 |
||
|
|
||
| |||||||||||
One of the "Big Three" Los Angeles-based law firms, O'Melveny & Myers boasts a global practice known for its strength in litigation and a stable of corporate clients including Ford, Citigroup, Disney, Marriott, and CIGNA Corp. Yet insiders say the firm is facing an identity crisis, unsure whether to focus more on profitability and billable hours or its traditional law practice. L.A. law O'Melveny is quite conscious of its own history - a curator oversees the firm's artwork, historical archives, and small O'Melveny museum in Los Angeles (with tours available by appointment). The history begins with the firm's founding by Jackson A. Graves and Henry O'Melveny in 1885, at which time the population of the City of Angels had ballooned to all of 15,000 souls. Nonetheless, legal business was brisk as land speculators relied on lawyers to accomplish their sometimes less-than-savory deals. Thus the firm enjoyed early success and quickly rose to prominence in the community. In fact, founder Henry O'Melveny was the third Angeleno to get a telephone installed in the city. As L.A. began to resemble its present sprawl, the firm grew, taking on bigger clients such as Goodyear Tire & Rubber and Pacific Mutual Life Insurance. An important O'Melveny milestone came in 1969 when the firm hired Diana Walker, one of the firm's first women lawyers and later its first female partner. Jack O'Melveny, son of founder Henry, took an early lead in developing the firm's entertainment clientele. High-rolling clients included Mary Pickford, Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, Jimmy Stewart and Gary Cooper as well as institutional clients such as CBS, Paramount, and Walt Disney Productions. Indeed, O'Melveny was so involved with the entertainment industry that it opened a small office in 1951 right on Sunset Boulevard (the office was relocated in 1970 to Century City). O'Melveny muscle Ever since O'Melveny represented the bank group that financed Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts' (KKR) spectacular $24.8 billion buyout of RJR Nabisco in 1988, O'Melveny has been a force to be reckoned with in the legal world (particularly in the corporate sphere). Left Coast-based O'Melveny, unsuprisingly, has strong ties to the media and entertainment industry. In addition to representing Disney in its major investment in Infoseek in 1998, the firm has moved into the wide world of sports. OMM attorneys advised Peter O'Malley in that year's sale of the Dodgers to Fox Inc.; in more controversial matters, the firm is currently representing the International Olympic Committee in the bribery scandal surrounding the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. It's also worth noting that O'Melveny is lead counsel in a current federal court challenge to the legality of the managed care industry - a suit originally brought by star litigator David Boies (formerly of Cravath). Of course, no California firm would be complete without high tech clients. The ball really got rolling in August 1998 when longtime client GTE Corp. tapped O'Melveny to represent it in its $70 billion merger with Bell Atlantic. At the time of its announcement the merger was the fourth-largest in U.S. history. Another indicator of O'Melveny's M&A prowess was its selection in November 1998 by Lockheed-Martin Corp. to work on its plan to acquire Comsat Corporation, a government-created satellite telecommunications company. Both companies anticipate at least two years of intense legal and lobbying work to complete the $2.7 billion transaction since closing the deal will require revision of the 1962 federal law that created Comsat. Since then, O'Melveny has also garnered attention for its representation of the lead underwriter in MP3.com's IPO (the popular and controversial online music company went public in May 1999). OMM was the first L.A. law firm to follow the Silicon Valley practice of accepting equity in start-up clients in lieu of legal fees. Identity crisis Despite these successful ventures, O'Melveny & Myers has had a few issues in the past few years, particularly with its corporate practice. Over the course of the 1990s, a number of OMM's major clients, such as Security Pacific National Bank and First Interstate Bank, abandoned their work with O'Melveny due to consolidations, bankruptcies, and relocations. The firm didn't bounce back quickly. When the other big L.A. firms like Latham & Watkins and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher saw the writing (or programming?) on the wall and established new offices in Silicon Valley, O'Melveny was slower on the draw and has trailed the other firms in profits ever since. The firm has also lagged behind its competitors in the corporate M&A scene. John Beisner, a member of O'Melveny's 12-person management committee, told The American Lawyer in February 2000 that the firm had gotten too complacent and didn't articulate a specific vision, stating "[that OMM had] become too insular and failed to make little changes