Barbara Becker Is Driving Gibson Dunn Into Big Law’s New Era (1)

Barbara Becker’s law firm was on an unrivaled growth streak when she took the reins of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher in early 2021. Becker quickly ushered in two major changes.

The 130-year-old firm revised its partner pay system to give more money to top rainmakers. Becker, its first woman chair, also installed a crop of relatively young, and more diverse, lawyers in key lieutenant posts.

Despite a quarter century of consecutive profit growth, the firm’s leaders were concerned how Gibson Dunn would fare in what’s become a hyper-competitive market for the world’s highest paid lawyers.

Under Becker, the firm bumped ...