Mike O’Brien is a former civil district court judge and veteran trial lawyer with 49 years of courtroom experience. After graduating summa cum laude from South Texas College of Law in 1976, and litigating personal injury cases for five years, Mike O’Brien became the youngest elected judge in Harris County history. As judge of the 125th Judicial District Court, Judge O’Brien presided over 150 jury and non-jury trials, including the landmark decision on causation in an appellate legal malpractice (Millhouse v. Wiesenthal).

After retiring from the bench in 1988, Judge O’Brien established Mike O’Brien, P.C. As a solo practitioner seasoned by his judicial experience, Judge O’Brien joint-ventured cases as specialized trial counsel with Houston’s top litigators, such as John M. O’Quinn, George Fleming, and Susman Godfrey, gaining extensive trial experience across a broad variety of cases.

Litigation

Major Personal Injury, Wrongful Death and Toxic Exposure Cases:

• Co-counsel with George Fleming’s firm representing mass clients in Fen-Phen I and II, Diet Drug litigation, including the over $29 million Oregon jury verdict in the first trial of a mild aortic injury leading to the successful settlement of Fen-Phen I.
• Lead trial counsel with the O’Quinn Law Firm in the toxic chemical jury trial for workers exposed at the Brio EPA Superfund Site, resulting in a multi-million-dollar settlement during trial.
• Lead trial counsel with the O’Quinn Law Firm representing families in wrongful death cases brought in the U.S. arising from the tragic loss of life in seven (7) different aviation crash disasters occurring in Central and South America.
• The verdicts/settlements in these personal injury and wrongful death cases, representing thousands of clients and spanning fifteen (15) state and federal jurisdictions, total nearly a billion dollars.

Major Business and Commercial Cases:

• Co-counsel with George Fleming’s firm representing 60,000 plaintiffs in the Polybutylene Plumbing litigation.
• Co-counsel with George Fleming’s firm representing Retail Gas Dealers against major oil companies, Shell and Exxon. In a ground-breaking federal court trial over the good faith provision of the UCC, the jury awarded a ten (10) million-dollar verdict against Exxon, which was affirmed by the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
• Co-counsel with Susman Godfrey in a federal RICO action against PEMEX, one of the world’s largest oil and crude oil exporters, to collect a 273-million-dollar judgment.
• Lead counsel representing the two (2) whistleblowers, featured in the recent documentary on the Allen Stanford Ponzi Scheme, assisting the SEC in its enforcement action, and litigating the fall-out from the financial debacle.

Appellate

Judge O’Brien has also handled appeals in the state and federal appellate system, including over fifty (50) cases in the First and Fourteenth Houston Court of Appeals. Notable appellate cases include:

The Texas Supreme Court’s adoption of the “Judgment Rule” in determining damages in a legal malpractice case.

The Polybutylene Plumbing litigation appeals establishing the definition of a “consumer” under the DTPA.

The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals En Banc decision on the scope of removal, referred to as “a cornerstone in the Fifth Circuit jurisprudence on removal jurisdiction and procedural rules.” After briefing, the United States Supreme Court denied writ of certiorari.

Legal Malpractice and Expert Testimony

Judge O’Brien has represented attorneys in legal malpractice cases, including the former clients suit against the Executor of John M. O’Quinn Estate arising from the Silicosis litigation, and the Fleming Firm arising from the Sulzer hip replacement litigation.

Judge O’Brien has also provided expert testimony in at least ten (10) legal malpractice cases.

Mediator/Arbitrator

In addition to litigation, Judge O’Brien is a former member of Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS) and has successfully mediated and/or arbitrated complex civil cases involving millions of dollars.

Memberships

ADMISSIONS:

• Supreme Court of the United States (1992)
• Supreme Court of Texas (1976)
• United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit (1989)
• United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (1995)
• United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit (2003)
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas (1988)
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas (2009)

ASSOCIATIONS:

• State Bar of Texas
• Houston Bar Association
• Texas Trial Lawyers Association
• American Trial Lawyers Association

Other Activities

When Judge O’Brien is not litigating or settling cases, he enjoys gardening and driving his tractor on his Washington County ranch.