Levin Papantonio shareholder Timothy O’Brien is a board-certified civil trial attorney who concentrates his practice in the areas of mass tort litigation, product liability, personal injury, wrongful death, and transactional liability. Mr. O’Brien is rated “A-V Preeminent” by the prestigious Martindale-Hubbell lawyer peer-rating service (the “A-V Preeminent” rating is the highest rating an attorney can receive). In September 2018, Mr. O’Brien was appointed by the United States Southern District of Ohio as Co-Lead Counsel for the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in MDL No. 2846, In re Davol, Inc./C.R. Bard, Inc., Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation. He also currently is serving as a member of the Executive Committee for the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in MDL No. 2750, In re Invokana (Canagliflozin) Products Liability Litigation.
He previously served as Plaintiffs Steering Committee Lead Counsel for MDL No. 1789, In re Fosamax Products Liability Litigation, as co-chair of the Discovery Committee In re Yasmin and Yaz (Drospirenone) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2100 as national co-lead counsel in In re Cisco Systems Securities Litig., MDL No. 1527, as Discovery co-chair in In re Accutane Products Liab. Litig., MDL No. 1626, as Discovery co-chair in In re Medtronic, Inc., Implantable Defibrillators Product Liab. Litig., MDL No. 1726, as a member of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in In re Guidant Corp. Implantable Defibrillators Product Liab. Litig., MDL No. 1708, and served on the discovery committee of In re Phenylpropanolamine (“PPA”) Products Liab. Litig. , MDL No. 1407.
He has been interviewed by and extensively quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Pink Sheet, The Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg News, and by National Public Radio, CBS Radio, and Air America Radio, as well as several European national news organizations.
In recognition of his accomplishments representing the injured, Mr. O’Brien has been frequently chosen as one of the Super Lawyers by the annual publication of the same name. Further, in 2011, he was named by Florida Trend as one of the 2011 Florida Legal Elite, an honor bestowed upon fewer than 100 civil trial attorneys in the State of Florida.
After graduating from law school, Mr. O’Brien worked for two years as a law clerk for the Honorable William T. Moore, Jr., United States District Judge for the Southern District of Georgia. Mr. O’Brien then entered private practice in Georgia where he concentrated his practice in the area of federal civil litigation. During his period of private practice in Georgia, Mr. O’Brien, together with Judge Moore, coauthored Clients and Fees: Ethical Issues for Criminal Defense Attorneys, Vol 4:4 Georgia Bar Journal 10 (1999).