O’Melveny Worldwide

Aaron Henson

Counsel

Los Angeles Office
Areas of Focus
Areas of Focus
Litigation & Investigations
Product Liability & Mass Torts
Supreme Court & Appellate Litigation
Overview Experience Insights News Credentials

Aaron Henson is a litigation counsel in O’Melveny’s Los Angeles office, practicing primarily in the Product Liability & Mass Torts and Supreme Court & Appellate Litigation practice groups. Aaron’s practice focuses on creating, coordinating, and executing legal strategy at the trial court and on appeal, with a special emphasis on mass tort, catastrophic injury, and other high-stakes complex tort litigation.

Aaron has broad experience across a range of industries, subject matters, and stages of litigation, and he has briefed, argued, or consulted on cases at all levels of the state and federal judiciary—including in numerous state trial courts and federal district courts, the California Court of Appeal, the California Supreme Court, and the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In one high-profile appeal involving cutting-edge issues of federal and state arbitration law, the Ninth Circuit praised Aaron for his “excellent, excellent briefing.” Besides his appellate practice, Aaron often joins cases long before any trial or appeal, bringing an appellate perspective to pre-trial law-and-motion practice and other law-intensive aspects of trial court litigation. Aaron has particular expertise in overseeing the day-to-day management of law-and-motion teams in large-scale complex litigation, as well as serving as “embedded appellate counsel” on trial teams to help create, shape, and preserve the record for appeal.

Aaron is a graduate of Yale Law School and New York University. After law school, Aaron served as a law clerk to the Honorable Richard R. Clifton of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Honorable James V. Selna of the US District Court for the Central District of California. Before rejoining O’Melveny in 2022, Aaron practiced at an appellate litigation boutique in Los Angeles.

State trial courts

  • Coordinating legal strategy and leading law-and-motion team for global technology company in consumer-protection lawsuits brought by state attorneys general throughout the country challenging the alleged design of the company’s online platform
  • Coordinating legal strategy and leading law-and-motion team for global pharmaceutical manufacturer in public-nuisance and other tort actions brought by state and local governments and private hospitals, insurers, and individuals relating to the national opioid-abuse crisis
  • Coordinated legal strategy and led law-and-motion team for national energy company in mass-tort proceedings arising out of gas leak at natural gas storage facility
  • Coordinated legal strategy and led law-and-motion team in case alleging fraud, fiduciary breach, and financial elder abuse arising out of intrafamily estate planning transactions, resulting in highly favorable settlement for clients on eve of trial
  • Coordinated legal strategy and led law-and-motion team for multinational insurance company in insurance fraud and bad-faith coverage dispute, resulting in mid-trial “walkaway” settlement for client
  • Served as embedded appellate counsel in numerous catastrophic injury and other high-exposure personal-injury cases in state courts throughout California

State appellate courts

  • Briefed and won affirmance of judgment for public university system in breach of contract and fiduciary-breach case challenging administration of university retirement plan
  • Briefed, argued, and won over 80% reduction in punitive-damages award against property management company on grounds that the award was excessive and violated company’s due process rights
  • Briefed and won affirmance of order denying opposing party’s anti-SLAPP motion, allowing client to proceed on a defamation action against its business competitors
  • Briefed and won affirmance of order granting summary judgment for international engineering company in coverage dispute involving contractual indemnity provision
  • Briefed and won reversal of adverse judgment against business owner in commercial dispute over stolen ownership interest in company

Federal district and appellate courts

  • Briefed and won affirmance of order granting motion to dismiss in securities-fraud case against multibillion dollar media and internet company
  • Briefed and won affirmance of order granting motion to dismiss in ERISA fiduciary-breach case against multinational energy company
  • Briefed and won dismissal of fair-housing litigation alleging discriminatory lending practices against multinational financial services company
  • Briefed and won dismissal of putative nationwide class actions challenging legality of health insurer’s Medicare supplemental insurance program

Admissions

Bar Admissions

  • California

Court Admissions

  • US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • US District Court, Central District of California

Education

  • Yale Law School, J.D.
  • New York University, B.A., Philosophy

Professional Activities

Clerkships

  • The Honorable Richard R. Clifton, US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (2016-2017)
  • The Honorable James V. Selna, US District Court, Central District of California (2015-2016)
Related Practices
Litigation & Investigations
Product Liability & Mass Torts
Supreme Court & Appellate Litigation
Trials