Lee Blalack

K. Lee Blalack II is O’Melveny’s regional head of litigation for Washington, DC. He is an accomplished commercial litigator and trial lawyer who, during more than two decades of practice, has secured favorable bench and jury verdicts in both civil and criminal trials.

He represents targets of grand jury, congressional, and regulatory investigations, and frequently conducts internal corporate investigations. Year after year, Washingtonianmagazine has named Lee one of the city’s “Top Lawyers,” and, in 2007, The American Lawyer magazine selected Lee as one of the top 50 litigators in the country in its “Fab Fifty” survey.

He has represented such notable corporate clients as Humana, FedEx Ground Package Systems, Ford Motor Company, UBS AG, UnitedHealth Group, and Goldman Sachs. Lee has also been engaged by nonprofit organizations such as Harvard University, the Brookings Institution, the US Chamber of Commerce, America’s Health Insurance Plans, and The Museum of Modern Art to defend the organizations in government investigations and civil litigation.

And he has represented prominent public officials in connection with government and ethics investigations, including members of Congress and cabinet secretaries. Lee currently serves on the Firm’s Policy Committee, which is the Firm’s board of directors, and has previously served on the Firm’s Partner Admissions Committee.

Before joining the Firm, Lee served as chief counsel and staff director of the US Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by Senator Susan M. Collins of Maine. In that capacity, he directed several nationally publicized investigations into the business practices of the sweepstakes and day-trading industries.

He also previously served as counsel to the US Senate’s Committee on Governmental Affairs, chaired by Senator Fred D. Thompson of Tennessee, during its year-long investigation of foreign influence in the 1996 federal elections.

Prior to law school, Lee served with the US Marine Corps during the Persian Gulf War. As part of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, he participated in the Second Marine Division’s ground invasion of Kuwait and was awarded several citations, including the Combat Action Ribbon and the Kuwaiti Liberation Medal.

Experience:

• Former Senator Pete Domenici in connection with a federal grand jury and Senate Ethics Committee investigation of his communications with the US Attorney for the District of New Mexico
• Former Secretary of Commerce John Bryson in connection with a congressional investigation of government loan programs to expand broadband networks to rural areas
• Humana Inc., in connection with the multi-district RICO class action suits brought by 600,000 medical doctors against the managed-care industry
• FedEx Ground Package Systems, Inc., in a three-week jury trial in federal court filed by dozens of former pickup and delivery contractors challenging their employment status
• Florida Power & Light Group in a week-long bench trial before the US Tax Court in connection with the company’s nearly $300 million refund claim against the IRS
• Brookings Institution in connection with a variety of civil litigation matters
• US Chamber of Commerce in connection with amicus curiae briefs filed with the US Supreme Court relating to constitutional challenges to the Affordable Care Act
• America’s Health Insurance Plans in connection with amicus curiae briefs filed in the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit relating to removal jurisdiction under the Medicare Act
• UBS AG in connection with a Senate investigation of its offshore banking business
• UnitedHealth Group in connection with Senate and House investigations of its business practices in the small group and individual health insurance markets
• Goldman Sachs Group in connection with a Senate investigation of its subprime mortgage business, and a House investigation of its executive compensation practices
• The former General Counsel of Hewlett-Packard in connection with investigations of the company’s efforts to prevent leaks of sensitive business information from Board meetings
• The former General Counsel of Bell South International in connection with an FCPA investigation of a Nicaraguan subsidiary

Admissions:

• District of Columbia
• US Court of Federal Claims
• US District Court, District of Columbia
• US Tax Court

Education:

• University of Memphis, J.D., 1994: magna cum laude; articles editor, University of Memphis Law Review
• University of Memphis, MA, 1996
• University of Memphis, BA, 1990

Clerkships:

• Honorable Harry W. Wellford, US Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit

Member:

• American Bar Association
• District of Columbia Bar Association
• Maryland Bar Association
• Tennessee Bar Association