FacultyFaculty/Author Profile
John F. Olson

John F. Olson

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Washington, DC, USA


John F. Olson is a founding partner of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's Washington, D.C. office. Mr. Olson represents business organizations in corporate governance, corporate securities, corporate finance and merger and acquisition matters. He has acted as special counsel for boards of directors and board committees on governance issues and in assessing shareholder litigation, responding to business combination proposals and conducting internal investigations.  He has represented corporations, broker-dealer firms and individuals in Securities and Exchange Commission and other federal agency investigations and regulatory matters. 

Mr. Olson is a member of the American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Government Affairs. Mr. Olson served (2000 - 2005) as Chairman of the ABA Business Law Section's Committee on Corporate Governance, and as a member of the Presidential Task Force on Corporate Responsibility appointed by the President of the ABA. Previously, he was Chairman of the ABA's Committee on Federal Regulation of Securities (1991-1995). He is a member of the Executive Council of the Securities Committee of the Federal Bar Association.

Mr. Olson is frequently recognized as one of the nation's foremost authorities on securities, corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions law. He is ranked as one of the top securities regulation attorneys in the country by Chambers USA, has been named by the International Financial Law Review as a Leading Lawyer in U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions and by Who's Who Legal as one of the leading corporate governance practitioners in the world. Mr. Olson was named the Washington, DC Corporate Law Lawyer of the Year for 2013 and the Washington, DC Corporate Governance Law Lawyer of the Year for 2012 by The Best Lawyers in America®. Additionally, the publication has listed Mr. Olson for his corporate, securities, and governance work in every edition published since its inception 30 years ago. For the past four years (2009-2012), Mr. Olson has been selected by the National Association of Corporate Directors and Directorship magazine to its NACD Directorship 100: The Most Influential People in the Boardroom and Corporate Governance Community," in the U.S.

The author and editor of many books and articles on legal issues, Mr. Olson is a Distinguished Visitor from Practice at Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches several seminars.

