Overview
Nick Gamse concentrates his practice in First Amendment and media law, and complex civil litigation.
Nick has extensive experience in media and entertainment matters. He has represented leading media companies, celebrities, and journalists in disputes spanning a wide variety of issues, including antitrust, breach of contract, defamation, employment, First Amendment and freedom of speech, government investigations, intellectual property, news access and newsgathering, privacy, and theme park disputes. In addition to an active litigation practice, Nick also provides counseling to media companies and journalists to help identify and address liability issues prior to publication. Nick has been recognized as a “Trailblazer” by the National Law Journal for his work defending defamation cases and is ranked by the Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 for his deep expertise with Media & Entertainment matters. He is active in the media law bar, having held leadership positions in various organizations, and co-teaches an Entertainment Law course at GW Law. Earlier in his career, Nick worked as a management consultant advising companies in the media business.
Nick also frequently litigates high-stakes matters in other industries, with a particular focus on competition and technology disputes. Since 2023, Nick has been ranked among “Ones to Watch for Litigation: Antitrust” by Best Lawyers. He has handled matters for accounting, biopharma, consulting, energy, e-commerce, fintech, law firm, private equity and software clients. While many of Nick’s representations are for large corporate clients, he also devotes time to counseling individuals and smaller companies, including emerging companies and startups.
Born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area, Nick graduated from the University of Virginia in 2005 and the JD-MBA program at Northwestern in 2011, where he was a member of the Northwestern University Law Review and Order of the Coif. He served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit prior to joining Williams & Connolly in 2013. Nick serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s Families Committee. He previously served on the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion and Hiring Committees.
Nick has been active in the firm’s pro bono work and has previously served on the Boards of the Mid-Atlantic Section of the United States Tennis Association and of Madison House.
Publications
- The Indecency of Indecency, 22 Fordham Intell. Prop. Media & Ent. L.J. 287 (2012)
- Legal Remedies to Protect Public Interest Journalism, 105 NW. U.L. Rev. 329 (2011)