O’Melveny Worldwide

Trials

We never rush into trials, but always prepare for them. Our ability to think ahead helps clients prevail in the courtroom.

“When O’Melveny & Myers litigators say ‘We’ll see you in court,’ they’re not bluffing.”
The American Lawyer Litigation Daily 

We never rush into trials, but always prepare for them. Our ability to think ahead helps clients prevail in the courtroom.

“When O’Melveny & Myers litigators say ‘We’ll see you in court,’ they’re not bluffing.”
The American Lawyer Litigation Daily 

We excel at shaping disputes for trial. From framing facts to narrowing issues to examining witnesses to securing a final disposition, our talent for thinking ahead puts our clients in the best position to achieve a favorable outcome. No matter where the assignment is or what the substantive law may be—in state or federal court or on appeal—our team has helped clients prevail in some of the country’s most closely watched legal battles.

O’Melveny has never handled so many trials as it did in the past 18 months—criminal cases in Denver and New Orleans, complex antitrust battles in Syracuse and New York City, a billion-dollar pension suit in Dallas, a groundbreaking challenge to the constitutionality of school funding in Pennsylvania, and more. At any given time during that period, half of our Litigation Department was preparing for, participating in, or emerging from trial—a pace that few firms will ever be called on to sustain. Marshaling the excellence of our litigators from every US office, we persuaded juries and judges across the country to award our clients life-altering, precedent-setting victories.

Our successes span public-nuisance actions, antitrust prosecutions, insurance coverage litigation, contract disputes, intellectual property challenges, and matters of constitutional law. Through cross-practice and cross-border collaboration, we assemble curated trial teams calibrated to our clients’ needs, from e-discovery specialists and lawyer-engineers to creative strategists, former prosecutors, and appellate practitioners. Clients appreciate our storytelling and ability to connect with juries. Together, their communication and negotiation skills, experience advocating before judges and juries, and familiarity with our adversaries’ counsel give clients an unmatched advantage.

By positioning cases for early rulings, incorporating technology and artificial intelligence tools to streamline trial preparation, and building compelling and credible narratives, we help clients tell a winning story. Our litigation strategy is complemented by a dedicated support team of tech-savvy professionals, including a former screenwriter and movie marketer, who offer a full palette of multimedia solutions.

Whether facing a national or international commercial dispute, charges from a governmental agency, or a single-plaintiff suit with broad implications, our clients trust us with their largest and most sensitive matters.

American Airlines

Secured a win for what was previously US Airways in a closely watched re-trial of a landmark monopolization and rule-of-reason two-sided market case brought against travel-booking company Sabre Corp.

Aon Hewitt Investment Consulting

Won a five-day bench trial in an ERISA case, defeating claims by a class of 250,000 current and former Lowe’s employees that AON Hewitt breached its fiduciary duty to participants in Lowe’s 401(k) plans.

Amgen

In an important win for Amgen, we prevailed at trial in patent litigation over the multiple myeloma cancer drug Kyprolis®, ensuring that it would remain free from generic competition for years to come.

California Resources Corporation

Represented California Resources Corporation (CRC) in a bench trial over constitutional issues related to Monterey County Measure Z, which would have prohibited wastewater and energy companies from operating their businesses in a manner previously authorized by the State of California. O’Melveny successfully showed that Measure Z violated CRC’s due process rights and was an unconstitutional taking of property. 

Chubb Group

An O’Melveny insurance team convinced a federal jury to reject a chocolatier’s bid to recoup more than US $40 million in business-interruption losses and property damages resulting from Superstorm Sandy.

C. R. Bard

Obtained a complete victory for medical device maker C. R. Bard in a three-week jury trial, demonstrating that the company did not violate antitrust laws by selling its cardiovascular catheters together with a special tool for ensuring proper insertion.

Google

Stepping in just before trial, won a jury verdict for the tech giant, defeating patent infringement claims against Google’s popular smart-home Nest Hub devices. 

Industry-leading pharmaceutical company
  • With US$50 billion on the line, we convinced a California judge that four local governments could not expand public-nuisance laws to address alleged opioid-related harms.
  • Convinced the Oklahoma Supreme Court to reverse a trial court’s ruling that called for our client to pay US$465 million for nuisance abatement.
Jayson Penn

After battling the DOJ to a deadlock in two trials, an O’Melveny antitrust and white collar team prevailed in a third trial for the former Pilgrim’s Pride CEO, winning his acquittal on charges of conspiring to fix prices in the broiler chicken industry. We also won dismissal of a related securities class action that accused our client of misleading investors.

Pennsylvania’s Schoolchildren

In collaboration with the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia and the Education Law Center of Pennsylvania, convinced judge that the state constitution requires the equitable distribution of education resources for all children, and that the state was not meeting this standard.

Townsend Group

Won a bet-the-company trial for real estate consultancy Townsend Group and two of its partners, convincing a Texas jury that the plaintiff—a pension system—bore primary responsibility for buying hundreds of millions of dollars of real estate just before the 2008 financial crisis.   

Thomas J. Barrack, Jr.

Secured acquittal on all counts for California billionaire Thomas J. Barrack, Jr., a private equity executive who was charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent to promote the interests of the United Arab Emirates, making multiple felony false statements, and obstructing justice, following a highly publicized, two-month federal criminal jury trial.

Representative Clients
Abbvie
American Airlines
Amgen
AT&T
California Resources Corp.
Chubb Group
C.R. Bard
Ford Motor Co.
Google
GT's Living Foods
Guess?
Johnson & Johnson
Lennar
LG Electronics
Marriott International
NBC Universal
Samsung
Skechers
The Walt Disney Company
Townsend Group
Time Warner
UnitedHealth Group

“The truest measure of a world-class law firm is the level of trust that it earns from its clients. With the trial lawyers of O’Melveny & Myers, our trust runs as deep as it gets.”

—Client Testimonial, The American Lawyer 

“O’Melveny & Myers are true specialists in litigation. They’re extremely talented, wonderful in trial and willing to take things to trial—they really fight [in] the client’s corner.”

—Client Testimonial, Chambers USA 

“‘O’Melveny has done an admirable job of building the next generation of trial lawyers, while still relying on some more senior practitioners with decades of trial experience.”

—Client Testimonial, The Legal 500 US

“[O’Melveny] is our go-to for tough, bet-the-company litigation. They’re tough, smart and practical.”

—Client Testimonial, Chambers USA