Lee Blalack is O’Melveny’s head of litigation for the Washington, DC office. He is an accomplished commercial litigator and trial lawyer who, during nearly thirty years 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. The Washingtonian magazine 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, Kaiser Permanente, Elevance Health, UnitedHealth Group, Health Care Services Corporation, Apple, Goldman Sachs, FedEx, Ford Motor Company and UBS AG. Lee has also been engaged by prominent nonprofit organizations and trade associations such as Harvard Medical School, the Brookings Institution, the US Chamber of Commerce, America’s Health Insurance Plans, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and The Museum of Modern Art in connection with government investigations and civil litigation. And he has represented public officials in connection with government and ethics investigations, including members of Congress and cabinet secretaries. Lee formerly served 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.