Exhibit B (Dkt. 248-2, S.D. Fla.)
Summary
Exhibit B (Document 248-2) in Case 1:21-md-02989-CMA, entered on the FLSD docket April 26, 2021, is a 36-page exhibit that reproduces, on pages 27 to 30, two articles on Browne George Ross. A Daily Journal article of Wednesday, October 21, 2020 by Kamila Knaudt reports that with the elevation of Thomas P. O'Brien, Maribeth Annaguey and Dennis S. Ellis, Browne George Ross LLP has changed its name to Browne George Ross O'Brien Annaguey and Ellis LLP, and that Ellis joined from Paul Hastings this March as former global chair of the complex litigation arbitration group. A Lawdragon article of Oct. 22, 2020 quotes Ellis on a firm "that matches the mosaic of our country" and ends with O'Brien saying "we're building a juggernaut."
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- Date
- 2021-04-26
Cite this document
“Exhibit B (Dkt. 248-2).”
Original at archive.org, dated 2021-04-26. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2021-04-26-covid-era-misc-3321454b-1/
, SHA-256 3321454b61a1e912bb35f94acb4cfd3b743cd2fc971d153f9dfaceeb63993c29.Full text
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EXHIBIT B
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2020
Litigation boutique highlights star partners with new name
By Kamila Knaudt
Daily Journal Staff Writer
W
ith the elevation of three
partners, Browne George
Ross LLP has changed its
name to Browne George Ross O’Brien
Annaguey and Ellis LLP.
The !rm announced the elevation of
Thomas P. O’Brien, Maribeth Anna-
guey and Dennis S. Ellis to named part-
ner on Wednesday.
“The three partners, who we’re add-
ing to the name, exemplify not only the
expansion of our practices, but just the
quality of our lawyers, and we thought:
Justin Stewart / Special to the Daily Journal
‘What better way to celebrate this next
chapter of the !rm and its history and From left, Peter W. Ross, Maribeth Annaguey, Eric M. George, Thomas P. O’Brien and
Dennis S. Ellis
also where we’re going than to place
their name on the door?” said Keith J. Angeles of!ce and represents clients in clients on matters including class action
Wesley, managing partner of the !rm. government investigations and prose- defense and disputes related to the Tal-
The elevations are not only a celebra- cutions related to the federal and state ent Agencies Act, real estate and part-
tion of the attorneys’ accomplishments, False Claims Act, the Foreign Corrupt nerships.
but acknowledgment of their leadership Practices Act, health care fraud and cor- Founded in 1985 by Allan Browne,
in and outside of the !rm, Wesley said. porate compliance. the !rm has of!ces in Century City, Los
O’Brien, Annaguey and Ellis joined Like O’Brien, Ellis joined from Paul Angeles, San Francisco and New York
the !rm during the past three years. Hastings, arriving this March. He is the City.
“They’re not only exceptional people former global chair of the complex lit- The !rm last underwent a name
and exceptional lawyers, but truly re- igation arbitration group at Paul Hast- change 12 years ago when it became
markable partners, who bring phenom- ings and specializes in complex liti- Browne George Ross.
enal work ethic, complete integrity and gation, consumer class actions, unfair “This is really an exciting chapter for
great loyalty,” said name partner Eric competition disputes, business torts and us, where we have the ability to take on
M. George. O’Brien, the U.S. attorney breach of contract actions. His clients cases and do so with lawyers that have
for the Central District of California are from the manufacturing, retail and incredible expertise and with a geo-
from 2007 to 2009, joined the !rm in most recently the cosmetics industry. graphical reach that up until now, we
2018 from Paul Hastings LLP, where A seasoned litigator, Annaguey joined haven’t been able to do,” said George.
he headed the West Coast white collar the !rm in 2017 from Liner LLP, where “I’d say in this next chapter, the best is
defense practice and chaired the Los she practiced for about nine years. yet to come.”
Angeles litigation department. She focuses on complex business and
He leads the !rm’s downtown Los entertainment litigation and advises kamila_knaudt@dailyjournal.com
Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal. ©2020 Daily Journal Corporation. All rights reserved. Reprinted by ReprintPros 949-702-5390
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Lawyer Profiles & Legal News Oct. 22, 2020
LAWDRAGON
O’Brien, Annaguey & Ellis Signal
Expansion of Browne George Ross
Photo of Tom O’Brien, Maribeth Annaguey and Dennis Ellis by Amy Cantrell.
By Katrina Dewey
Browne George Ross has made the seemingly retro move of adding three new name partners
– Tom O’Brien, Maribeth Annaguey and Dennis Ellis – to become Browne George Ross
O’Brien Annaguey & Ellis.
Firm leader Eric George sees the issue as a look ahead, rather than to the past. “Maribeth,
Dennis and Tom have the gifts that define an extraordinary lawyer – excellence, integrity,
scholarship, common sense, creativity, grit. Clients love them, and the bench and bar respects
them. It’s time for our letterhead to reflect their current and future leadership of the firm,"
George said.
