and multi‑year chipset supply agreement.
- A putative antitrust consumer class action related to Qualcomm’s modem chipsets. The Ninth Circuit vacated a district court ruling certifying a class estimated to be the size of the entire U.S. population. On remand, the district court granted summary judgment in Qualcomm’s favor.
Some of Bornstein’s representative matters include:
- Representing the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Paramount in putative class action stockholder litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery concerning Paramount’s $28 billion merger with Skydance.
- Representing Deutsche Telekom, T‑Mobile’s controlling shareholder, in putative class action and derivative litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery alleging breaches of fiduciary duties in connection with T‑Mobile’s $26 billion merger with Sprint.
- Represented Reynolds American as lead trial counsel in North Carolina state court in the first judicial appraisal case of a public company to be tried to judgment outside of Delaware. Mr. Bornstein defeated a claim for nearly $400 million at trial and then successfully defended the trial court decision on appeal.
- Represented affiliates of Bacardi Limited in successfully resolving a multi‑jurisdictional dispute with rapper Shawn “Jay‑Z” Carter related to the value of cognac brand D’Ussé. Actions were brought in the Delaware Court of Chancery and other state and federal courts.
- Represented members of the special transaction committee of Viacom’s Board of Directors in securing a favorable settlement shortly before a scheduled trial in consolidated putative class action litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery concerning Viacom’s $30 billion merger with CBS Corporation.
