Brian Currey

Partner

Brian S. Currey is a partner in O'Melveny's Los Angeles office and a member of the Class Actions, Mass Torts, and Aggregated Litigation Practice. His practice emphasizes complex, multi-party litigation for businesses and government agencies, including defense of class actions. He is the senior member of the Firm's Products Liability Practice, which was featured on Chambers USA's "Award of Excellence" short list in 2008.

Brian has litigated some very high profile products liability, energy, and environmental cases. For example, he assisted in the defense of the criminal case brought by the United States after the Valdez oil spill. Also, he led the defense of the owner and manufacturer of a tank car involved in the spill of a toxic chemical into the Sacramento River. The spill spawned some of the most significant environmental litigation in the state, including products liability, toxic tort and natural resource damages class action suits. In the energy sector, Brian has handled cases for both regulated utilities and alternative energy providers. Brian has defended products liability and personal injury cases for major automotive manufacturers, leasing companies, industrial companies, and others.

Defending products liability suits against drug manufacturers is a major part of Brian's practice.  For example, he helped defend Merck against Vioxx lawsuits in its federal MDL proceeding and a number of state proceedings, and he represents Johnson & Johnson and other pharmaceutical clients.

In public interest litigation, Brian successfully represented more than twenty of the country's most populous cities and counties, several states, and many Members of Congress in litigation over whether the Census Bureau may use "statistical sampling" to avoid undercounting of minorities, children, and the poor in the 2000 Census, convincing the U.S. Supreme Court that sampling may be used for purposes of federal funds allocation and redistricting.

Brian co-authors the State Bar's annual review of legal developments in class actions and civil discovery. He has taught trial advocacy for the highly respected National Institute for Trial Advocacy.

Professional Activities

Member, American Bar Association; Los Angeles County Bar Association (Federal Courts Committee (Chair), Criminal Justice Task Force)
Counsel, Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department (the "Christopher Commission")
Co-Author, "Attributable Risk And Specific Causation," Law360 (November 2008); "FDAAA: A New Phase of Pharmaceutical Regulation," DRI Reporter (July 2008); “New FDA Rules Leave Drug Makers Unsure Of How Much Testing Is Enough,” Andrews Litigation Reporter (February 2008); Annual updates on “Class Actions” and “Discovery” in the California Litigation Review
Chair, Safe and Sound Schools! (lead two successful campaigns to pass school bonds in Manhattan Beach, CA.)
Speaker, "A National Conference on the Impact of U.S. & State Supreme Courts on American Business" (Directors Roundtable; November 6, 2008); "Betting on the Supreme Court's Drug and Medical Device Preemption Trifecta: Riegel v. Medtronic, Warner-Lambert v. Kent and Wyeth v. Levine" (Andrews Publications; April 22, 2008)