to keep up with the market." Quick, call O'Melveny & Myers! O'Melveny's litigation practice remains strong and prestigious. Once again, the firm's ties to the media biz are evident. In 1998 the firm successfully defended Time magazine in a libel case brought by Kato Kaelin's former girlfriend over the publication's coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial. Time, Inc. selected O'Melveny again in March 1999 to represent it in connection with congressional hearings on sweepstakes promotions, an allegedly shady practice that nevertheless brought the magazine no less than 1.4 million new subscribers in 1998. On the IP side, O'Melveny was tapped by Connecticut's Bristol Technologies, a software producer suing Microsoft on - guess what - antitrust grounds. Law everywhere O'Melveny & Myers first ventured abroad in the mid-1960s when the firm established a Paris office. Since entering the U.K. market through a partnership in the late 1980s, the firm has established a solid presence with its London office. O'Melveny has fared well in other regions, too, especially Asia. The firm set up shop in Japan in 1987, becoming one of the first American firms to do so. In 1996 it became the second firm to be admitted to practice in China. (The firm also has a partnership in Beijing with the Chinese law firm King & Wood.) OMM was also admitted to practice law in China-controlled Hong Kong. Moreover, O'Melveny has cultivated its contacts in Latin America and in August 1998 represented Telecom Italia in its $3 billion bid for three Brazilian telecom companies. O'Melveny counts as clients public entities from such far-flung locales as Ecuador, Mexico, Canada, and even the Federated States of Micronesia. Public counsel O'Melveny has a distinguished history of pro bono work. In March 1998, the firm took on pro bono representation of the City of Los Angeles in connection with its attempt to use "statistical sampling" techniques at the U.S. Census bureau. The engagement was the firm's most significant pro bono matter in 1998 and 1999. Clients represented in the case included not only L.A. but the states of Texas and New Mexico, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, 20 members of Congress, and other cities such as Chicago, New York, and San Francisco.
O'Melveny likes A's Most contacts at O'Melveny & Myers tell us that the firm looks closely at applicants' grades when making hiring decisions. "OMM seeks to hire top students from the top schools. If you met [the firm's] minimum requirements, you have a personality and you do not offend anyone, then you have a very good chance of getting hired. Otherwise, forget it." An associate in the capital city office says that while fit matters, "unless a student is in a top-tier school, our office doesn't really look beyond the top five percent, even at DC schools." And since "OMM does not hire very many laterals," the "focus is on the summer recruitment program," which means prospective candidates have to sell themselves to the firm early on. A beautiful mosaic of schools Second-tier residents take note - O'Melveny has been known to select people with top-notch credentials from less famous or prestigious schools, "demonstrating its recognition that great lawyers don't all come from Stanford, Harvard, and Yale," according to one associate. Slackers can take some small comfort in this fact: with the booming legal market and high turnover, the firm has been known to waiver from its high standards. "They have pretty stringent law school and grades criteria here," says one associate, "but those can change if a particular candidate fits a perceived need." Another agrees: "In recent years OMM has interviewed at more schools - more than 30. And while the firm is selective at each school, I would say the sheer number of schools has led to a decrease in selectivity." Interviewing with "a friendly face" The first step in the O'Melveny hiring process is the on-campus interview. Generally, one partner and one associate from the hiring committee conduct the interview, although the number might vary from school to school. Candidates who pass O'Melveny muster on campus are then assigned a hiring attorney, who telephones one week after the interview to call back for the next round. For callbacks, the firm will pay for lodging and expenses. The second round lasts half the day, either in the morning or the afternoon. The hiring attorney, "a friendly face," greets the candidate and spends 15 minutes explaining the order of events and interviewers and taking any last minute questions from the candidate. Candidates then interview with both associates and partners, each interview lasting about half an hour. Note also that the candidate will most likely interview with attorneys from the particular practice group in which they have expressed an interest. At the end of the morning or afternoon, the firm takes the candidate out to eat, accompanied by either an associate or partner. Third-years who interview go out for both lunch and dinner.
