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JAMES M. O’B
RIEN
became a founding member of Hartley O’Brien Parsons Thompson & Hill in 1993. Mr. O’Brien, a native of Parkersburg, West Virginia, graduated from Wheeling Jesuit University in 1978, and went on to graduate from the West Virginia University College of Law in 1981. Mr. O’Brien is licensed to practice law in West Virginia (1981), Pennsylvania (1991) and Kentucky (1997).
Since 1988, Mr. O’Brien has represented individuals who have been injured by asbestos and various toxic chemicals, including benzene,
chlorine, coke-oven emissions, and industrial cleaning solvents.
Mr. O’Brien is a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, including its Benzene Litigation Group. He is also a member of the American Bar Association, the West Virginia Trial Lawyers’ Association, the West Virginia State Bar, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Kentucky Bar Association, the Kentucky Academy of Trial Lawyers, and the Ohio County Bar Association.
While in law school, Mr. O’Brien was a member of the West Virginia Law Review, and served on its editorial board.
After obtaining his law degree, Mr. O’Brien became a law clerk to Judge Charles H. Haden II, the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, and he continued in that capacity until 1984, when he was employed by the United States Department of Justice as an Assistant United States Attorney in Huntington, West Virginia.
Mr. O’Brien is married to the former Denise E. Elliott of Vienna, West Virginia. He and Denise reside in Wheeling, West Virginia,
with their four children.
EDUCATION:
- West Virginia University College of Law (J.D. 1981)
- Wheeling Jesuit University (B.A. 1978)
BARS & COURTS:
- West Virginia (1981)
- Pennsylvania (1991)
- Kentucky (1997)
- West Virginia Supreme Court
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court
- Kentucky Supreme Court
- United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- United States Courts of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia
- United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
AFFILIATIONS:
- Association of Trial Lawyers of America
- ATLA Benzene Litigation Group
- ATLA "M" Club Member
- West Virginia Trial Lawyers Association
- Kentucky Academy of Trial Attorneys
- American Bar Association
- West Virginia Bar Association
- Kentucky Bar Association
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Ohio County Bar Association
- The Jesuit Honor Society (Alpha Sigma Nu)
- National Safety Council
AREAS OF PRACTICE:
- Toxic Torts, Products Liability, FELA
PUBLICATIONS:
- J. M. O’Brien, “Inquiries into the Numerical Division of Juries: Ellis v. Reed,” 82 W.Va. Law Rev. 383-90 (1979).
- J.M. O’Brien, “A Constitutional Analysis of the Surface Owner Consent Provisions in the Tennessee Surface Mining Law and the West Virginia Oil and Gas Conservation Act,” 82 W.Va. Law
Rev. 1385-1400 (1980).
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