O'Melveny & Myers, LLP, an international law firm based in Los Angeles, California, is truly a global power. Established in 1885, O'Melveny & Myers started as a two-lawyer partnership in what was then the frontier town of Los Angeles. It has grown to be one of the largest and most distinguished law firms in Los Angeles and worldwide.
O'Melveny & Myers, LLP, is an international law firm based in Los Angeles, CA.
Not long after its inception, the firm found itself in the middle of a ripe market for legal services, as land and population booms transformed Los Angeles from a sleepy village into one of the most important cities in the country. O'Melveny kept up with the demand, serving clients in industries as diverse as aircraft, oil, motion picture, and utility services.
Located at 400 South Hope Street in downtown Los Angeles, this prestigious firm boasts a strong global presence with offices in 13 cities, including San Francisco, New York, Washington, DC, London, Brussels, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, and Tokyo. With more than 1,000 lawyers in its employ, O'Melveny & Myers offers expert representation in numerous practice areas, including aviation, business restructuring and reorganization, class action defense, entertainment and media, global trade, healthcare, intellectual property, tax, and varied capital law.
O'Melveny & Myers maintains an exceptional client list that includes top companies, financial institutions, and organizations. UBS Investment Bank; Bear, Sterns & Co., Inc.; Southern California Edison; Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products; and Neutrogena Corporation are but a few of O'Melveny and Myers's top clients, and the firm helps industry leaders across a broad array of sectors manage the complex challenges of succeeding in the global economy.
O'Melveny & Myers's expansion soared in the 1980s as the law firm opened four new branch offices in New York City, Tokyo, San Francisco, and London. Some of the London office's representative clients were Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.; Bankers Trust Company; Bankers Trust International, PLC; Goldman Sachs International; Dresdner Kleinwort Benson; and Korn/Ferry International. More offices were started in the 1990s, including the Hong Kong office in 1994. In 1996, the law firm gained approval from the People's Republic of China to start a registered law office in Shanghai. The firm's website claimed in 2000, "O'Melveny & Myers is only one of a few international law firms to be granted this status, and our Shanghai office is now the largest foreign law office in the city."
Many of the firm's attorneys have served at the highest levels of government under both Republican and Democrat administrations. One of O'Melveny & Myers's most prominent lawyers is former Secretary of State Warren Christopher. He had served President Lyndon Johnson as deputy attorney general and President Jimmy Carter as deputy secretary of state before serving President Bill Clinton as his secretary of state. In a humorous aside, at the 1999 unveiling of his portrait at the Department of State, attended by President Clinton, he remarked, "To anyone who has served in Washington, there is something oddly familiar about [having your portrait painted]. First, you're painted into a corner, then you're hung out to dry, and, finally, you're framed." Christopher was a major force in the international growth of the firm as its chairman from 1982 to 1992. As O'Melveny & Myers's senior partner, he was chosen as one of California's 10 most influential lawyers. He is currently a partner at the Century City office in Los Angeles.
There are several other notable partners who have been associated with O'Melveny & Myers. Daniel Petrocelli achieved fame as the attorney who won the successful wrongful death lawsuit against O.J. Simpson brought by Ronald Goldman's family. Petrocelli also represented Jeffrey Skilling in his criminal prosecution after the collapse of the Enron Corporation.
Walter Dellinger was Solicitor General of the United States for the 1996-1997 term of the Supreme Court. Current chair of the firm Arthur B. Culvahouse, Jr., served as White House Counsel under President Ronald Reagan. Alejandro Mayorkas served as U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, the largest federal judicial district in the nation. He supervised more than 240 assistant U.S. attorneys and oversaw the investigation and prosecution of cases involving complex securities and financial institution fraud, international money laundering, civil rights violations, organized crime, narcotics trafficking, and racketeering.
O'Melveny & Myers has a long-standing tradition of procuring pro bono service that ranges from firm founder John O'Melveny's role as co-founder of The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles to the firm's current work with legal organizations like The Alliance for Children's Rights, Habitat for Humanity, and New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. When asked to pick the law firm they most admired in 25 metropolitan areas, nearly 1,000 directors of public corporations chose O'Melveny & Myers.
Now, 122 years after its inception, O'Melveny & Myers is not only one of the most esteemed law firms in the country but also one of the most profitable. It came in at number 15 on the 2006 Am Law 100 based on its gross revenue of more than $800 million, surpassing such heavyweights as Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett; Davis, Polk & Wardwell; and Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. According to a survey conducted by Corporate Board Member magazine featured in the July/August 2007 special legal issue, "America's Best Corporate Law Firms," O'Melveny ranked as the top corporate law firm in Los Angeles and ranked 15th nationwide.
The firm's litigation department wins tremendous support from clients and competitors alike. Named "Litigation Department of the Year" in 2004 by The American Lawyer, the firm was honored for generating "exceptional results in a string of cases of national and international importance." The American Lawyer noted not only O'Melveny's representations of high-profile clients but also the firm's "culture centered on teamwork and collegiality" as reasons for the honor. Los Angeles-based O'Melveny partner M. Randall Oppenheimer states that "collegiality is more than a quality-of-life issue [at O'Melveny.] It's a competitive advantage."
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