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O'Melveny & Myers

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O'Melveny & Myers LLP
Headquarters400 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071, US
No. of offices18
No. of attorneys800
Major practice areasLitigation, Transactions and Regulatory
Key peopleBradley J. Butwin, Firm Chairman
Revenue$1.02 billion (2022)[1]
Date foundedJanuary 2, 1885; 139 years ago (1885-01-02)
FounderHenry O'Melveny and Jackson Graves
Websiteomm.com Edit this at Wikidata

O'Melveny & Myers LLP is an American multinational law firm founded in Los Angeles in 1885. The firm employs approximately 740 lawyers and has offices in California, Washington, D.C., New York City, Beijing, Brussels, Hong Kong, London, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo.

History

The firm was founded on January 2, 1885 as "Graves & O'Melveny" by Henry O'Melveny and Jackson Graves.[2] At its founding, the firm consisted of the two attorneys themselves, with zero staff.[2] The original one-paragraph written partnership agreement provided that "proceeds and expenses of said business" were to be split with three-fifths to Graves and two-fifths to O'Melveny, "until some other rate of division is agreed upon".[2] The firm started with a single one-room office in an office building at 248 North Main Street in Los Angeles.[2] That building was renumbered in 1904 to 342 North Main Street and was later demolished when the Santa Ana Freeway was built through its site.[2]

The firm gained traction through its work on land litigation surrounding the ownership of California's Spanish haciendas and its handling of the legalities of hydroelectric power, which helped to transform the arid basin of Los Angeles into a car-centric metropolis.[3] The firm became "O'Melveny & Myers" when Chief Justice of California Louis Wescott Myers joined the firm after retiring from the Supreme Court of California in 1926.

In 1977, O'Melveny hired William T. Coleman, Jr., who had helped the country move toward desegregation 23 years prior as a lead strategist for the plaintiffs in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education.[3]

The former chair of the firm, Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr., who serves at the firm's Washington, D.C. office, was 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 to 1991, was a senior partner at the firm's Century City, California, office. Christopher supervised the largest period of growth in the firm's history, expanding to seven countries.[3] Litigation partner Bradley J. Butwin became chair of the firm in 2012; his term extends until 2025.[4]

The firm defended Donald Trump against a lawsuit over Trump University.[5] O'Melveny vetted the president's nominees.[clarification needed][6][7] The firm represented the Trump inaugural committee when it was investigated by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.[8] O'Melveny also represented President Trump's commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, over allegations of conflicted investments.[9]

In November 2023, amid a wave of antisemitic incidents at elite U.S. law schools, O'Melveny & Myers was among a group of major law firms who sent a letter to top law school deans warning them that an escalation in incidents targeting Jewish students would have corporate hiring consequences. The letter said "We look to you to ensure your students who hope to join our firms after graduation are prepared to be an active part of workplace communities that have zero tolerance policies for any form of discrimination or harassment, much less the kind that has been taking place on some law school campuses."[10]

Reputation

The firm ranked number one on Vault.com's 2019 list of "Best Firms to Work For," a ranking of the world's law firms based on quality of life for attorneys. It received the highest rankings for "Job Satisfaction", "Associate/Partner Relations", "Best Firm Culture", "Quality of work", "Transparency", "Hours Requirements", "Summer Associate Program", and "Attorney Development."[11] The firm ranked number six for "Best Attorney Compensation." According to Above the Law, first-year associates at the firm are paid a base salary of $215,000 with bonuses available yearly.[12] Summer associates are paid the same salary, although it is prorated over 10 weeks (amounting to $3,700 per week).[3] Vault ranked O'Melveny as the 4th most selective law firm in the world in 2019.[11] However, a former attorney of the firm, and winner of the Wall Street Journal's "Law Blog's" Lawyer of the Year award in 2007, has criticized the firm's handling of discrimination and sexual abuse matters.[13]

O'Melveny ranked in the Top 10 for the 5th consecutive year on the 2016 "A-List," a measure of the nation's most "well-rounded" firms.[14] The firm has been a winner, finalist, or honorable mention recipient in every year of the biennial Litigation Department of the Year contest since its 2002 inception, one of only two firms to achieve that distinction.

It is one of the highest-paying law firms in the United States.[11]

Notable clients and cases

Notable partners and alumni

In culture

In an episode of The Sopranos, a DOJ prosecutor is heard saying, "He ruined his six-figure future at O'Melveny & Myers when he blew the Junior Soprano trial."[19]

References

  1. ^ Mitchell, Rick (March 7, 2023). "Wake Up Call: O'Melveny Tops $1 Billion Revenues in 'Best Year'". Bloomberg Law.
  2. ^ a b c d e Clary, William W. (1966). History of the Law Firm of O'Melveny & Myers, 1885-1965, Volume I. Los Angeles: O'Melveny & Myers. p. 1.
  3. ^ a b c d "O'Melveny & Myers LLP - Company Profile". Vault.com.
  4. ^ "O'Melveny Re-Elects Chair Bradley Butwin to Serve Until 2025".
  5. ^ Rufus Koren, James (October 21, 2016). "Trump attorneys seek to block testimony from Times columnist".
  6. ^ McGraw, Meredith (July 11, 2016). "What to Know About the Washington Lawyer Vetting Trump's Potential VPs".
  7. ^ Cook, Nancy (November 23, 2016). "Inside Trump's freewheeling vetting operation".
  8. ^ Kim, Ellis (February 4, 2019). "O'Melveny & Myers Reps Trump Inaugural Committee Amid New York Investigation".
  9. ^ Mufson, Steven (August 17, 2018). "Commerce secretary faces scrutiny for investments, not selling certain holdings".
  10. ^ Sorkin, Andrew Ross; Mattu, Ravi; Warner, Bernhard; Kessler, Sarah; Merced, Michael J. de la; Hirsch, Lauren; Livni, Ephrat (2 November 2023). "Law Firms Warn Universities About Antisemitism on Campus". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  11. ^ a b c "O'Melveny & Myers LLP Company Rankings". Vault.com.
  12. ^ Zaretsky, Staci (January 21, 2022). "Salary Wars Scorecard: Firms That Have Announced Raises (2022)". Above the Law. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  13. ^ Baxter, Brian (March 30, 2018). "'Loyola 2L,' Once Retired, Returns Amid Call to End Law Firm NDAs". Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  14. ^ "O'Melveny Named To American Lawyer's A-List for Fifth Consecutive Year" (Press release). August 1, 2016.
  15. ^ "Reuters: In Landmark Ruling, South Korea's Top Court Confirms State Benefits for Gay Couples". July 18, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  16. ^ "Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Appoints Sri Srinivasan as Principal Deputy Solicitor General" (Press release). United States Department of Justice. August 26, 2011.
  17. ^ "The Jackson Brothers Tour Is Set To Fly". Los Angeles Sentinel. June 14, 1984.
  18. ^ "Ex-Biden chief of staff Ron Klain rejoins law firm O'Melveny". The Hill. April 17, 2023.
  19. ^ Coopster4 (June 4, 2007), O'Melveny & Myers "Sopranos" Reference, YouTube, archived from the original on 2021-12-12{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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