Larson O'Brien

Larson O'Brien LLP is a trial and appellate boutique law firm based in Los Angeles, California, which specializes in complex litigation, internal investigations and white collar matters, arbitration, and state and federal appeals. Stephen G. Larson, a former federal judge, and Robert C. O'Brien, a former Arent Fox LLP California Managing Partner, founded the firm in January 2016.

Notable cases

In People v. Biane, Larson O'Brien is representing defendant Jeff Burum in the Colonies Partners trial which then Attorney General of California (and now Governor) Jerry Brown called the "biggest corruption scandal in San Bernardino County history, possibly in California."

In April 2017, Larson O'Brien won nearly $1 million in sanctions and fees against the state of California for their client HVI Cat Canyon Inc. after the firm found that state officials had destroyed evidence relevant to the case in a scandal now being referred to as "Targate".

Larson O'Brien has been retained by the states of Arizona and Oklahoma to represent their consumers in claims against Volkswagen in the Volkswagen emissions scandal.

The victims of the December 2, 2015 San Bernadino [...] attack engaged the firm to represent them in supporting the FBI's motion to compel Apple Inc. to unlock the shooters' iPhones.

In March 2016, Larson O'Brien won a demurrer in a class action claim against F. Korbel & Bros. Inc., which was accused of not disclosing arsenic levels in its sparkling wine.

Notable clients

Larson O'Brien's clients include The Walt Disney Company, IBM, 21st Century Fox, F. Korbel & Brothers Champagne Cellars, Orange County Water District, Trojan Battery Company, Green Dragon Gas, the Riverside Mission Inn, Colonies Partners, Buzz Aldrin, Cooner Wire, and various municipal entities.

History

Prior to founding Larson O'Brien, the founding partners Stephen G. Larson and Robert C. O'Brien had collaborated professionally for more than 20 years. When O'Brien was appointed in 2007 by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to be the founding co-chair of the Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan, his first call was to Larson, then U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California, asking him to join him as a member of the Partnership's Executive Committee. Together, first under Secretary Rice and then under Secretary Hillary Clinton, O'Brien, Larson, and their colleagues conducted numerous rule of law training programs for Afghan judges, prosecutors, and lawyers in both the U.S. and Afghanistan.

When Larson returned to private practice in 2011 after 18 years of government service, he joined O'Brien as a partner at Arent Fox. Over the next five years, they worked together as the leading litigators and appellate attorneys in Arent Fox's Los Angeles office. O'Brien rose to be Arent Fox's California Managing Partner and Larson served as the firm's national Practice Group Leader for Complex Litigation.

In January 2016, Larson and O'Brien launched the litigation boutique Larson O'Brien LLP with nine other lawyers from the Los Angeles office of Arent Fox. Hugh Hewitt, the radio talk show host and lawyer, also joined the practice to provide legal and crisis-management advice to firm clients.

In May 2017, Larson O'Brien announced it was opening an office in Washington, D.C. By June 2017, Larson O'Brien had grown from 11 attorneys to 21.