Daniel Petrocelli
Partner
Daniel Petrocelli is a partner in O’Melveny’s Century City office and Chair of the Business Trial and Litigation practice. Dan has a national trial practice representing clients in major litigation in a wide variety of areas, including sports, entertainment, intellectual property, unfair competition, business torts, securities, employment law, and criminal defense.
Legal 500 ranks Dan as one of the country’s top 20 trial lawyers and
Chambers USA ranks him as a leading lawyer in General Commercial Litigation and Entertainment and Media Litigation.
Legal 500 began its description of Dan by stating: “Los Angeles based Daniel Petrocelli is emerging as one of the leading lawyers of his generation,” and
Chambers quotes sources calling him “just brilliant” and “a great trial lawyer.” Dan has been ranked in both guides for several consecutive years, with
Chambers calling him “nationally renowned for acting on large-scale, complex litigation,” and
Legal 500 quoting a source describing Dan as “absolutely outstanding in court” in prior years. Dan recently was featured on the cover of
Super Lawyers Magazine, and in
Variety as one of the industry’s “50 Game-Changing Entertainment Attorneys.” Dan is a frequent national commentator on trials and other legal issues, as well as a featured speaker on legal issues at business groups, bar and judges associations, and citizens groups.
Daniel’s illustrative professional experience includes trials and other litigation matters for such clients as Allergan, Inc.; Alpha Therapeutic; Antonio Margarito; Azoff Entertainment; Barnes & Noble, Inc.; Berry Gordy, Jr.; Cintas Corp.; Colony Capital, Inc.; Emmanuel Pacquiao; ExxonMobil; Fireman’s Fund; Fred Goldman Family; Guess, Inc.; Hollywood Foreign Press Association; Jeffrey K. Skilling; Lennar Corp.; Lenny Dykstra; Live Nation; MGM, Inc.; Miramax Films; Motown Records; National RV, Inc.; Occidental Petroleum; Rexnord LLC; Skechers USA, Inc.; Top Rank, Inc.; Unocal Corp.; Walt Disney Co.; Warner Bros. Inc.; and Yahoo!, Inc.
Professional Activities
Admitted to Practice, US District Court, Central and Northern Districts of California; US District Court, District of Colorado; US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit; U.S. Supreme Court
Member, Trial Advocacy Board, ABA Litigation Section; Board of Trustees, Southwestern University School of Law; Board of Directors, The Alliance for Children’s Rights; Los Angeles County Bar Association, Antitrust and Unfair Competition Sections; ABA’s Litigation Section and Corporate Counsel Committee; California Bar Association, Antitrust and Unfair Competition Sections; Association of Business Trial Lawyers
Author, "Outside the Courtroom,"
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, Larry King, Phoenix Books (2006); "Effective Witness Preparation,"
California Litigation (Spring 1999);
Triumph of Justice: The Final Judgment on the Simpson Saga, Random House (1998); "Opening Statements under California Law,"
Los Angeles Lawyer (March 1989)
Recipient, Recognized by
Variety magazine for excellence in the area of entertainment law; Southwestern University Alumnus of the Year; Century City Bar Association Litigator of the Year; Malibu Bar Association Trial Lawyer of the Year; San Diego Trial Lawyers Association Trial Lawyer of the Year; one of Los Angeles’ Top 50 Litigators by the
Los Angeles Business Journal; one of the Lawyers of the Year by
California Lawyer; named a “Super Lawyer” in a survey published in
Los Angeles magazine; appears in
Best Lawyers in America in the area of Bet-The-Company Litigation; named a “Leading Lawyer in Litigation” by
Guide to the World’s Litigation Lawyers; named one of the top General Commercial lawyers in
Benchmark Litigation:
The Definitive Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys; named one of Southern California's Best Lawyers in a magazine published in the
Los Angeles Times; ranked to
Chambers USA,
Legal 500 US, and many directories.