Gordon D. Todd

Gordon’s litigation experience includes:

• Samuel A. Fryer Yavneh Academy et al v. Gavin Newsom (D.C. Cal.): Lead counsel in lawsuit brought by several religious schools challenging constitutionality of California’s school closure order. 
• Chevron Mining Inv. v. United States (D. NM). Represent plaintiff Chevron in CERCLA allocation action, seeking apportionment to the United States of a share of clean-up costs relating to an open-pit Molybdenum mine in Questa, New Mexico; 
• Wyatt v. Owens (W.D. Va.): Lead trial counsel representing plaintiff in Section 1983 civil rights action alleging use of unconstitutionally excessive force in effecting arrest. Jury returned a plaintiff’s verdict and awarded compensatory and punitive damages;
• Clear Channel v. City of Baltimore (Md. Tax Court): Lead trial counsel for plaintiff in suit challenging constitutionality of tax levied on privately owned, commercial, off-premises billboards;
• Zhou v. OUTFRONT Media (N.D. Cal.): Represented defendant billboard companies in lawsuit asserting First Amendment and contract claims arising from the cancellation of controversial election-related billboards; all claims successfully dismissed;
• Macomb Interceptor Drain Drainage District v. Kilpatrick (E.D. Mich.): Represented defendant contractor in suit alleging RICO, antitrust, and fraudulent misrepresentation claims arising out of municipal contracting dispute; all claims successfully dismissed; 
• In re License Appraisal Dispute (Private Arbitration): Lead trial counsel representing railroad client in dispute with a tenant over the appropriate valuation of an 800+ mile fiber optic occupancy in railroad right of way; matter favorably settled prior to trial;
• Florida Senate v. EEOC (N.D. Fla.): Represented state legislative body in Government Employee Rights Act matter including challenge to constitutionality of GERA;
• Ford v. United States (USCIT). Represent Plaintiff in challenge to Customs and Border Protection’s reclassification of Ford Transit Connect vehicles as vehicles principally designed for the transport of goods (dutiable at 25%) rather than vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons (dutiable at 2.5%);
• State of Oklahoma v. Tyson Foods (N.D. Okla.): Represented defendant in a five-month long bench trial on numerous federal and state environmental and tort claims. Successfully briefed and argued for the mid-trial dismissal of several claims and for the pre-trial exclusion of scientific expert causation witnesses; 
• In re Veg Liquidation, Inc. (W.D. Ark. Bkty): Lead counsel representing defendant professional services firm in bankruptcy Adversary Proceedings involving claims arising under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) as well as state law tort and contract claims; all claims successfully dismissed;
• Willie McCormick & Sons, Inc. v. Lakeshore Engineering Services, Inc., et al. (E.D. Mich.): Lead defense counsel in suit alleging civil RICO and antitrust conspiracies to rig the market for municipal services contracts. All claims dismissed and dispute settled favorably pending appeal;
• In re Tyson Farms (USDA): Lead trial counsel defending against alleged breaches of the Packers & Stockyards Act in connection with payments made for the raising of poultry. Defense verdict following trial;
• Cook v. Howard Industries, Inc. (S.D. Miss.): Represented defendant in class action suit alleging race discrimination in hiring. Matter resolved through a favorable class settlement; 
• United States ex rel. Lisitza (D. Mass.): Represented defendant pharmaceutical corporation against allegations of payment of unlawful kickbacks and inducement of false claims for reimbursement to federal and state healthcare programs. Matter resolved through favorable settlement; 
• QVC, Inc. v. Your Vitamins, Inc. (D. Del.): Represented defendants/counter-claimants in a Lanham Act and deceptive trade practices matter arising out of the televised marketing of vitamins and dietary supplements. Matter resolved through a favorable settlement; and
• United States v. Acevedo-Vila (D.P.R.): Represented the former Governor of Puerto Rico in connection with campaign finance, public corruption, and tax charges. Fifteen counts dismissed prior to trial, and jury acquittal on all nine remaining counts.

Gordon’s experience in counseling and investigations includes:

• Internal Investigations: Work with in-house counsel to conduct internal investigations into criminal, civil, and corporate policy compliance-related issues, and consult with client as to necessary and appropriate internal and external steps and procedures; and
• Government Investigations: Represent corporate and individual clients in civil and criminal government investigations, including conducting internal investigations and negotiating with relevant investigatory or regulatory agencies. Experience includes investigations by or involving the United States Departments of Justice, Agriculture, and Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and financial regulatory agencies including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Reserve, and the United States Postal Service.

Prior to joining Sidley, Gordon held several posts at the United States Department of Justice:

• As Deputy Associate Attorney General, Gordon assisted the Associate Attorney General manage the Department’s civil components.  Gordon’s portfolio included reviewing litigation conducted by the Tax and Civil Rights Divisions, as well as the operations of the Office of Justice Programs, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, and the Office on Violence Against Women.  Gordon served on an interagency committee on False Claims Act enforcement, and also handled various special projects. 
• As Special Counsel for Supreme Court Nominations, Gordon directed a team of lawyers supporting the nomination and confirmation process for Supreme Court justices.  
• As Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Gordon served as legal and policy advisor to the Assistant Attorney General heading the Civil Rights Division.  Gordon’s duties included overseeing litigation involving Fair Housing, Fair Lending, and Disability rights issues, coordinating with the Division’s administrative component, and focusing on other special projects. 

Gordon has a long history of donating his time pro bono to needy and worthy causes. Gordon is currently lead counsel representing several Jewish, Christian, and Catholic schools challenging the constitutionality of California Governor Newsom’s orders requiring all schools to remain closed this fall. Gordon recently led a team of Sidley lawyers who successfully secured changes in reopening plan in Minnesota and Wisconsin to protect free exercise rights of religious organizations. Gordon leads Sidley’s partnership with Yale Law School’s Free Exercise clinic, which files amicus curiae briefs in appropriate religious liberties cases in federal and state courts of appeal. In the trial courts, Gordon won compensatory and punitive damages following a jury trial on behalf of a victim of unconstitutionally excessive force, and also secured a judgment on behalf of a charity seeking to recoup funds stolen by a former employee.

Gordon serves on the leadership committee for the John Carroll Society. Gordon is an annual faculty member for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy in Washington, D.C.