Irv Gornstein

Of Counsel

Irv Gornstein is Of Counsel in O’Melveny’s Washington, DC office and a member of the Appellate Practice. Before joining O’Melveny, Irv was an Assistant to the Solicitor General for 13 years. In that capacity, he argued 36 cases and briefed more than 60 cases in the U.S. Supreme Court. Irv also drafted numerous petitions for certiorari and countless oppositions to such petitions. During his tenure in the Solicitor General’s Office, Irv twice received the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service.

Irv’s Supreme Court arguments include cases involving preemption under the Banking and Food and Drug Laws, Smiley v. Citibank (South Dakota), 517 U.S. 735 (1996), and Buckman v. Plaintiff’s Legal Committee, 531 U.S. 341 (2001). He has also argued seven employment discrimination cases, including the case setting the standard for vicarious liability, Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775 (1998). Irv has drafted Supreme Court merits briefs in many First Amendment cases, including the landmark First Amendment cases on internet indecency, Reno v. ACLU, 521 U.S. 844 (1997), and military recruitment on college campuses, Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, 547 U.S. 47 (2006).

Before joining the Solicitor General’s Office, Irv worked as an appellate lawyer in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In that capacity, he briefed and argued more than 30 cases in the courts of appeals. Irv received the Civil Rights Division’s highest award for his work on those appeals.

Professional Activities

Court Law Clerk, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit