M. Brian McMahon | Attorney

EDUCATION

• Ph.D. Philosophy, University of Wisconsin, 1972
• J.D. University of California, Los Angeles, 1978

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

• Private Practice since 1979
• Law Clerk to Judge Ozell Trask, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1978-1979
• Member of the State Bar of California
• Practice before all Federal and State Courts in California, including U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Federal Circuit
• AV Rating from Martindale-Hubbell

AREAS OF PRACTICE

• Antitrust & Unfair Competition
• Complex Civil Federal and State Litigation
• Practice before U.S. Federal Circuit
• Crude Oil, Natural Gas and Geothermal Resources Law
• Environmental Law
• Utility Law
• Complex Business Litigation
• Appellate

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Natural Gas antitrust case: member of joint litigation team that recovered $3.5 billion for California natural gas and electricity customers and recovered over $30 million for the City of Long Beach and its natural gas ratepayers.
• Obtained summary judgment dismissing multimillion dollar CERCLA contribution claim against the City of Long Beach.
• Litigated against major oil companies for conspiracy to underprice crude oil; recovered over $300 Million.
• Recovered millions of dollars for the State of New Mexico from major oil companies for underpayment of crude oil royalties.
• Obtained reversal in appellate court of summary judgment against client's Unfair Practices Act claim.
• Provided assistance to a Federal Interagency Task Force concerning underpayment of federal crude oil royalties.
• Successful representation of antitrust claims of distributor of baseball equipment against two baseball distributor trade groups.
• Special assistance to State of California concerning antitrust concerns over the merger of two major oil companies.
• Represented State of California in successfully urging the U.S. Department of Interior to change its valuation regulations for federal crude oil.

TESTIMONY

• Government Management, Information and Technology Subcommittee, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, United States House of Representatives, June 1996.
• Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, Resources Committee, United States House of Representatives, May 1998 and September 1998.
• Energy and Natural Resources Committee, United States Senate, June 1998.
• Hearing before the Honorable George Miller and the Honorable Carolyn B. Maloney, Members of the House of Representatives, July, 1998 concerning regulations proposed by the Minerals Management Service, United States Department of Interior, for the collection of crude oil royalties.
• Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee of the Committee of Resources, June 2001.

PUBLICATIONS

• Tying Law: The Clash Between the Supreme Court and Lower Courts, Competition, The Journal of the Antitrust and Unfair Competition Section of the State Bar of California, Vol. 16, No. 2, Fall/Winter 2007.
• Forthcoming Co-Author, Antitrust and Unfair Competition in Regulated Industries, Chapter 9, California Antitrust & Unfair Competition Law, IV Ed.

ADDRESSES & SPEECHES

• Natural Gas Anti-Trust Cases: A Perspective from the Participants, Antitrust Section of Los Angeles County Bar, Speaker
• At Sword's Point Energy Issues in the Interface of Intellectual Property, New Technology and Antitrust, Moderator
• Western States Lands Commission Meeting 1999
• Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, Royalty-In-Kind Workshop, 1998
• California Independent Producers Association, 1998
• Mineral Management Services Meeting, 1998
• Mineral Management Services Meeting, 1996
• National Stripper Well Association, Annual Meeting, 1995
• Western and Eastern States Lands Commission Meeting, 1991

MEMBERSHIPS

• State Bar of California (Member, Sections on: Antitrust & Unfair Competition, Litigation)
• Los Angeles County Bar (Member, Sections on Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Litigation)
• Association of Business Trial Lawyers
• Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation
• American Bar Association
• American Philosophical Association
• Board of Directors Pasadena Young Musicians Orchestra, 2001-Present
  • President 2003-2005
  • Vice President 2001-2003, 2005-Present