O’Melveny’s Entertainment, Project Finance, and Transportation Practices Named Law360 Groups of the Year
February 6, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW YORK—February 6, 2018—Law360 named O’Melveny’s Entertainment & Media, Project Finance, and Transportation groups among its 2017 Practice Groups of the Year. All three practice groups have previously made the list, and it’s the fifth consecutive year that the Entertainment & Media Practice has been recognized.
Law360 observed that in 2017 the Entertainment & Media Practice “freed the Walt Disney Co. from a copyright feud in federal court over the film ‘Zootopia’ and represented Lionsgate in its joint $1 billion sale of premium pay television network Epix to Metro Goldwyn Mayer.” The publication noted that in addition to its litigation expertise, the practice is also known for its corporate and transactional work. Matthew Erramouspe, co-chair of the practice, said that this breadth of experience allows the firm to represent clients “from their formation through their entire life cycle, both on the transactional side and on the litigation side.”
The profile of the practice also highlighted the firm’s work for Imagine Entertainment in its $100 million co-financing venture with Hong Kong-based TVB, which partner Silvia Vannini described as a “particularly difficult transaction that we were all very happy to get done for the client,” as well as Alibaba’s expanded partnership with the Pac-12, and AT&T and Time Warner in the US Department of Justice’s challenge to their merger. “There hasn’t been a vertical merger litigated and blocked by the government since Richard Nixon was president,” said partner Dan Petrocelli, who leads the firm’s work in the case.
“Behind many of the country’s largest infrastructure and energy projects rising up today, including a more than US$4 billion redevelopment at New York’s LaGuardia Airport and a groundbreaking wind project in Texas, stands O’Melveny & Myers LLP’s project finance team,” Law360 wrote in its profile of the practice. This marks the second year Law360 named the group among its Practice Groups of the Year.
The group “specializes in herding large, complicated developments—and quite often redevelopments—from start to the finish line, as well as securing financing for many complex projects,” Law360 noted, citing its work for the airports and energy industries.
As the profile notes, O’Melveny has a long history when it comes to infrastructure, dating back to early gas and water projects in California. “The expertise and client relations that we developed back then, over 75 years ago, really shaped our infrastructure practice today,” practice co-chair Eric Richards said.
This also marks the second year in a row O’Melveny’s Transportation team was named a Practice Group of the Year, earning a spot by handling everything from “shepherding development of the California High-Speed Rail project to representing autonomous driving companies and securing victories for airlines.” Law360 noted that the firm has worked to grow its expertise in various areas of transportation, particularly aviation, citing its role in litigation over pilot slowdowns at Spirit Airlines and Atlas Air. "We wanted to combine industry expertise with substantive law expertise because we saw from our experience that it would provide better service," said LA-based partner Robert Siegel, who was recently named a Law360 Transportation MVP.
Law360 also noted the firm’s work in autonomous vehicles for clients such as Otto Trucking, Savari, and Harmon International, efforts that Silicon Valley partner Melody Drummond Hansen told Law360 require negotiating a “complicated web of concerns.” And it cited the practice’s work in major infrastructure projects such as high-speed rail and airport construction, including California High-Speed Rail Authority and new construction at airports in Houston, Denver, Los Angeles, and elsewhere. Partner Eric Richards told Law360 that airline clients like United, Delta, and Southwest have increasingly turned to the firm to help them improve the customer experience at their airports.
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Contact:
Christine M. Till
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
202.383.5237
ctill@omm.com