Robert C. O'Brien

Practice Areas

Robert O’Brien is the partner-in-charge of the Los Angeles office. His practice focuses on commercial litigation and domestic and international arbitration, including intellectual property, entertainment, complex business disputes and election law matters for Fortune 500 corporations, privately held companies and individuals. He also has significant private practice and government experience in international legal affairs.

Client Work

Robert has defended, in motion practice and through jury trial, corporate clients in breach of contract, fraud, breach of implied contract, right of publicity, copyright, trademark and employment cases. He has also obtained preliminary injunctions and significant settlements in high-profile infringement cases on behalf of intellectual property rights holders.

Robert has represented both domestic and foreign-based companies in complex transnational litigation and arbitration cases involving breaches of joint-venture agreements, construction and oil and gas matters, among other areas. He has obtained multi-million dollar settlements in such cases.

Robert has served as counsel and arbitrator in domestic and international arbitration and foreign claims proceedings. Robert is on the panel of neutrals for the International Center for Dispute Resolution/American Arbitration Association as well as several other international panels.

He currently serves as Co-Chairman of the United States Department of State’s Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan. In July 2008, Robert was appointed by the President to serve a three-year term on the Cultural Property Advisory Committee, which advises the US Government on the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act.

Robert's representative cases include:

• Successfully defended a major entertainment company in Los Angeles Superior Court, through three weeks of jury trial, against claims brought by a licensing agency that the company had engaged in fraud and breached its contract with the agency by not sufficiently promoting a miniseries that aired on its cable channel
• Won a complete defense verdict, after a two-week jury trial, in Los Angeles Superior Court (Malibu Division) on tort claims asserted against the president of a high-profile production company
• Obtained prompt dismissals of actions filed in both state and federal court alleging violation of post-mortem publicity rights and defamation against a major entertainment company and an Oscar-winning actress arising out of the production and distribution of an award-winning biographical film
• Obtained a preliminary injunction on behalf of the estate of a famous Apollo and Skylab astronaut in US District Court in an action asserting underpayment of royalties and unauthorized use of the astronaut's name, likeness, image and identity in connection with the advertisement and sale of automobile-related products; defendants settled the case on the eve of trial
• Secured a confidential settlement, after obtaining a favorable tentative ruling on a motion for a preliminary injunction in US District Court, in favor of a licensing agency and its clients in connection with claims of misappropriation of certain names and images by a manufacturer of specialty toy products
• Won summary judgment for the nation's leading Mexican-style restaurant on claims that plaintiffs held the intellectual property rights to the company's famous Chihuahua icon used in a national advertising campaign
• Won summary judgment, which was affirmed on appeal, for a television production company on claims by a producer of a popular cable series that he maintained an ownership interest in the project
• Obtained a summary judgment victory for one of the nation’s largest software companies in a class action lawsuit filed in Texas involving alleged unauthorized facsimile transmissions under the TCPA
• Successfully negotiated a de minimis confidential settlement on behalf of a technology firm in a TCPA lawsuit filed in California Superior Court after serving extensive discovery and providing notice that the company would immediately file a motion for summary judgment
• Successfully negotiated a confidential settlement, after filing an incontrovertible motion to dismiss in US District Court, in favor of a manufacturer of camera-like binoculars and two national retailers, in an action by a purported inventor, who alleged claims of copyright infringement against all defendants
• Successfully defended the CEO and founder of a China-based technology corporation in an action alleging breach of fiduciary duty and related tort and contract claims. In his cross-complaint, the CEO sought damages of over $100 million for infringement of his intellectual property; the case was favorably settled within 60 days of trial
• Defended one of the nation's largest software companies in an AAA international arbitration proceeding against a large Canadian software company asserting a multi-million dollar claim arising out of the alleged breach of a software licensing agreement; the case was settled on a confidential basis following an extensive mediation proceeding
• Successfully prosecuted a claim in federal court by a major software company against its Korean distributor for breach of its distribution agreement; the case also involved the defense of a counterclaim that asserted breach of warranty and product liability claims against the client; the matter was confidentially resolved following mediation before a retired federal judge in Los Angeles
• Prosecuted a high-profile fraud case for the estate of heiress Sita White; through quick action, the estate obtained a temporary restraining order freezing nearly $1.6 million of the estate's funds that had been misappropriated before the defendants could transfer the funds to another bank; the case ultimately settled and the estate's funds were protected
• Secured a confidential settlement in Orange County Superior Court, on the eve of trial, in favor of investors asserting claims against the nation's largest broker of precious metals for allegedly engaging in misrepresentations and omissions concerning the character and quality of recommended investments
• Defeated on short notice, a temporary restraining order sought by a County District Attorney who sought to shut down the operations of an independent oil company by filing a 102 count complaint alleging environmental and safely violations. The civil suit was favorably settled after intensive depositions of regulators and a disgruntled former employee undermined the action.
• Successfully prosecuted an environmental insurance coverage action in AAA arbitration proceedings against one of the world's largest carriers resulting in a settlement on the eve of the hearing for a finance company that was seeking to clean up numerous sites on collatoral in its possession
• Obtained full insurance coverage for legal fees incurred by a leading software company in defending a hundred million plus patent infringement claim after coverage was initially denied by the carrier
• Defended a magazine publisher against a claim by its executive director who claimed that he was fired due to age discrimination; the dispute was resolved through a favorable confidential settlement, without litigation, after guiding the client through the termination process and taking a firm position during negotiations with plaintiff's counsel
• Successfully defended an Internet entertainment company in a discrimination suit brought by an engineer who alleged that she was fired because of her gender; a nuisance value settlement was obtained after conducting aggressive discovery and arranging an early mediation

