KELLY McTIGUE
, 49
Firm: O’Melveny & Myers LLP
LAW SCHOOL: Southwestern Law School
CLIENTS: Allied Waste Industries Inc., Apollo Management LP, Aramark Uniform & Career Apparel LLC, NMB USA Inc., Port of Oakland, Santa Cruz Biotechnology Inc.
On his way to California from Wisconsin, Kelly McTigue stopped in Idaho to run a bakery with his older brother.
“It was the middle of the ’70s, and I wanted to live in the mountains,” McTigue said. “It was fantastic training for life because as a 16-year-old, I was responsible for baking at night and delivering the products to our wholesale customers before going to school.”
So, how did this amateur baker become an environmental lawyer?
While he was a summer associate at the now-defunct McCutchen Black Verleger & Shea LLP, McTigue worked on a project involving the Gaviota Marine Terminal in northern Santa Barbara.
“I found it fascinating, and the folks suggested that I join the environmental group,” McTigue said.
In 2006, McTigue became head of O’Melveny & Myers LLP’s California environmental department. He represents companies that are tasked with cleaning up property contamination. He also negotiates environmental provisions that are included in larger acquisition deals.
McTigue’s worked on environmental litigation for O’Melveny’s corporate clients has increased.
Last year, McTigue and a group of O’Melveny lawyers negotiated a $10 million settlement after the California attorney general and Los Angeles County prosecutors investigated Home Depot’s hazardous waste policies. The company was found to have improperly stored and labeled hazardous waste.
“I have crossed over into the litigation arena, where I work with some of our litigators on environmental white-collar criminal defense, like the Home Depot settlement,” McTigue said.
McTigue moved to Santa Barbara after graduating from the University of Idaho. Before starting law school, McTigue said he “goofed around and took up sailing.”
After he finished law school, McTigue said he became an attorney in order to pay off student loan debt which he managed to do after practicing for 18 years.
