Michael O'Brien is a partner in the New Orleans office of Kean Miller. A native of New Orleans, he practices in the Admiralty and Maritime practice group. He has extensive experience in a wide variety of admiralty issues, including Jones Act and personal injury defense, maritime litigation, oil and gas exploration, drilling accidents, well blowouts, cargo damage, ship collisions, ship allisions, vessel groundings, lift boat and jack-up rig accidents, vessel mortgage filings, product liability, redhibition, as well as premesis liability, construction defect litigation and appeals.

Representative Experience

• Representation of various oil companies in proceedings resulting from pipelines being ruptured by vessels
• Representation of Louisiana-based towboat operators and barge owners in defense of property damage claims and personal injury claims under the Jones Act and the General Maritime Law
• Representation of a Louisiana-base energy company in defense of claims arising from the collapse of a bridge
• Representation of offshore oil and gas platform owners and operators in defense of personal injury claims and in prosecution of property damage claims associated with vessel allisions, personnel basket transfers and other issues, including analysis of defense and indemnity issues under relevant contracts
• Representation of an offshore drilling company in defense of personal injury claims involving traumatic brain injury
• Representation of commercial shipping lines in defense of personal injury claims under the Jones Act and General Maritime Law
• Representation of marine and energy companies involving catastrophes resulting from a rupture of pipelines and explosions
• Representation of contractors and government entities in matters involving statutory immunity as a result of actions taken after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
• Representation of marine and energy companies in BOEMRE investigations and hearings
• Representation of various drilling companies and oil companies in lawsuits filed by offshore workers based on the Jones Act, General Maritime Law, Louisiana and Texas state law and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA)
• Representation of shipbuilding clients in class action lawsuits filed by former employees alleging benzene exposure and Jones Act issues
• Representation of drilling companies and energy companies in claims filed by employees for sexual harassment, racial and sexual discrimination
• Representation of sub-contractors in both residential and commercial construction defect litigation

Education

Michael earned his B.A. in Political Science from Iowa University in 1998.  He attended Iowa State on a NCAA football scholarship. Michael earned his J.D. in 2001 from Loyola University New Orleans School of Law where he received the Joseph Rault Award for excellence in Admiralty and Maritime Law.

Admissions

• Admitted, Louisiana, 2001; United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana; United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Memberships

• Member, New Orleans, Louisiana State and American Bar Associations
  

Articles, Publications and Presentations

• "Review of the 2006 Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure", Around the Bar, April 2007.

• “A Review of Seaman’s Settlements”, Around the Bar, November 2007.

Reported Cases

• Chevron USA, Inc. v. Aker Maritime, Inc. et. al. 604 F.3d. 888 (5th Cir. 2010)

• Eubanks v. Noble Offshore Corporations, 224 Fed. Appx. 319 (5th Cir. 2007)