Previous Work

President George W. Bush nominated and the US Senate confirmed Robert as the US Alternate Representative to the 60th session of the United Nations General Assembly, which met in New York 2005-2006. In addition to his other duties as a US delegate, he addressed the General Assembly on the question of Palestine and represented the United States in the General Assembly’s Sixth Committee, which considered the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.

From 1996 to 1998, Robert was a legal officer with the United Nations Security Council (Compensation Commission) in Geneva, Switzerland, where he led a multinational team of attorneys, loss adjusters and accountants in the government claims (F) section and was responsible for the Secretariat’s review and processing of billions of dollars in claims resulting from Iraq’s 1990-91 invasion and occupation of Kuwait.

Robert served as a major in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the US Army Reserve. In 1990, he was a judicial extern-clerk to the Honorable J.P. Vukasin Jr. in the Northern District of California.

Professional Activities

Robert’s professional affiliations include:

• Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference Lawyer Representative (2007-present)
• J. Reuben Clark Law Society, Chair, Los Angeles Chapter (2003-2005)
• The Institute for Transnational Arbitration, Member, Advisory Board (2006-present)
• International Law Section of the State Bar of California, Member, Executive Committee (1999-2002)
• American Society of International Law
• Los Angeles County Bar Association
• Million Dollar Advocates Forum
• Conrad Foundation, Board of Advisors (2008-present)
• Pacific Council on International Policy

Publications, Presentations and Recognitions

Robert was recognized as one of the nation’s top attorneys in the 4th and 5th annual Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America guides.

In 2009, Robert received the Erwin Chemerinsky Defender of the Constitution Award from the Federal Bar Association for his work promoting the rule of law in Afghanistan. He also received the J. Reuben Clark Law Society's Outstanding Lawyer award in the same year. Robert was the 2006 recipient of the Cardinal Newman High School Alumni Scholarship/Leadership Award for Public Service. He was recognized as one of the nation’s top attorneys in the 4th annual Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America guide. Robert named one of the top 100 Irish-American lawyers in the United States by Irish America magazine in 2009. He was selected as a Super Lawyer and Rising Star by Los Angeles Magazine and Southern California Law and Politics Magazine for 2004-2009. In 2004, the Daily Journal named Robert one of the top 20 lawyers in California under the age of 40. He is “AV” rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Robert’s articles on international law and civil procedure have been published in a variety of journals. His op-ed pieces on foreign policy regularly appear on CBSNews.com and Newsmax.com. His published works include:

• “Afghan Prosecutors Key to Beating Taliban,” CBS News, March 2010, co-authored with Stephen G. Larson
• “Update to the Commercial Value of Rights of Publicity: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, or Sometimes a Million Dollars," ABA Entertainment and Sports Lawyer; Fall 2009, co-authored with Bela Lugosi
• “Election Day Challenges to Polling Hours and the Judiciary’s Cautious Response,” Buffalo Public Interest Law Journal; forthcoming, Spring 2009, co-authored with Amy Borland and Jon Kay
• “Selecting the Best Venue for International Arbitration,” EALG Interview; Fall 2006, co-authored with Jenny Terry
• “Preparing a Witness for a Deposition,” Los Angeles Lawyer, Attorney Survival Guide for New Attorneys in California; Fall 2006
• “The Commercial Value of Rights of Publicity: A Picture Is Sometimes Worth a Million Dollars,” ABA Entertainment and Sports Lawyer; Spring 2005, co-authored with Bela Lugosi
• “Your Witness Counselor,” ABA Student Lawyer; May 2004
• “Trying Circumstances,” Los Angeles Lawyer; September 2002
• “Trademarks and Internet Domain Names in the Digital Millennium,” 4 UCLA Journal of International Law & Foreign Affairs 377; 2000, co-authored with Michael LiRocchi and Steven Kepler
• “Reflections on Compelling Nonparty Discovery in England,” The California International Practitioner; Fall 1999
• “The Challenge of Verifying Corporate and Government Claims at the United Nations Compensation Commission,” 31 Cornell International Law Journal 101; 1998
• “A UNCC Panel of Commissioners Sets Precedents in Government Claims,” 92 American Journal of International Law 339; 1998, co-authored with Veijo Heiskanen
• “Compelling the Production of Evidence by Non-Parties in England and Wales Under the Hague Convention,” 24 Syracuse Journal of International Law & Commerce 77; 1997
• “The UNCC and Iraq’s Liability for Corporate Claims,” California International Law Section Newsletter; Winter 1995/96

Bar and Court Admissions

California Bar
Supreme Court of the United States
US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
US District Court, Central District of California
US District Court, Northern District of California
US District Court, Southern District of California
US District Court, Eastern District of California

Education

University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, JD, 1991
University of California, Los Angeles, BA (cum laude), 1988