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Law360: Winner’s Playbook: Behind The Scenes Of The Pacquiao Case

O’Melveny partners Dan Petrocelli, David Marroso, and Jeffrey Barker, and counsel Esteban Rodriguez co-authored this Law360 article providing an inside look at the challenges they faced and the decisions they made that led to victory in defending Manny Pacquiao and his team.

The boxing event featuring Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. shattered every quantitative record in the sport: largest gate, most pay-per-views and highest advertising revenue. But when Pacquiao’s camp revealed he had aggravated an old shoulder injury during training prior to the match, impairing his performance, plaintiffs lawyers declared the fight a ‘magnificent con’ and filed dozens of class actions. O’Melveny fought back.

“We received the 3-0 opinion, authored by US Circuit Judge Jacqueline Nguyen, on November 21, 2019,” Marroso wrote. “It begins by quoting the old Wide World of Sports opener: ‘The thrill of victory. The agony of defeat. The human drama of athletic competition.’ We knew right then that the court had made the right call—not just for our clients but for the entire sports world.”

Law360 subscribers can read the full article here.