O’Melveny to Add 11 New Partners in 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK—December 14, 2022—Eleven exceptional lawyers reflecting O’Melveny’s broad ranging capabilities have been elected to the firm’s 2023 partner class: Billy Abbott (Tax—Silicon Valley), Matt Cowan (White Collar Defense & Corporate Investigations—Los Angeles), Tim Heafner (Entertainment & Media—Century City), Mattie Hutton (Product Liability & Mass Torts/Life Sciences Litigation—Washington, DC), Matthew Kremer (Restructuring—New York), Mark Liang (Intellectual Property & Technology—San Francisco), Deanna Rice (Financial Services/Supreme Court & Appellate Litigation—Washington, DC), Esteban Rodriguez (Consumer Class Actions—Los Angeles), Amanda Santella (White Collar Defense & Corporate Investigations—Washington, DC), Maria von Schack (Project Development & Real Estate—New York), and Jillian Weinstein (Assistant General Counsel—Firmwide).

“Each of our newly elected partners epitomizes the very best of O’Melveny by demonstrating an unwavering commitment to our firm and our clients,” said Bradley J. Butwin, Chair of O’Melveny. “They have distinguished themselves not only as top litigators and dealmakers but also as champions of our shared values. These outstanding lawyers strengthen and enrich our partnership with their diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. I look forward to all that this impressive class will achieve in the years to come.”

This is the eighth consecutive year that at least 50 percent of O’Melveny’s newly promoted partners are women, racial and ethnic minorities, and/or LGBTQ+, with eight of 11 members of this year’s class being from those historically underrepresented groups. Looking at the past nine years as a whole, more than two-thirds of the firm’s total new partner promotions have been individuals from those groups.

Billy Abbott

A talented and versatile corporate tax lawyer, Billy Abbott is a trusted advisor to fund managers, private equity and venture capital investors, and corporate clients on the tax aspects of public and private M&A, capital markets, asset management, and real estate transactions. He regularly advises on tax structuring for complex transactions, including cross-border matters and multi-jurisdictional acquisitions. Abbott is especially adept at explaining tax-advisory information to clients of O’Melveny’s Asset Management practice. He has a strong commitment to pro bono work and to diversity, helping the firm recruit LGBTQ+ attorneys and representing the firm at diversity career fairs. Abbott received his law degree from Stanford, where he served as Senior Production Editor of the Stanford Law Review.

Matt Cowan

Matt Cowan is a key West Coast member of O’Melveny’s White Collar Defense & Corporate Investigations Practice. He counsels clients through sensitive internal investigations, inquiries by federal and state enforcement authorities, and related criminal and civil litigation in the energy, technology, transportation, higher education, and financial services industries. Cowan also provides regulatory and governance advice to companies and universities, and he has considerable experience in complex e-discovery, compliance, employment, healthcare, and privacy matters. His judgment and expertise have made him a trusted board-level advisor. And he devotes significant time to pro bono efforts, recently leading the O’Melveny team in Davis v. Nevada, a case that resulted in sweeping legislative change to Nevada’s system of indigent defense representation. Cowan earned his law degree cum laude from the University of Michigan School of Law.

Tim Heafner

Tim Heafner is an experienced litigator who represents a broad range of “A-List” clients in the sports and entertainment industries, from major motion picture studios and media conglomerates to boxing promoters and superstar athletes. With his vast industry knowledge and experience, Heafner helps clients solve their most vexing and consequential legal problems, including in a wide variety of contract and copyright matters. He is a leading authority in “profit participation” litigation and a go-to advisor to studio clients in managing and resolving talent audit claims, licensing, and content valuation issues. Heafner earned his law degree magna cum laude from Loyola Law School and served as an editor of the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review.

Mattie Hutton

Mattie Hutton has broad experience defending clients in complex litigation in courts across the country. A veteran of high-profile product liability cases, mass torts— including federal and state coordinated proceedings—and consumer class actions, Hutton recently helped lead O’Melveny’s defense of Johnson & Johnson in opioids litigation in several states. She regularly advises clients in both litigation and investigations brought by increasingly active State Attorneys General, and has defended the firm’s clients against AG claims at trial. And as part of her extensive pro bono practice, Hutton is an accomplished immigration rights and prisoner rights advocate. In 2020, she received the firm’s Warren Christopher Values Award—O’Melveny’s most prestigious honor—in recognition of exceptional client service, distinctive leadership, and superior citizenship. Hutton earned her law degree cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was Administrative Editor of the American Criminal Law Review.

