Firm Founders - Henry O'Melveny, O'Melveny & Myers LLP

When he was 26 years old, Henry W. O’Melveny (1859-1941) co-founded a two-man law practice that is now the international, 800-lawyer firm of O'Melveny & Myers LLP.

O'Melveny was a prominent civic leader in Los Angeles during the turn of the twentieth century and played an important role in multiple institutions that serve the public good, including sitting on the first board of directors of the LA Public Library, serving as an early trustee of the California Institute of Technology, and helping to establish UCLA, as well as more than 30 state parks and historic monuments. His example guided son Jack, who in 1929 helped found the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, the oldest and largest provider of free legal services in California.

Since the firm’s founding more than 130 years ago, O’Melveny & Myers LLP has channeled the creativity and passion of its lawyers into public interest efforts. The enduring sense of civic responsibility continues to this day as firm lawyers tackle society’s most urgent issues, from immigration to education reform to voting rights, promoting access to justice and defending constitutional protections—the firm’s way of honoring Henry’s legacy of giving back.