John F. Olson is associated with the following items:
Course Handbooks  Course Handbooks Audit Committee Workshop 2009: Meeting the Challenges of the Financial Crisis
Audit Committees and Financial Reporting 2013: Recent Developments and Current Issues
CHB Chapters  CHB Chapters Audit Committee—10 Key Areas to Consider Now - Audit Committee Workshop 2009: Meeting the Challenges of the Financial Crisis , Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Audit Committee Checklist and Compliance Timeline - Audit Committee Workshop 2009: Meeting the Challenges of the Financial Crisis , Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Sample Proxy Disclosures 2009: Audit Committee Reports and Auditor Fee Disclosures - Audit Committee Workshop 2009: Meeting the Challenges of the Financial Crisis , Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Hypothetical Statement of Facts - Audit Committee Workshop 2009: Meeting the Challenges of the Financial Crisis , Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Excerpts from Recent Developments in U.S. Securities Laws and Corporate Finance, as of March 18, 2009 - Audit Committee Workshop 2009: Meeting the Challenges of the Financial Crisis , Wednesday, June 24, 2009
FASB Votes to Issue New Guidance on Key Financial Reporting Topics: Fair Value Accounting; Accounting for Contingencies in Business Combinations; and Other-than-Temporary Impairments for Debt Securities - Audit Committee Workshop 2009: Meeting the Challenges of the Financial Crisis , Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Front Matter - Audit Committee Workshop 2009: Meeting the Challenges of the Financial Crisis , Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Audit Committee Checklist and Compliance Timeline - Auditor Liability in the Current Environment 2009: How Attorneys & Auditors Can Protect Themselves & Their Clients , Friday, October 30, 2009
Selected Recent Developments in U.S. Securities Laws and Corporate Finance - Securities Regulation Institute 2009 (41st Annual) , Wednesday, November 04, 2009
U.S. vs. Stevens, Criminal Action: RWT-10-694 (D. MD. May 10, 2011), See Chapter 28 - Securities Regulation Institute (44th Annual) , Wednesday, November 07, 2012
Speech by SEC Staff: Remarks to Criminal Law Group of the UJA—Federation of New York, by Robert S. Khuzami, Director, Division of Enforcement, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, New York City, June 1, 2011 - Securities Regulation Institute (44th Annual) , Wednesday, November 07, 2012
U.S. v. Stevens, 771 F. Supp. 556 (D. MD. March 23, 2011) - Securities Regulation Institute (44th Annual) , Wednesday, November 07, 2012
Selected Recent Developments in U.S. Securities Laws and Corporate Finance, as of August 24, 2012 - Securities Regulation Institute (44th Annual) , Wednesday, November 07, 2012
Selected Recent Developments in U.S. Securities Laws and Corporate Finance, as of March 21, 2013 - Audit Committees and Financial Reporting 2013: Recent Developments and Current Issues , Friday, June 21, 2013
Ethical Dilemmas for Disclosure Lawyers: Summary of Selected SEC Cases Involving Disclosure Lawyers - Audit Committees and Financial Reporting 2013: Recent Developments and Current Issues , Friday, June 21, 2013
MP3 Audio  MP3 Audio Financial Reporting, Whistle Blowers and Legal Ethics: A Case Study , Monday, October 15, 2012
44th Annual Institute on Securities Regulation: Dealing with Challenging Corporate Problems - Hypothetical Scenarios - Dealing with Challenging Corporate Problems - Hypothetical Scenarios , Thursday, November 15, 2012
Empty Voting and the TELUS Experience 2013 , Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Audit Committees and Financial Reporting 2013: Recent Developments and Current Issues - SEC Developments You Need to Know About - SEC Developments You Need to Know About , Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Audit Committees and Financial Reporting 2013: Recent Developments and Current Issues - Ethical Challenges for Audit Committees and Their Advisors: Look Out...the SEC and DOJ are Watching - Ethical Challenges for Audit Committees and Their Advisors: Look Out...the SEC and DOJ are Watching , Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Web Segment  Web Segment Dealing with Challenging Corporate Problems - Hypothetical Scenarios - Securities Regulation Institute 2012 (44th Annual) , Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Ethical Challenges for Audit Committees and Their Advisors: Look Out...the SEC and DOJ are Watching - Audit Committee Workshop 2013 , Monday, June 24, 2013
SEC Developments You Need to Know About - Audit Committee Workshop 2013 , Monday, June 24, 2013
Transcripts  Transcripts Dealing with Challenging Corporate Problems - Hypothetical Scenarios - Dealing with Challenging Corporate Problems - Hypothetical Scenarios , Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Empty Voting and the TELUS Experience 2013 (Audio-only) - Empty Voting and the TELUS Experience 2013 (Audio-only) , Monday, February 11, 2013
Ethical Challenges for Audit Committees and Their Advisors: Look Out...the SEC and DOJ are Watching - Ethical Challenges for Audit Committees and Their Advisors: Look Out...the SEC and DOJ are Watching , Monday, June 24, 2013
MP4 - Mobile Video Seg  MP4 - Mobile Video Seg 44th Annual Institute on Securities Regulation: Dealing with Challenging Corporate Problems - Hypothetical Scenarios - Dealing with Challenging Corporate Problems - Hypothetical Scenarios , Thursday, November 15, 2012
Audit Committees and Financial Reporting 2013: Recent Developments and Current Issues - Ethical Challenges for Audit Committees and Their Advisors: Look Out...the SEC and DOJ are Watching - Ethical Challenges for Audit Committees and Their Advisors: Look Out...the SEC and DOJ are Watching , Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Audit Committees and Financial Reporting 2013: Recent Developments and Current Issues - SEC Developments You Need to Know About - SEC Developments You Need to Know About , Tuesday, June 25, 2013
On-Demand Web Programs  On-Demand Web Programs Securities Regulation Institute 2012 (44th Annual) , Wednesday, November 21, 2012 , New York, NY
Audit Committee Workshop 2013 , Friday, July 05, 2013 , New York, NY
Audio Only On-Demand Web  Audio Only On-Demand Web Empty Voting and the TELUS Experience 2013 (Audio-only) , Monday, February 11, 2013
Live Seminar  Live Seminar Securities Regulation Institute (45th Annual) , Wednesday, November 06, 2013 , New York, NY
Audit Committees and Financial Reporting 2014: Recent Developments and Current Issues , Friday, June 20, 2014 , New York, NY
Securities Regulation Institute (44th Annual) , Wednesday, November 07, 2012 , New York, NY
Audit Committees and Financial Reporting 2013: Recent Developments and Current Issues , Friday, June 21, 2013 , New York, NY
Live Webcast  Live Webcast Securities Regulation Institute (45th Annual) , Wednesday, November 06, 2013 , New York, NY
Audit Committees and Financial Reporting 2014: Recent Developments and Current Issues , Friday, June 20, 2014 , New York, NY
PLI Grpcast-Live Web  PLI Grpcast-Live Web Audit Committees and Financial Reporting 2014: Recent Developments and Current Issues , Friday, June 20, 2014 , Mechanicsburg, PA
Audit Committees and Financial Reporting 2014: Recent Developments and Current Issues , Friday, June 20, 2014 , Philadelphia, PA
Audit Committees and Financial Reporting 2014: Recent Developments and Current Issues , Friday, June 20, 2014 , Cleveland, OH
Audit Committees and Financial Reporting 2014: Recent Developments and Current Issues , Friday, June 20, 2014 , Columbus, OH
Audit Committees and Financial Reporting 2014: Recent Developments and Current Issues , Friday, June 20, 2014 , Pittsburgh, PA
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