The feast or famine life of an O’Melveny partner

       When interacting with O’Melveny's partners, you might have noticed that they sell their services aggressively. Perhaps you've read news reports accusing them of doing unprincipled things for their clients. They appear to be hungry. I was recently informed of a public resource that might explain this behavior. It provides a decade of financials for a particular O’Melveny group.

Allen & Overy walks away from O'Melveny merger

       Allen & Overy and O’Melveny called off their planned merger. The deal reportedly collapsed because O'Melveny's partners wanted more money, and Allen & Overy decided to walk away. 

This blog's web address

       I just noticed that this blog has twenty five posts. It's turning into a book. And these aren't forced posts. I don't have an article quota to fill, like you see in for-profit blogs. Every time I write a post, I assume it will be the last one. Then the press releases another troubling story related to O'Melveny, that needs to be included in this compendium. Assuming once again that this is the blog's last entry, I should take a moment to explain its odd web address.

O'Melveny's revenue-obsessed lawyers might not give the best advice

       The judge ruled against Johnson & Johnson and O'Melveny in the Oklahoma opioid trial. The decision received quite a bit of press, and it might have permanently tarnished Johnson & Johnson's reputation. Yet in all of the analysis, no one discussed the law firm economics aspect of the ruling -- i.e., that O'Melveny might view it as a flow of funds down a revenue "pipeline." 

Subjective, false and misleading

       Last week, legal reporters covered an O'Melveny employee's attempt to remove information from Wikipedia. The Wikipedia article stated that O'Melveny "supported" the Trump administration by "defend[ing] Donald Trump against a lawsuit over Trump University, . . . vett[ing] the president's nominees, . . . represent[ing] the Trump inaugural committee when it was investigated, . . . [and] represent[ing] President Trump's commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, over allegations of conflicted investments." 

Did O'Melveny ruin Vault's honor system?

       The career advice website Vault released its "best firm to work for" and "best firm for diversity" rankings. These are released each year and, as I explained in a prior post, they rely on the honor system. A firm's score is based on the opinions of the firm's own lawyers, and only the firm's lawyers. The idea is that if asked about their firm's diversity or quality of life -- lawyers would be conscientious, thoughtful and ethical enough to answer honestly.

O'Melveny's opioid "pipeline"

       The first in a series of opioid trials is being televised. (And for good reason. An article suggests that hundreds of thousands of people might have died because judges sealed evidence of pharmaceutical companies' wrongdoing.) The plaintiff in this trial is the State of Oklahoma, and they seek funds to mitigate and abate the crisis. The situation is dire, as one study estimates that opioids could kill half a million Americans in the next decade. 

Giving up revenue to help opioid victims

       In addition to dubious sexual abuse investigations, another of O'Melveny's revenue generators is a massive multi-state opiate addiction case. Another firm defending such cases recently started a public campaign to settle the matter, to "get the monies to the communities that need them, to the people that are addicted ... rather than to pay attorneys’ fees for years and years and years to come." 

O'Melveny's values

       One of the refreshing aspects of the Mueller report, is the ethics shown by white house counsel Don McGahn. According to the report, the President pressured Mr. McGahn to fire Mr. Mueller and end the investigation, under the pretext that Mr. Mueller was conflicted. But despite feeling apprehensive and "worn down" -- Mr. McGahn stuck to his principles and said he would resign before firing Mr. Mueller.

An O'Melveny alumnus gets arrested while negotiating an "independent investigation" retainer

       Under the "independent investigation" business model, alleged wrongdoers pay O'Melveny's white collar practice millions of dollars to investigate and judge their acts. For example, when USC was accused of mishandling sexual abuse, they hired O'Melveny to investigate and decide who was at fault. When a Lions Gate executive was accused of sexual misconduct, they hired O'Melveny to perform a "thorough and independent" investigation and decide whether there was any wrongdoing.

O'Melveny shows off money they made off of an alleged rape victim's misery

       Two years ago, I started this blog, partly to inform and protect others, and partly to cleanse my soul. And it worked. But it's grown much larger than I expected. It was only meant to be one post, but things keep popping up in the news.