James M. O'Brien

Mr. O'Brien was born in Santa Monica, California. He attended California State University, Northridge, and obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1975. Mr. O'Brien obtained his law degree from Southwestern University in 1978. During law school, he was accepted to Law Review and was a contributor to Southwestern University's first published compendium of federal statutes of limitations. In 1977, his published article reviewed the U.S. Supreme Court case of Estelle v. Williams and other cases involving the issue or whether the trial of a defendant in prison garb violated that defendant's presumption of innocence. During law school, Mr. O'Brien clerked for a firm specializing in defense of certified public accountants.

From 1978 through 1990, Mr. O'Brien practiced in Southern California, specializing in the areas of litigation, product liability, defense of public entities, and general tort litigation. He represented self-insured, supermarkets, rental car companies, school districts, police officers in civil rights cases, and handled complex litigation matters including asbestos and wrongful death arising from the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel fire. Mr. O'Brien worked in appellate cases that resulted in two published opinions favorable to his clients.

In 1990, Mr. O'Brien transferred to Northern California to open and manage the Sacramento office of a statewide law firm. His practice included several nationally known self-insured, school districts, and other public entities in Northern and Central California. He also specialized in product liability cases involving manufacturers of medical equipment and devices. Mr. O'Brien handled subrogation cases on behalf of a California homeowner's insurance carrier, obtaining the largest subrogation recovery ever obtained by the client in California.

Mr. O'Brien moved to Arizona in 2006. His hobbies include antiques, reading, gardening, movies, traveling, RV'ing. He and his wife Beth are sports fanatics and have embraced both the Coyotes and Cardinals since moving to the Valley of the Sun.