Partners from on high While many attorneys say that they are "generally impressed with partner/associate interaction" and that "some partners are always nice and take the time to discuss an issue or a project," there remain significant dissatisfactions among associates. In addition to a perception of bitterness on the partners' part in response to salary raises, "most partners do a poor job of giving guidance and making younger associates feel like they are part of the team on transactions," according to an L.A. lawyer. Others agree that "there is no pretense of mentoring unless you happen to be handpicked by a certain partner. Otherwise, you're totally on your own to figure out what to do with your career here and beyond." A litigator mentions that the DC office is a "very masculine" one and that "the managing partner chats with white, clean-cut male associates in the hallways but barely acknowledges the female associates; it is not an accident that the DC office has not had a female partner in years." 'Many are called, few are chosen' Several associates mention that partnership prospects might be vastly improved "if you are male." According to a DC associate, "many of the male partners married only after they were made partners. Although several of the senior male associates were married before they joined the firm, most of the female associates are either unattached or ended a serious relationship after they joined the firm. One partner joked that you 'cannot be a female litigation associate and have a social life.'" Our house is a very, very, very fine house OMM attorneys wax eloquent when talking about their offices. In Orange County, "the joke is that the partners had an unlimited budget when they built this office and they exceeded it. All offices look out at either the ocean and Newport Harbor or the Big Canyon Golf Course. Our attorney dining room is catered by the Four Seasons Hotel. Things are definitely first-class." In L.A., "the Century City office recently added a new floor (making for a total of four floors)." Even if "the offices are a little old-school and traditional," with "dark wood," the "art collection is impressive" and "the new floor has all new furniture and looks great." In New York, O'Melveny is "one of the only firms that give first-years their own offices" which "makes a great difference in how much work you can get done." Some spatial issues can never be resolved, though, as a DC associate gripes that his "office is small compared to the stacks of paper that inhabit it." Everybody in white? Nobody is thrilled with the firm's efforts to recruit and promote minority attorneys, either. Several attorneys say they "see no effort at all. The firm certainly does not intentionally discriminate against minorities but there is no affirmative effort to encourage diversity." Others say that while the firm has "made great efforts to hire more attorneys who are not white," it's a "vicious cycle - we don't yet have enough minority attorneys here to convince others that it is a good place to work." A New York litigation associate points out that "there are no African-Americans in the New York office and few elsewhere in this firm (oh, unless you count the staff!)" - "good efforts but mediocre results." An intriguing culture When it comes to catchphrases to sum up O'Melveny's atmosphere, the firm seems to be at a crossroads. Some associates describe OMM as a place that "clings strongly to its history" while others say it is "on the cutting edge;" it is alternately "uptight" and "relaxed," a "flat organization" at the same time it is described as "hierarchical." Even in the same office, associates contradict each other's assessments; one says there is "too much factionalism" while another says that the firm is very "team-oriented." But there is consensus on certain contradictions - many attorneys say O'Melveny is "laid-back for a law firm" even if it is "definitely conservative." Dressing the part O'Melveny takes its "laid-back" image seriously enough to have instituted all casual dress, all the time, except in the DC office (where an insider states that casual days are "only when the senior partner is out of town," though the firm says it's simply confined to Fridays in the summer months) and New York City (which is also business casual only in the summertime). For most this translates into "basic, preppy, unimaginative dress - khaki pants and polo shirts for guys," with "most dressing comfortably but not trashy." The dress code is "more an issue for the men" than for the women as "partners have approached the men to tell them they must wear a collared shirt under any sweater." One associate says that "women dress in a style I like to call 'Ann Taylor Lite.' The men wear Dockers and golf shirts although some wear Banana Republic." The rep is right Many of O'Melveny & Myers associates came to the firm for "exciting work," particularly its "power base" litigation practice as well as its "outstanding" entertainment work and "very strong international presence." They cite the firm's "flexible practice areas" and its "reputation in the community as a great stepping stone" as well. But many have stayed because "the mix of people here is its true strength" and because O'Melveny seems "more committed to leading a balanced family life than many competing firms." One litigator says he came because he "didn't sense any fear in the atmosphere" and a co-worker perceived OMM "as a kinder, gentler big-firm practice - intense and demanding but humane."
Michele Marinaro Recruiting Manager (213) 430-6677
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher;Latham & Watkins;Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
