Business
- Served as lead counsel to Shelly Sterling on the $2 billion sale of the Los Angeles Clippers to Steve Ballmer
- Served as lead trial counsel in a business tort case involving the theft of an investment opportunity in a credit card processing company, obtaining a $350 million jury award that resulted in Mr. O’Donnell being named California Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2009
Energy
- From 2000 to 2008, served as lead trial counsel of a team of lawyers who obtained $3.5 billion settlement from various energy companies in California Energy Crisis antitrust litigation
Entertainment
- Obtained summary judgment for a business management firm in a first-of-its-kind “idea theft” claim filed by a talent manager concerning the eligibility of touring musicians and bands to receive Shuttered Venue Operator Grants (“SVOG”), a COVID-19 relief program established during the pandemic
- In 1995, won the landmark case of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc., which recognized federal copyright protection of the fictional movie character James Bond
- In 1998, successfully represented Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. in enjoining Sony Corp. from launching its own competing James Bond movie franchise
- In 2000, following securing a preliminary injunction and an appellate victory, obtained a $21.5 million trademark infringement settlement for his client in a dispute with Walt Disney Company
Environmental
- Served as lead trial counsel for several hundred thousand victims of Hurricane Katrina – including individuals, the State of Louisiana, City of New Orleans, St. Bernard Parish, and major corporations and universities – in a landmark lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Successfully defended Lockheed Martin Corp. against 3,200 toxic tort claims in state and federal courts
- In a series of environmental cost recovery cases under CERCLA, won judgments or settlements for clients in excess of $350 million, including $230 million for Lockheed Martin against the U.S. government
- Engaged by the South Coast Air Quality Management District to prosecute a civil penalty action against BP Arco for 10 years of alleged pollution violations at its Torrance refinery, securing a record $106 million settlement for an air pollution enforcement action
- Represented City of Los Angeles, City of Newport Beach, and City of Anaheim in blocking various developments (prisons, airport expansion, and jails) on environmental grounds
Family Law Property Litigation
- Represented wife in battle with husband over a marital estate worth more than $1 billion
- Represented Academy Award-winning actress in divorce from her prominent actor/husband
- Represented successfully high net worth husband in dispute with wife over management and control of hedge fund
- Represented successfully Amber Heard in her high profile divorce from Johnny Depp and securing $7 million for a 15-month marriage
- Represented Shelly Sterling in widely-publicized victory in recovering $2.6 million in money and property from her husband’s mistress
- Disqualified major law firm from representing opposing spouse on grounds of conflict of interest
Intellectual Property
- Successfully represented celebrity stylist Vidal Sassoon against Procter & Gamble
- Successfully represented Ron Isley in an appeal that preserved his $6.5 million copyright infringement verdict against Michael Bolton
- Successfully represented creators of James Bond, Survivor, Forrest Gump, Mighty Ducks, 42, and other works in securing compensation
Labor & Employment
- Served as counsel for Academy Award winner Faye Dunaway in her lawsuit against Andrew Lloyd Weber over her wrongful termination from the Los Angeles production of “Sunset Boulevard”
- Represented senior executives in the entertainment industry in negotiating their employment and exit agreements
Products Liability
- Lead counsel for Firestone in the landmark “fear of cancer” case in 1993 (Potter v. Firestone Tire & Rubber)
- Lead trial counsel for Pfizer Inc., successfully defending 375 anxiety/emotional distress cases involving allegedly defective heart valves
- Lead trial counsel for Pfizer Inc. in three cases related to the drug Rezulin that led to the settlement of 4,500 claims
