Esteban Rodriguez is an accomplished litigator whose diverse practice focuses on defending companies in complex mass-tort cases, consumer class actions, commercial litigation, and lawsuits brought by government entities. A home-grown attorney, Esteban has been a critical member of O’Melveny teams handling some of the most complex and highest profile cases of the past decade. Esteban’s expertise includes defending companies against allegations of product liability, false advertising, unfair competition, public nuisance, and consumer fraud. Esteban has litigated such matters for clients across a broad spectrum of industries, including consumer products, life sciences, health care, financial services, sports, and entertainment.
A fluent Spanish-speaker, Esteban also has substantial experience advising and representing companies in cross-border litigation and investigations. In 2017, Esteban practiced as a visiting attorney in the Mexico City office of Pérez-Correa González, S.C., a top-tier Mexican law firm. There, Esteban defended companies in international arbitrations and commercial litigation matters implicating US laws.
Esteban is a recipient of the 2019 O’Melveny Warren Christopher Values Award, which recognizes attorneys who embody the firm’s values of excellence, leadership, and citizenship. He is the Hiring Partner for O’Melveny’s Los Angeles office, and previously served as the head of O’Melveny’s Latino/a Attorneys employee network. Esteban also devotes significant time to immigration-related pro bono matters, and he has tried multiple criminal jury trials and argued appellate matters as part of the firm’s pro bono Trial Advocacy Prosecution Program.
Outside of O’Melveny, Esteban serves on the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Board of Trustees and as Chair of the Board of Directors of Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, one of California’s largest and most prominent public interest law offices. Esteban also serves on the Board of Directors of ScholarMatch, an organization that assists first-generation college students in achieving affordable higher education.
In 2022, the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) recognized Esteban with the 2022 “Top Lawyers Under 40 Award.” The prestigious award honors lawyers who have demonstrated professional excellence, integrity, leadership, commitment to the Hispanic community, and dedication to improving the legal profession. Latino Leaders Magazine also named Esteban to its list of “Top Latino Lawyers” in 2022, which honors 50 lawyers annually nationwide who have established an impressive career track. And in 2024, the Los Angeles Business Journal recognized Esteban as one of its “Leaders of Influence: Minority Attorneys”—a testament to his impact and his role as a trusted advisor in the LA legal community.
Product Liability & Mass Tort
- For the past decade, Esteban has played a key role representing Johnson & Johnson in nationwide litigation and state attorneys general investigations concerning its opioid medications. Esteban’s extensive experience includes leading teams in defending J&J in federal multi-district litigation and lawsuits brought by state attorneys general, cities, counties, and other political subdivisions in California, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, and Pennsylvania, among other states. In 2019, Esteban was a member of the trial team that defended J&J in litigation brought by the State of Oklahoma, the nation’s first opioid case to go to trial.
- Represented Sempra Energy and Southern California Gas Company in mass tort litigation relating to the Aliso Canyon gas leak in Porter Ranch, California.
- Represented Amylin Pharmaceuticals, an AstraZeneca company, in nationwide product liability litigation over the diabetes drug Byetta®, including in securing the dismissal with prejudice of certain claims in McElroy v. Amylin Pharms., Inc., 573 F. App’x 545 (6th Cir. 2014).
- Represented a subsidiary of Endo Pharmaceuticals in state and federal multidistrict litigation relating to transvaginal polypropylene mesh products.
Consumer Class Actions
- Representing Liberty Media and Las Vegas Grand Prix in consumer class action litigation asserting claims related to the 2023 Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix.
- Represented boxing promoter Top Rank, Inc., Manny Pacquiao, HBO, and other defendants in securing the dismissal with prejudice of nationwide class action litigation asserting claims related to Pacquiao's “Fight of the Century” against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in In re Pacquiao-Mayweather Boxing Match Pay-Per-View Litig., 942 F.3d 1160 (9th Cir. 2019).
- Represented a leading maker of fitness shoes in a nationwide class action involving false advertising, unfair competition, and other consumer fraud claims.
- Represented a leading food company in class actions challenging the marketing and sale of probiotic yogurt.
- Represented a leading manufacturer of kombucha tea products in class actions over labeling claims.
- Represented a beverage company in several class actions alleging violations of state consumer protection statutes and California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65).
