Firm overview
It’s more than what you do: it’s how you do it. At O’Melveny, we measure our success by our ability to help our clients and communities succeed. And as lawyers who prioritize service, we aim to make the experience of working with us as satisfying as the outcomes we achieve. Across sectors and borders, in boardrooms and courtrooms, our team brings dedication, depth, and creativity to every endeavor.
O’Melveny’s reputation as a litigation powerhouse is built on a long record of delivering successful—and often groundbreaking—results in high-impact cases. Exemplifying what Benchmark Litigation calls O’Melveny’s “commanding presence on the world stage,” our lawyers litigate cases in all 50 states, every federal circuit, the US Supreme Court, and major venues across Asia and Europe. And we achieve favorable outcomes at every stage of litigation: positive trial verdicts, case-dispositive legal rulings, landmark appellate victories, and liability-erasing settlements.
A few of our recent achievements and engagements:
• Advanced Micro Devices. Secured dismissal of two related class actions arising from an alleged security vulnerability that affects nearly all computer microprocessors.
• AT&T–Time Warner. Successfully defended the companies’ landmark US$85.4 billion merger against the US Department of Justice in the “antitrust trial of the century.”
• Chevron Corp. Defeated an ERISA class action filed on behalf of current and former participants in Chevron’s 401(k) plan—one of several suits O’Melveny has defended targeting the management of employee retirement plans.
• China Agritech, Inc. Scored an important win for class-action defendants when the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled that statutes of limitations cannot be extended to permit follow-on class actions.
• Century Indemnity Co. Persuaded the New York Court of Appeals to adopt a methodology for allocating insurance coverage favoring insurers, a far-reaching victory that limits what costs are recoverable—and who bears responsibility for them—when insurance is “unavailable” in the market.
• Colgate-Palmolive Co. Representing Colgate subsidiary Hill’s Pet Nutrition in more than 21 putative class actions arising from Hill’s voluntary recall of certain pet foods that, due to a supplier error, contained potentially elevated levels of vitamin D—an otherwise essential nutrient.
• Government of Puerto Rico. Guiding the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico through the restructuring of more than US$70 billion in public-sector debt and US$50 billion of pension obligations—the most closely watched and largest restructuring in recent years.
• Harvard University. Achieved a summary judgment victory in a widely covered Title IX case involving allegations of campus sexual assault.
• Johnson & Johnson. Won a complete defense verdict in the first bellwether trial in a California Coordinated Proceeding involving the antipsychotic medication Risperdal and complete dismissal of an opioid lawsuit in Connecticut—one of some 2,000 such cases O’Melveny is defending for J&J in landmark litigation across the country.
• Pacific Gas & Electric. California Governor Gavin Newsom hired O’Melveny to work with his team to develop a comprehensive legal, legislative and regulatory approach to the issues facing California’s electric utilities and to provide strategic advice in connection with the PG&E bankruptcy.
• Samsung. Defeated antitrust claims seeking treble damages of more than US$3 billion in multidistrict litigation alleging the company conspired to fix prices of optical disk drives, a key component for reading and writing data on CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray Discs.
• University of Southern California. Represented the board of trustees in an internal investigation and corporate governance matters related to the university’s knowledge of and response to alleged misconduct by a physician at the student health center.
• United Airlines. Secured two major summary judgment wins for United confirming that California labor-and-employment law does not apply to individuals who work primarily outside the State’s borders.
• Warner Bros. Successfully defended the renowned studio in well-publicized copyright disputes over The Conjuring franchise, including a US$900 million claim by an author who alleged six movies from the franchise infringed his book.
Our capabilities don’t stop there. As we detail on
www.omm.com, O’Melveny has the depth and reach to cover specialties as diverse as Automated Vehicles, Fintech, Life Sciences and Water. We also handle:
Antitrust: Keen observers of the regulatory and political environment, whether extricating clients from legal challenges early and efficiently or achieving groundbreaking results in high-exposure cases.
Appellate: A renowned team of US Supreme Court specialists, having briefed the Justices and argued scores of cases over the past two decades.
Consumer Class Actions and Product Liability: Unparalleled experience working with a wide range of businesses facing class actions and other aggregated litigation to advance their goals and protect their interests.
Data Security and Privacy: Proven leaders in the public sector, including former senior officials from DHS, DOJ, US Attorney’s Offices, and the White House, ready to help clients respond to rapidly evolving risks and requirements.
Entertainment, Sports and Media: Recognized as key players in some of largest victories in the industry, spanning film, television, sports, music, production, and distribution.
Financial Services: Essential industry knowledge and experience to help clients navigate the challenges posed in a climate of intense regulatory scrutiny and increasing litigation.
Insurance: Seasoned advocates in the most challenging coverage and reinsurance cases, including mass tort and environmental actions.
Intellectual Property and Technology: Bringing an in-depth understanding of industry niches and specialized technical and scientific backgrounds to help companies enforce and defend their IP rights.
Labor and Employment: Equipped to confront the most critical issues employers encounter, including high-stakes wage-and-hour class actions, discrimination and wrongful discharge claims, and union disputes.
Securities Litigation: A trusted source of innovative solutions for clients navigating securities-related actions, with a decades-long track record of pretrial and trial victories.
White Collar Defense and Corporate Investigations: Drawing on a wealth of experience inside key federal and state enforcement agencies to conduct internal investigations and craft effective defense strategies for clients facing government scrutiny.
Last Updated September 2019
