O'Melveny & Myers LLP
Encyclopedia
O’Melveny & Myers LLP is an international law firm founded in Los Angeles, California
. The firm is 29th largest law firm in the world and has been lauded by Vault as one of America's top 25 most prestigious law firms.
It employs around 850 lawyers in fourteen offices worldwide. The firm has represented a host of notable clients, such as Apple, Bank of America
, Exxon Mobil, Fannie Mae, Goldman Sachs
, the District of Columbia, New Line Cinema
, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and other law firms. They represented former Enron Corporation chief executive Jeffrey K. Skilling during his four-month fraud and conspiracy trial.
The firm was founded in 1885 as "Graves & O'Melveny" by Henry O'Melveny and Jackson Graves. The firm became "O'Melveny & Myers" when Chief Justice of California Louis Wescott Myers joined the firm after retiring from the Supreme Court
. The current chair of the firm, Arthur B. Culvahouse, Jr.
, who serves at the firm's Washington, D.C.
office, is the former White House Counsel during the Reagan Administration. Former U.S. Secretary of State
Warren Christopher
(1925-2011), who served as the firm's Chairman from 1981-1991, was a Senior Partner at the firm's Century City, CA office.
O’Melveny & Myers attorneys represent clients in many areas, including antitrust
and competitiveness issues, appellate work, aviation law
, capital markets, class-action
defense, corporate law
, entertainment and media law, finance and restructuring, "global enforcement" and criminal defense, healthcare law, insurance
and mass tort
s, intellectual property
and technology, labor and employment law, mergers and acquisitions
, private equity
, project development and real estate
, SEC, securities litigation, strategic counseling, tax law
, and trial and litigation work.
, the FDIC
sued O'Melveny & Myers for providing incompetent legal advice
to one S&L. In the resulting U.S. Supreme Court case, O'Melveny & Myers v. FDIC, , the firm won on the narrow issue of whether federal or state law should govern the firm's defense that the FDIC was estopped
from pursuing it because the FDIC was the S&L's successor-in-interest.
In January 2008, the Interim Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Peter Nickles, selected O’Melveny & Myers partner Walter E. Dellinger III
to defend the constitutionality of the District's handgun ban before the Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller
. In March 2008, Dellinger argued that the city's ban on the possession of handguns and its trigger lock
requirement is not implicated by the Second Amendment
. However, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, held that the Second Amendment protects an individual's "right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home."
In February 2008, Dellinger argued before the Supreme Court in Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker
, on behalf of Exxon
regarding the Exxon Valdez
oil spill. The Supreme Court, in a 5-3 decision (Justice Alito had recused himself), reduced the $2.5 billion punitive damages award against Exxon to $507.5 million, holding that in maritime cases there should be a 1:1 ratio between punitive and compensatory (actual) damages.
The firm represented the Los Angeles Unified School District
(LAUSD) in the lawsuits over the Belmont Learning Center
in Los Angeles in the 1990s. LAUSD later sued the firm for alleged malpractice due, in part, to the involvement of its attorneys on all sides of the negotiations. The lawsuit eventually settled, with the law firm paying $3 million towards completion of Belmont.
In September 1991 the firm represented, pro bono, community gang abatement specialist Ronald Lazar, StreetPeace, and nine other plaintiffs in a precedent-setting consolidated small claims action on appeal, Rawlings, et al v. Crumpton, establishing an important, powerful tool in crime prevention.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. The firm is 29th largest law firm in the world and has been lauded by Vault as one of America's top 25 most prestigious law firms.
It employs around 850 lawyers in fourteen offices worldwide. The firm has represented a host of notable clients, such as Apple, Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
, Exxon Mobil, Fannie Mae, Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
, the District of Columbia, New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and other law firms. They represented former Enron Corporation chief executive Jeffrey K. Skilling during his four-month fraud and conspiracy trial.
The firm was founded in 1885 as "Graves & O'Melveny" by Henry O'Melveny and Jackson Graves. The firm became "O'Melveny & Myers" when Chief Justice of California Louis Wescott Myers joined the firm after retiring from the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest state court in California. It is headquartered in San Francisco and regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts.-Composition:...
. The current chair of the firm, Arthur B. Culvahouse, Jr.
Arthur B. Culvahouse, Jr.
Arthur B. Culvahouse, Jr. is the Chair of O’Melveny & Myers, an international law firm of more than 1,000 lawyers with offices around the world...
, who serves at the firm's Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
office, is the former White House Counsel during the Reagan Administration. Former U.S. Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Warren Christopher
Warren Christopher
Warren Minor Christopher was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician. During Bill Clinton's first term as President, Christopher served as the 63rd Secretary of State. He also served as Deputy Attorney General in the Lyndon Johnson administration, and as Deputy Secretary of State in the Jimmy...
(1925-2011), who served as the firm's Chairman from 1981-1991, was a Senior Partner at the firm's Century City, CA office.
