Profile: O'Melveny & Myers LLP

O'Melveny & Myers LLP - Who's Who Legal '70'

What is the Who's Who Legal '70'?

The US remains central to its success but it also boasts a strong presence in Asia (Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Beijing), and Europe (London and Brussels). The firm counts among its number a former US secretary of state, a former US secretary of transportation, a former chairman of the US Federal Trade Commission and a number of former senior officials from the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The diverse range of skills on offer to clients of the firm is evident on the following pages – a total of 20 lawyers from 10 practice areas feature in the publication.

INTERNATIONAL ANTITRUST
The firm’s antitrust and competition group is among the largest and most respected anywhere. The 82-strong team counts five Who’s Who Legal nominees among its number. The firm works extensively for Advanced Micro Devices, serving as the company’s global competition counsel, and continues to represent it in its long running antitrust battle with Intel. The group also counts Chemtura Corporation among its key clients in the antitrust arena. Timothy Muris, of counsel in the Washington, DC office, is the former chairman of the FTC and co-chairs the firm’s antitrust and competition group. Muris comes recommended as “a super smart guy”, with one source noting: “It’s hard to go wrong using him.” He successfully represented The Baby Einstein Company, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney company, in the FTC’s investigation into whether the company violated section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Fellow co-chair Richard Parker was another strong performer in the competition section with rivals marking him out as a lawyer who has the ability to make “antitrust more ‘real world’”, and was “a gunslinger who also has the smarts to make sense”. Among other matters he successfully represented Capital One Financial Corp in several antitrust actions. Michael Antalics completes the trio in DC and their reputation in the market led one rival to note: “All three are top of the line. Anybody would want to mimic this practice. Tim Muris is probably the smartest guy on the list and Parker is an amazing speaker and one of the smartest guys in the country.” O’Melveny’s antitrust practice is also strong on the other side of the Atlantic with Riccardo Celli and John Cook both prominent names in the Brussels market. The firm’s European lawyers advised travel company TUI on its proposed merger with First Choice, a deal Cook has been heavily involved with. Celli has worked extensively on AMD’s battle with Intel.

CORPORATE AND FINANCIAL
The firm’s representation in the mergers & acquisitions chapter also has a transatlantic flavour with Chris Ashworth and Michael Kennedy listed in London and San Francisco, respectively. Ashworth is co-managing partner of the London office and recent transactions include the sale of a sizeable interest in a TV company as well as a proposed £1.4 billion bid by a German company for a well-known UK plc. Ashworth’s advice to boards and directors was also brought to our attention and he appears in the corporate governance chapter there. David Krinsky from Newport Beach in California joins him. Krinsky is on the boards of directors and compensation and audit committees of two NYSE companies, and he is also general outside counsel to several public companies. Krinsky’s colleague in California, Michael Kennedy, comes recommended as one of the country’s leading M&A lawyers and is said to be “most impressive” for technology, biotech and health-care work. Recent highlights include representing technology-focused private equity firm Francisco Partners LP in the US$723 million merger of Mitel Networks Corporation and Inter-Tel. Frisco Partners provided a large amount of financing to Mitel in connection with the deal.

O’Melveny also boasts a renowned investment funds group, particularly on the fundraising and formation side. Kathryn Sanders remains one of California’s most respected practitioners. Praised as “absolutely top quality”, she represented Trust Company of the West in the formation of a US$500 million private equity fund. John Daghlian in London is “very good to deal with” and someone clients “have a lot of time for” according to our findings. Daghlian co-chairs the investment funds practice and is also co-head of the European corporate finance group.
The firm’s Asian credentials are highlighted in the corporate tax chapter in which Beijing-based Lawrence Sussman performs well. Sussman’s expertise relating to China-focused cross-border tax and transactional work was brought to our attention. The firm is also represented in the capital markets section by LA-based David Johnson Jr, who represented Occidental Petroleum in its sale of 8.5 per cent of share holdings in North America’s third-largest independent, publicly traded chemical company, Lyondell Chemical.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION
O’Melveny boasts a strong arbitration practice, particularly in Asia. Michael Moser in Hong Kong is “perhaps the best-known arbitration practitioner in the region” and president of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre. He comes recommended as an “old hand for China” and “very experienced as an arbitrator and counsel”. Nadia Darwazeh in Shanghai is another of the chapter’s leading lights. The firm is also strong for white-collar criminal defence with both Daniel Bookin and James Asperger highly recommended. Bookin is “thorough, meticulous, fair and discreet”, and “has been at the forefront of the stock options cases”, according to sources. Asperger is a highly experienced practitioner and a former chief of the major fraud section of the Los Angeles US Attorney’s Office.

Two O’Melveny attorneys appear in the management labour & employment chapter – Scott Dunham and Gordon Krischer. Dunham was described to researchers as “phenomenal” and he has represented Vulcan Materials on a variety of labour and employment issues over the years. Krischer boasts an “inspiring work ethic” and “unquestionable skill” and currently represents Southern California Edison in multiple labour matters such as wage-and-hour class actions and individual claims of discrimination and wrongful discharge. Eric Rothenberg appears in the environment chapter and brings the firm’s listing to a close. Praised for his “great disposition”, he “gets on well with peers and clients alike”.