| Alan Gura | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 2, 1971 Tel Aviv, Israel |
Alan Gura (born January 2, 1971)[1] is an American litigator practicing in the areas of civil litigation, intellectual property, and civil rights law at Gura & Possessky, P.L.L.C.
On March 18, 2008, he represented Dick Heller in the United States Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller. Mr. Gura successfully argued that portions of D.C.'s Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 violate the individual right to keep and bear arms protected by the Second Amendment.[2]
Gura was lead counsel in McDonald v. Chicago, an United States Supreme Court decision released June 28, 2010 that incorporated the Second Amendment against state and local governments.[3]
On July 13, 2009 Legal Times named Mr. Gura to the list of “40 Under 40” of Washington D.C.’s rising legal stars.[4]
Gura was born in Israel and came to the United States with his family when he was 7, settling in Los Angeles.[5]
Gura graduated from Cornell University and the Georgetown University Law Center. He was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1995.
Prior to founding Gura & Possessky, PLLC, Gura began his career by serving as a law clerk to the Honorable Terrence W. Boyle, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Subsequently, as a Deputy Attorney General for the State of California, Gura defended the State of California and its employees in state and federal courts. Thereafter, Gura entered the private practice of law with the Washington, D.C. offices of Sidley & Austin. In February 2000, he left the firm to serve for a year as Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Criminal Justice Oversight.
Gura is admitted as an active member in good standing in the District of Columbia Bar, the Virginia State Bar, and the State Bar of California. He is also admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court; the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, Eleventh, Federal, and District of Columbia Circuits; and the United States District Courts for the District of Columbia, the Eastern District of Virginia, and the Central, Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of California.
Gura lives in Alexandria, Virginia with his family. He is a gun owner and considers himself a libertarian. He argues that self-protection is a fundamental right, because citizens in general cannot always depend on the government to protect them from criminals or tyrannical rulers.[5]