Commercial Litigation
- Representing a leading multinational electronics manufacturer in a multimillion-dollar licensing agreement dispute pending in California state court.
- Representing a leading financial technology company in threatened mass arbitration.
- Represented Exportadora de Sal, S.A. de C.V., a Mexican State-owned enterprise and the world’s largest producer of sea salt, in securing the dismissal of multibillion-dollar lawsuits in US Federal Court in Packsys v. Exportadora de Sal, S.A. de C.V., 899 F.3d 1081 (9th Cir. 2018).
Government Matters | Investigations
- Defending managed care organization in connection with a civil investigative demand by the Department of Justice.
- Advised an international luxury hospitality company in an anti-corruption investigation relating to its hotel resorts in Mexico.
- Represented a former CFO of a public company in a civil lawsuit brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission alleging purported violations of securities laws.
Languages
- Spanish
Admissions
Bar Admissions
- California
Court Admissions
- US District Court, Central and Southern Districts of California
- US Court of Appeals, Sixth and Ninth Circuits
Education
- Stanford University, J.D.: Editor, Stanford Law & Policy Review; Co-President, Stanford Latino Law Students Association
- University of California at Irvine, B.A., Criminology: cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa
Honors & Awards
- Named to Los Angeles Business Journal's "Leaders of Influence: Minority Attorneys" list (2024)
- Recommended by The Legal 500 US for Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action - Defense: Consumer Products (Including Tobacco) (2022, 2023)
- Recommended by The Legal 500 US for Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action - Defense: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices (2022, 2023)
- Recommended by The Legal 500 US for Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action - Defense: Automotive/Transport (2023)
- Recommended by The Legal 500 US for Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action - Defense: Toxic Tort (2023)
- Recipient of the 2022 Hispanic National Bar Association’s “Top Lawyers Under 40 Award”
- Recipient of Latino Leaders Magazine’s “Top Latino Lawyers” (2022)
- Recipient of the 2019 O’Melveny Warren Christopher Values Award
- Co-recipient of “Litigators of the Week” award by The American Lawyer (Aug. 2017)
Professional Activities
Professional Memberships
- Hispanic National Bar Association (Southern California Deputy Regional President; Deputy VP of Finance and Development; Health and Life Sciences Law Committee, Vice Chair)
- Los Angeles County Bar Association (Board of Trustees, Member; Diversity in the Profession Executive Committee, Secretary)
- Mexican American Bar Association
Author
- “Class Action Settlements” (Ch. 21) and “Mass Tort Settlement Strategies” (Ch. 22), Product Liability Litigation: Current Law, Strategies and Best Practices, Practicing Law Institute, co-authored with Richard B. Goetz and Carlos M. Lazatin (last updated 2023)
- “Winner’s Playbook: Behind the Scenes of the Pacquiao Case,” Law360, co-authored with Daniel Petrocelli, Jeffrey Barker, and David Marroso (May 2020)
Speaking Engagements
- Panelist, “Hot Topics and Latest Enforcement Developments by State Attorneys General,” HNBA 2024 Corporate Counsel Conference (March 2024)
- Panelist, “Mass Arbitration: Preventive and Responsive Defense Strategies,” HNBA 2023 Corporate Counsel Conference (March 2023)
- Panelist, “Expanding Influence of Artificial Intelligence: Trends and Recent Developments,” HNBA 2023 Corporate Counsel Conference (March 2023)
- Co-Host, “Career Journeys of Latino/Latina Health Law Leaders” Podcast, American Health Law Association and Hispanic National Bar Association (October 2022)
- Panelist, “Multidistrict Litigation: Nuts & Bolts, Trends, and Diversity in MDL Leadership,” Hispanic National Bar Association 2022 Annual Convention (September 2022)
- Panelist, “State AG Enforcement & Litigation Trends: Antitrust, Product Liability, & Workers’ Rights,” Hispanic National Bar Association 2022 Corporate Counsel Conference (March 2022)
- Speaker, “State AG Litigation Trends,” Hispanic National Bar Association Health and Life Sciences Law Committee, Quarterly Meeting (November 2021)
- Panelist, “State AG Enforcement Trends and What to Expect Next,” Hispanic National Bar Association 2021 Annual Convention, Health and Life Sciences Law Section (September 2021)