Matthew Kremer

Matthew Kremer represents debtors, creditors, municipalities, financial advisors, and investment funds in complex financial restructuring matters. Kremer has played a key role in many of the Restructuring Group’s highest-profile matters, including the multi-faceted five-year restructuring of the Government of Puerto Rico’s more than US$72 billion debt. His extensive experience in interdisciplinary areas includes corporate finance and governance, M&A, and litigation. Kremer has a robust pro bono practice focused on immigrants gaining admission to the US after fleeing abusive or life-threatening situations. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Brooklyn Law School, where he received the American Bankruptcy Institute Medal of Excellence.

Mark Liang

Named a “Rising Star” by Managing IP for three years running and a noted patent litigation practitioner in the Legal 500, Mark Liang has guided Google, Samsung, and other household-name technology companies in their largest and most contentious patent litigation matters. Liang has played an important role in many of the firm’s most significant IP&T trials, both in federal courts and before the International Trade Commission, and he is equally skilled in leading inter partes review proceedings. Liang’s degree in Electrical Engineering positions him to take on the most technically challenging cases across a broad range of fields, including telecommunications, internet, hardware, electronics, displays, and semiconductors, among others. Liang obtained his law degree with honors from the University of Chicago Law School, and his Electrical Engineering degree with high distinction from the University of Toronto.

Deanna Rice

Deanna Rice is a skilled advocate in the burgeoning area of ERISA litigation, with a well-recognized command of complex and high-stakes ERISA fiduciary breach actions. Recommended by The Legal 500 US for ERISA Litigation, Rice possesses first-rate knowledge of the case law and regulations that embody ERISA’s fiduciary compliance structure, and has played a key role in obtaining landmark decisions that continue to influence litigation in the space. Also active in the firm’s Supreme Court & Appellate practice, she argued before the United States Supreme Court in Overton v. U.S., a case involving the obligation of prosecutors to disclose exculpatory evidence to the defense, and has authored appellate briefs on a wide range of subjects. Rice obtained her law degree cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was a member of the Harvard Law Review.

Esteban Rodriguez

Recommended by The Legal 500 US and recognized among the “Top Lawyers Under 40” in the US by the Hispanic National Bar Association, Esteban Rodriguez defends life sciences companies in government investigations and complex, multi-jurisdictional matters alleging product liability, false advertising, unfair competition, and other consumer fraud claims. He has had leading roles on multiple trial teams and helped build the foundation for O’Melveny’s successful defense of Johnson & Johnson in nationwide litigation over its opioid medications. In 2019, Rodriguez received O’Melveny’s Warren Christopher Values Award. He earned his law degree from Stanford University, and served as Senior Editor for the Stanford Law & Policy Review and President of the Stanford Latinx Law Students Association.

Amanda Santella

As one of O’Melveny’s top False Claims Act (FCA) defense specialists, Amanda Santella represents major health insurers, life sciences companies, defense contractors, and other government contractors in high-stakes FCA litigation. She is currently managing the defense of a prominent US company in an FCA lawsuit involving more than US$1 billion in alleged damages. Her notable pro bono work includes representing Greg Jacob, O’Melveny partner and former legal counsel to the Vice President, before the House January 6 Committee. Santella was honored with O’Melveny’s Warren Christopher Values Award in 2022. She earned her law degree magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center.

Maria von Schack

Maria von Schack is a strong leader whose capabilities span national and global project development and finance work for both conventional energy and public infrastructure facilities. She excels at negotiating and directing investment and development arrangements for multi-party, large-scale projects, including complex debt financings, public-private partnerships, joint ventures, and M&A transactions. Von Schack counsels private investors, project sponsors, and financing institutions in the US and globally. She received her law degree from Fordham University School of Law, where she was a member of the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal.

Jillian Weinstein

As O’Melveny’s Assistant General Counsel, Jillian Weinstein is lawyer to the firm’s lawyers and management, advising on a vast array of matters, including client intake and conflicts; policy development and compliance; data controls; and daily HR counseling. Since 2020, Weinstein has also served as O’Melveny’s de facto public safety officer, helping the firm stay on top of shifting COVID-19 public health and safety mandates. She previously practiced as an O’Melveny litigator, representing public and private companies in a variety of complex civil, employment, and labor matters. In 2020, she received the firm’s Warren Christopher Values Award. Weinstein earned her law degree magna cum laude from Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles.

About O’Melveny

It’s more than what you do: it’s how you do it. Across sectors and borders, in board rooms and courtrooms, we measure our success by yours. And in our interactions, we commit to making your O’Melveny experience as satisfying as the outcomes we help you achieve. Our greatest accomplishment is ensuring that you never have to choose between premier lawyering and exceptional service. So, tell us. What do you want to achieve? Visit us at www.omm.com, hear what our lawyers, staff, and clients have to say in Our DNA video series, or learn more in our firm at-a-glance, annual report, and on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Contact:

Brandon Jacobsen
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
+1 213 430 8024
bjacobsen@omm.com

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