Bradley J. Butwin Elected to Fourth Term as O’Melveny Chair
March 14, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW YORK—March 14, 2024—O’Melveny Chair Bradley J. Butwin has been reelected to lead his law firm for a fourth term, extending his tenure until 2029 and cementing his legacy as the longest-serving chair since the founding family of O’Melveny & Myers.
Butwin took O’Melveny’s helm in February 2012 after heading the firm’s Litigation Department. His fourth election as chair—nearly one year before the February 2025 start of a new four-year term—reflects the firm’s overwhelming support for Butwin’s leadership. It also signals his partners’ commitment to his vision and their appreciation of the successful course he has charted for O’Melveny.
“Once again, our partners have expressed their highest confidence in Brad’s leadership. For more than a dozen years, Brad has led with strength, integrity, and heart. He inspires our best while earning the trust of our clients around the world,” said O’Melveny partner David M. Deaton, lead director of the firm’s Policy Committee and chair of the Health Care Practice. “As our firm navigated the challenges of the pandemic, Brad’s leadership helped us emerge even stronger. We have expanded our range of client services and grown our diverse roster of talented lawyers. We are excited for the opportunities on the horizon, and we are confident that our clients will continue to benefit—and our firm will continue to thrive—with Brad as chair.”
Under Butwin’s leadership, O’Melveny has ranked for 12 consecutive years in the top tier of The American Lawyer’s “A-List,” which recognizes the nation’s most “well-rounded” firms in the areas of revenue per lawyer, pro bono commitment, diversity representation, and associate satisfaction. O’Melveny has also been a perennial honoree in The American Lawyer’s “Litigation Department of the Year” competition, a recent two-time #1 finisher in AmLaw’s Midlevel Associates Survey, and a repeat winner in Vault’s Law Firm Rankings, regularly earning top marks in the “Best Firm to Work For” and “Best Overall Diversity” categories.
Butwin has presided over a transformative chapter for O’Melveny, steering the firm through a period of strategic growth that spans the opening of the firm’s top-ranked Seoul office in 2012 to, more recently, the launch of three new Texas offices—and the addition of more than 70 lawyers—in Austin, Dallas, and Houston. He has also guided O’Melveny to nearly a decade of revenue growth, including crossing the billion-dollar revenue mark in 2022. In recognition of these and other achievements, the New York Law Journal recognized him with the 2023 “Distinguished Leader Award.”
“Brad is a tireless champion for our clients. He leads by example and expects the best from himself and from all of us,” added Daniel Petrocelli, chair of O’Melveny’s Trial Practice and a vice chair of the firm. “Brad’s steadfast stewardship of the firm, exemplified by his commitment to exceptional client service, has led O’Melveny to remarkable results for our clients and our firm. I join all my colleagues in congratulating Brad and proudly continuing our work together in serving our clients’ needs.”
“Reelection to a fourth term as O’Melveny chair is the honor of a lifetime, and I am humbled and gratified that my fellow partners have entrusted me to continue leading this wonderful firm I love,” said Butwin. “From its founding, O’Melveny has been a firm deeply rooted in values that remain a daily inspiration to us all: excellence, leadership, and citizenship. Those values drive our unwavering commitment to our clients, and we are rewarded by their loyalty to us. I am proud of the successes that we continue to achieve. And, in the years ahead, I will strive to ensure that we deliver even more extraordinary outcomes for our clients, deepen and expand our client partnerships, and foster the core values that make O’Melveny such a special place.”
As chair, Butwin has also maintained a widely acclaimed practice. Chambers USA has ranked him among the top securities litigators in the nation and has rated him one of the leading commercial litigators in New York, calling Butwin a “standout lawyer” who “is always reachable and responsive, [and] always wants to help.”
Beyond his legal industry leadership, Butwin devotes himself to numerous philanthropic and civic causes. Earlier in his career, he was presented with the New York City Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall Award for his role in freeing a wrongly convicted man from Georgia’s death row. More recently, he met the challenges of 2020-2022 by cofounding and serving on the Board of Advisors of the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance, which has united more than 300 firms in the fight against structural racism in the law. He is also a dedicated member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity; the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Advancing Diversity; and the New York Attorney General’s Pro Bono Task Force for Reproductive Health, formed in response to the US Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Additionally, Butwin is a board member of Only Make Believe, a nonprofit that creates and performs interactive theater for children in hospitals and care facilities.
A longtime supporter of his alma maters Fordham University School of Law and the University of Wisconsin, Butwin serves on the External Advisory Board of the University of Wisconsin’s School of Business and, at Fordham, is a member of both the Dean’s Planning Council and the Advisory Board of the Feerick Center for Social Justice, which recently recognized him with its Spirit of Service Award. The Fordham Law Alumni Association has also awarded Butwin its highest honor—the Medal of Achievement.
About O’Melveny
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Contact:
Brandon Jacobsen
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
+1 213 430 8024
bjacobsen@omm.com
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