O’Melveny & Myers attorneys represent clients in many areas, including antitrust
Antitrust
The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
and competitiveness issues, appellate work, aviation law
Aviation law
Aviation law is the branch of law that concerns flight, air travel, and associated legal and business concerns. Some of its area of concern overlaps that of admiralty law and in many cases, aviation law is considered a matter of international law due to the nature of air travel. However, the...
, capital markets, class-action
Class action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
defense, corporate law
Corporate law
Corporate law is the study of how shareholders, directors, employees, creditors, and other stakeholders such as consumers, the community and the environment interact with one another. Corporate law is a part of a broader companies law...
, entertainment and media law, finance and restructuring, "global enforcement" and criminal defense, healthcare law, insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
and mass tort
Tort
A tort, in common law jurisdictions, is a wrong that involves a breach of a civil duty owed to someone else. It is differentiated from a crime, which involves a breach of a duty owed to society in general...
s, intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
and technology, labor and employment law, mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling, dividing and combining of different companies and similar entities that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of origin, or a new field or...
, private equity
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
, project development and real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
, SEC, securities litigation, strategic counseling, tax law
Tax law
Tax law is the codified system of laws that describes government levies on economic transactions, commonly called taxes.-Major issues:Primary taxation issues facing the governments world over include;* taxes on income and wealth...
, and trial and litigation work.
Notable partners and alumni
- Former associate Michael ArringtonMichael ArringtonJ. Michael Arrington is the founder and former co-editor of TechCrunch, a blog covering the Silicon Valley technology start-up communities and the wider technology field in USA and elsewhere...
founder and former co-editor of TechCrunchTechCrunchTechCrunch is a web publication that offers technology news and analysis, as well as profiling of startup companies, products, and websites. It was founded by Michael Arrington in 2005, and was first published on June 11, 2005.... - Former partner Louis CalderaLouis CalderaLouis Caldera was Director of the White House Military Office from January 20, 2009, until May 22, 2009, and served as the 17th United States Secretary of the Army from July 2, 1998, until January 20, 2001.-Family and education:...
served as United States Secretary of the ArmyUnited States Secretary of the ArmyThe Secretary of the Army is a civilian official within the Department of Defense of the United States of America with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, installations, environmental issues, weapons systems and...
. - Warren ChristopherWarren ChristopherWarren Minor Christopher was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician. During Bill Clinton's first term as President, Christopher served as the 63rd Secretary of State. He also served as Deputy Attorney General in the Lyndon Johnson administration, and as Deputy Secretary of State in the Jimmy...
(1925-2011), former U.S. Secretary of State under President Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, was previously a Senior Partner at the firm's Century City, CA office. - William T. ColemanWilliam Thaddeus Coleman, Jr.William Thaddeus Coleman, Jr. was the fourth United States Secretary of Transportation, from March 7, 1975 to January 20, 1977, and the second African American to serve in the Cabinet...
, was Secretary of Transportation under President Gerald FordGerald FordGerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
, and also helped Thurgood MarshallThurgood MarshallThurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
win Brown vs. Board of Education. Currently a senior partner and the Senior Counselor in the Washington, DC office. - Arthur B. Culvahouse, Jr.Arthur B. Culvahouse, Jr.Arthur B. Culvahouse, Jr. is the Chair of O’Melveny & Myers, an international law firm of more than 1,000 lawyers with offices around the world...
, former White House CounselWhite House CounselThe White House Counsel is a staff appointee of the President of the United States.-Role:The Counsel's role is to advise the President on all legal issues concerning the President and the White House...
to President Ronald ReaganRonald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. He is the current Chair of the firm and works out of the Washington, DC office. - Walter E. Dellinger IIIWalter E. Dellinger IIIWalter Estes Dellinger III is the Douglas B. Maggs Professor of Law at Duke University and head of the appellate practice at O’Melveny & Myers in Washington, D.C. He also currently leads Harvard Law School's . He served as the acting United States Solicitor General for the 1996-1997 Term of the...
was United States Solicitor GeneralUnited States Solicitor GeneralThe United States Solicitor General is the person appointed to represent the federal government of the United States before the Supreme Court of the United States. The current Solicitor General, Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 6, 2011 and sworn in on June...
for the 1996-97 Term of the Supreme Court. Currently a partner at the Washington, DC office. - Former partner Sandra Segal IkutaSandra Segal IkutaSandra Segal Ikuta is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.- Background :Ikuta received a master's in journalism from Columbia University in 1978. She had previously attended Stanford University for two years before moving to University of California,...
is a federal judgeFederal judgeFederal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state / provincial / local level.-Brazil:In Brazil, federal judges of first instance are chosen exclusively by public contest...
on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
. - Former associate Goodwin LiuGoodwin LiuGoodwin Hon Liu is an American lawyer and educator who currently serves as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California. Before his appointment by California Governor Jerry Brown, Liu was Associate Dean and Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law...
is an Associate Justice of the California Supreme CourtSupreme Court of CaliforniaThe Supreme Court of California is the highest state court in California. It is headquartered in San Francisco and regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts.-Composition:...