Copyright Lawdragon Inc. 2020 1
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Lawyer Profiles & Legal News Oct. 22, 2020
Browne George has long been considered one of L.A.’s hottest litigation firms – and it’s just
getting hotter. Helmed by the well-known and much-admired George alongside celebrated
trial lawyer Pete Ross, the firm has amassed an enviable track record in courts nationwide. In
the last year alone, the firm’s stable of trial work has been second to none - ranging from
defending the City of L.A.’s Water and Power Department in high profile litigation, to taking
on Senator Richard Burr for insider stock trades at the onset of Covid, to representing Nicki
Minaj in copyright litigation, to procuring $15 million in judgments against now-disgraced
attorney Michael Avenatti.
That’s no accident. While Los Angeles’ historic market-leading firms clambered to become
international contenders, they forfeited some of the very attributes that drew top lawyers to
them in the first place. “We’ve focused exclusively on top litigation matters, and on building a
firm that wants to win for their clients, not just bill them,” said managing partner Keith
Wesley.
Annaguey, O’Brien and Ellis are BigLaw veterans who have become major players in
Southern California.
Annaguey was the first to join, in 2017, after building a successful client base over nearly
nine years as a partner at Liner Law. As Liner was acquired by DLA, one of the world’s
largest firms, Annaguey assessed what type of practice would best serve her clients – and
someone suggested she reconnect with George. “I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it
myself,” she said, having watched as George built a “very sophisticated, high-stakes, high-
profile practice.”
O’Brien followed less than a year later. After serving as U.S. Attorney for the Central District
of California, O’Brien spent nine years as a partner at Paul Hastings, where he headed the
West Coast white-collar practice as well as the Los Angeles litigation department. He met the
connected George while doing the rounds to become the region’s top federal prosecutor in
2007, “and I just fell in love with the guy immediately,” he said. George beat the drum on
O’Brien joining, and “a couple of years ago, I thought, ‘Let's go ahead and try this.’ And it's
been fantastic. Maybe not for Eric, but for me.”
“It's been a real breath of fresh air for me in practice,” he added. “I'm going to say what
Maribeth said, which is so key on the practice of law. You can do it in a gentlemanly and a
gentlewomanly manner.”
Ellis’ journey to Browne George’s door began – as it seems all roads do – with dinner at Dan
Tana’s with George. “And I quickly transitioned into asking Eric what he thought of the
judicial appointment secretary [and now a San Diego Superior Court judge] Sharon Majors-
Lewis,” said Ellis. “And he says, ‘Oh, I love her. She's great. She's very thoughtful in her
approach and everything else.’ And I said, ‘Good answer, because that's my mother.’”
There was no going back. Over a decade of friendship, George watched Ellis score one
victory after another as a trial lawyer. “Simply put,” said George of Ellis, “I have never met a
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Lawyer Profiles & Legal News Oct. 22, 2020
better trial lawyer.” The two found themselves talking on a weekly basis about law and
strategy in their cases - the two refer to the other as his “best friend in the law” - when George
confronted Ellis about his legacy, asking him what more he wanted after an extraordinary
career in which Ellis had risen through the ranks to become global chair of complex litigation
and arbitration at Paul Hastings. It was only a matter of time before the answer to George’s
“Wouldn’t it be great to work together?” became “Yes.”
Asked for his reaction to his name being added to the firm’s, Ellis offered: “I think it shows
dramatically that you can find good quality lawyers, deserving lawyers and build diversity in
a law firm, in a practice and have a firm that matches the mosaic of our country, our society
and in particular the area where we practice in Los Angeles.”
He added: “It is not lost on me the time in which this is happening and I do believe that it
shows that in all of the situations that are going on that there still are some positive things
taking place and that some firms, some corporations and some companies realize the
important role that people of color play in our society and how they can affect not only
society generally, but individual companies as they strive to meet the needs of a diverse
marketplace.”
That’s been a huge selling point for the numerous top-tier lawyers who have chosen to switch
rather than fight the current era of BigLaw. All three newly-named partners remember
watching at the beginning of the pandemic as BigLaw almost in unison began to defer
compensation and lay off staff. “And we were sitting around here saying, ‘Wow. No one
wants to wish anything like that on anyone,’” said O’Brien. “But that’s how they have to react
because it’s about balance sheets now.”
Meanwhile, they looked around Browne George and saw they were busy and getting busier.
“There's a brotherhood-sisterhood camaraderie feeling. I certainly feel it at this firm, that
these people have your back,” said O’Brien.
At the end of the day, Ellis said, we are “nothing if we don’t achieve for our clients - and
achieve in an exceptional way.” Ellis recalled the joy he felt as a young lawyer, with the
circulation of kudos memos after notching a litigation win. “They always ended, ‘Needless to
say, the client is ecstatic.’”
“I’ve never lost that sense of satisfaction. That’s what this is all about,” said Ellis.
“I believe we're building a juggernaut,” concluded O’Brien, “that is going to be absolutely
head to toe competitive with every single law firm in Los Angeles, California, and across the
country.”
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