Community
In 1929, John O’Melveny, the son of the Firm’s founder, helped establish and served as the president of
The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, the oldest and largest provider of free legal services to the poor in California. From building homes and providing legal services for Hurricane Katrina victims to providing legal counsel to
international aid groups, the distinguished record of volunteer community work by Firm attorneys and staff members is a particular point of pride. The
pro bono work by O'Melveny lawyers has set important legal precedents and earned awards from such civic groups as the
Los Angeles County Bar Association, the
New York State Bar Association, and the
Asian American Justice Center.
O'Melveny embraced community-building practically from its
inception in Los Angeles 127 years ago. Firm founder Henry W. O'Melveny was an influential city leader who made public service, as well as client service, his hallmark. Among his prominent achievements, Mr. O'Melveny helped revise the first Los Angeles City Charter and co-founded California Institute of Technology and University of California at Los Angeles. "Civic leadership just came naturally to him. It was seamless. He had a lot of public service and pro bono in his DNA," said the Firm's late Senior Partner and former Chairman Warren Christopher.
O'Melveny's growth over the years has been inextricably linked with that of its clients. In the late 19th century, as Los Angeles evolved from a village of 5,600 people into a major American metropolis, the Firm responded by assembling a team of lawyers with the requisite skills to provide sophisticated transactions and litigation counsel to the citizens, corporations and agencies at the epicenter of the city's economic boom. Later, just as its Southern California birthplace morphed into an international center of trade and commerce and a hub of technology research, development, and investment, O'Melveny steadily expanded the scope and mix of its
practice beyond the state's borders to serve and connect the needs of clients operating in the
global arena.
Through decades of shifting legal and business climates, O'Melveny's commitment to
superior citizenship has never wavered. Our diverse team of lawyers, managers, paralegals, and staff upholds that ideal through conscientiousness, collegiality, professionalism, and integrity, and the Firm regularly
pays tribute to their efforts. The Firm especially cherishes its role in enriching the lives of people and clients in the communities in which we work through the
academic scholarships we underwrite, the
legal and business conferences we sponsor, and the
legal defense and educational funds, and professional associations we support. And because we are all citizens of a global community, O’Melveny’s ongoing, firmwide
Green Office Initiative strives to implement sustainable business practices that will help protect our planet for future generations.
Henry O'Melveny's legacy of connecting communities, clients, and people lives on in the current generation of Firm partners and associates, who consider it an obligation they are privileged to fulfill. Says partner A.B. Culvahouse, who served as Chair of the Firm from 2000 to early 2012, "O'Melveny & Myers' longstanding tradition of public service and community involvement is a source of pride, personal satisfaction, and professional growth for all of us."