. - Former partner Kim McLane WardlawKim McLane WardlawKim McLane Wardlaw is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, with chambers in Pasadena, California.-Education and legal training:...
is a federal judgeFederal judgeFederal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state / provincial / local level.-Brazil:In Brazil, federal judges of first instance are chosen exclusively by public contest...
on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
. - Former partner Michael ZimmermanMichael Zimmerman (sensei)Michael Zimmerman is a prominent attorney, a former justice of the Utah Supreme Court, and a Zen teacher at Kanzeon Zen Center located in Salt Lake City, Utah. He received shiho from his teacher Dennis Genpo Merzel in December 2006. Zimmerman, the former Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court,...
is a former Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court.
Notable cases
During the savings and loan crisisSavings and Loan crisis
The savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s was the failure of about 747 out of the 3,234 savings and loan associations in the United States...
, the FDIC
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. , the FDIC insures deposits at...
sued O'Melveny & Myers for providing incompetent legal advice
Legal advice
In the common law, legal advice is the giving of a formal opinion regarding the substance or procedure of the law by an officer of the court , ordinarily in exchange for financial or other tangible compensation...
to one S&L. In the resulting U.S. Supreme Court case, O'Melveny & Myers v. FDIC, , the firm won on the narrow issue of whether federal or state law should govern the firm's defense that the FDIC was estopped
Estoppel
Estoppel in its broadest sense is a legal term referring to a series of legal and equitable doctrines that preclude "a person from denying or asserting anything to the contrary of that which has, in contemplation of law, been established as the truth, either by the acts of judicial or legislative...
from pursuing it because the FDIC was the S&L's successor-in-interest.
In January 2008, the Interim Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Peter Nickles, selected O’Melveny & Myers partner Walter E. Dellinger III
Walter E. Dellinger III
Walter Estes Dellinger III is the Douglas B. Maggs Professor of Law at Duke University and head of the appellate practice at O’Melveny & Myers in Washington, D.C. He also currently leads Harvard Law School's . He served as the acting United States Solicitor General for the 1996-1997 Term of the...
to defend the constitutionality of the District's handgun ban before the Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller
District of Columbia v. Heller
District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 , was a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for traditionally lawful purposes in federal enclaves, such as...
. In March 2008, Dellinger argued that the city's ban on the possession of handguns and its trigger lock
Trigger lock
A trigger lock is a device designed to prevent a firearm from being discharged while the device is in place. Generally, two pieces come together from either side behind the trigger and are locked in place, which can be unlocked with a key or combination. This physically prevents the trigger from...
requirement is not implicated by the Second Amendment
Second Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights.In 2008 and 2010, the Supreme Court issued two Second...
. However, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, held that the Second Amendment protects an individual's "right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home."
In February 2008, Dellinger argued before the Supreme Court in Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker
Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker
Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, 554 U.S. 471 , was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. The Court ruled in a 5-3 decision that the punitive damages awarded to the victims of the Exxon Valdez oil spill should be reduced from US$2.5 billion to US$500 million.The case was appealed...
, on behalf of Exxon
Exxon
Exxon is a chain of gas stations as well as a brand of motor fuel and related products by ExxonMobil. From 1972 to 1999, Exxon was the corporate name of the company previously known as Standard Oil Company of New Jersey or Jersey Standard....
regarding the Exxon Valdez
Exxon Valdez
Oriental Nicety, formerly Exxon Valdez, Exxon Mediterranean, SeaRiver Mediterranean, S/R Mediterranean, Mediterranean, and Dong Fang Ocean is an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince William Sound spilling hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil in Alaska...
oil spill. The Supreme Court, in a 5-3 decision (Justice Alito had recused himself), reduced the $2.5 billion punitive damages award against Exxon to $507.5 million, holding that in maritime cases there should be a 1:1 ratio between punitive and compensatory (actual) damages.
The firm represented the Los Angeles Unified School District
Los Angeles Unified School District
Los Angeles Unified School District is the largest public school system in California. It is the 2nd largest public school district in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population...
(LAUSD) in the lawsuits over the Belmont Learning Center
Belmont Learning Center
Edward R. Roybal Learning Center, formerly known as Belmont Learning Center, the Vista Hermosa Learning Center, Central Los Angeles High School 11, or the City West project is a secondary school and park located at 1200 Colton Street in the Westlake area of Los Angeles, California, United...
in Los Angeles in the 1990s. LAUSD later sued the firm for alleged malpractice due, in part, to the involvement of its attorneys on all sides of the negotiations. The lawsuit eventually settled, with the law firm paying $3 million towards completion of Belmont.
In September 1991 the firm represented, pro bono, community gang abatement specialist Ronald Lazar, StreetPeace, and nine other plaintiffs in a precedent-setting consolidated small claims action on appeal, Rawlings, et al v. Crumpton, establishing an important, powerful tool in crime prevention.
Office locations
- BeijingBeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
- BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
- Century City
- Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
- LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
- Newport BeachNewport Beach, CaliforniaNewport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...
- New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
- San FranciscoSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
- ShanghaiShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
- Silicon ValleySilicon ValleySilicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
- SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
- TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
- Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....