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The ‘Giant Slayer,’ ‘Game Changer,’ and ‘Trusted Adviser’: The Recorder Honors Trio of O’Melveny Partners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Century City—November 15, 2017—O’Melveny partners James Bo Pearl, Daniel Petrocelli, and Andor Terner were all recently honored by The Recorder. Petrocelli and Pearl were recognized in the publication’s 2017 Litigation Departments of the Year report, and Terner was recognized in the 2017 Corporate Departments of the Year report. The three partners were also celebrated at The Recorder’s California Legal Awards, held in San Francisco on Nov. 16. The annual event brings together firm leaders, dealmakers, trial lawyers, in-house counsel, and thought leaders from government and academia to honor individuals who “have made a remarkable difference in the legal profession in California.”

The Recorder named Pearl a “Giant Slayer” for successfully representing pop star Kesha in her legal battle against the producer Dr. Luke, “winning a full dismissal in February 2016 for her manager and management in a prong of the sprawling suits in New York state court,” as The Recorder noted. “Since then, Pearl has helped clear the way for Kesha to release ‘Rainbow,’ her first new album after the legal dispute with Dr. Luke.” When it comes to representing the underdog going up against better-financed opponents in litigation, Pearl said: “Ultimately you just need to stay committed and focused that you will prevail in the end, notwithstanding the financial challenges you face along the way. In this case, Kesha simply could not go on recording with Dr. Luke. So she had no choice other than to simply stop practicing her livelihood, which was not a viable option.”

The Recorder singled out Petrocelli as a “Game Changer” for turning “the tide of the pre-1972 recording cases for Sirius XM and the broadcasting industry with a win in the New York Court of Appeals,” as The Recorder put it. “We developed new theories for approaching the case, including that it is the province of legislatures, not courts, to create broad new rights that never existed before and that affect many stakeholders,” Petrocelli told The Recorder in a Q&A, explaining the legal strategy behind his string of wins for Sirius.

Terner was honored as a “Trusted Adviser” for his work representing Alaska Air Group in its US$4.6 billion acquisition of Virgin America Inc., creating the fifth largest domestic airline, and Sabra Health Care REIT Inc. in its US$7.4 billion merger with Care Capital Properties Inc., “one of the year’s blockbuster airline industry mergers and one of its largest health-care REIT transactions,” The Recorder observed. Terner, who has relationships with clients that stretch over 20 years, reflected on why clients return in a Q&A with the publication: “In the company-side world in which I practice, what is most important to clients is that they consistently receive high-quality timely service at market-competitive rates. My partners and I work very hard to make sure that our clients don’t feel they have to choose between sophisticated legal support and pleasant, efficient service.”

Pearl, Managing Partner of the Century City office, represents companies in the entertainment, sports, and technology industries in their general business and antitrust litigation.

Chair of the Firm’s Trial Practice Committee, Century City-based Petrocelli 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.

Based in Newport Beach, Terner has a broad-based transactional practice focused primarily on mergers and acquisitions. In his practice, Terner guides public and private companies, along with private equity sponsors, in their most significant transactional matters, including acquisitions, dispositions, spin-offs, strategic investments and restructurings, as well as capital markets transactions.

About O’Melveny

O’Melveny’s clients define markets, set precedents, and break boundaries. They are stalwarts and innovators, the names you trust and the next big thing. And for more than a century, O’Melveny has been right beside them, kicking down walls and putting up defenses to help our clients achieve their most important goals. With approximately 700 lawyers in 15 offices worldwide guided by the principles of excellence, leadership, and citizenship, we uphold a tradition of treating our clients’ challenges and opportunities as our own. What do you want to achieve? For the answers, please visit www.omm.com.

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