California Law Business
May 19, 1997
Alex J. Chun

U.S. Attorneys Go Private – 'Instant Credibility'

What Sacramento's Stevens & O'Connell lacks in manpower, it certainly makes up for in star power.

The firm was founded April 21 when former U.S. Attorneys Charles J. Stevens and George L. O'Connell decided to start their own four-attorney firm specializing in complex civil litigation and, not surprisingly, business crime matters.

O'Connell, a 1991 appointee by President Bush, was a driving force behind investigations of corruption at the State Capitol. After serving as a U.S. Attorney for two years, he left to join Sacramento's Downey, Brand, Seymour & Rohwer as a partner.

Stevens, on the other hand, was appointed to the prosecutor's job by President Clinton in 1993. In addition to forming a violent crimes strike force that targeted repeat offenders, he was on the team prosecuting Unabomber suspect Theodore Kaczynski.

Formerly the managing partner of Los Angeles' Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's Sacramento office, Stevens resigned from his post last month. At the time, he considered taking a lucrative position in his former firm's San Francisco office, but ultimately decided that the chance to work with O'Connell – whom he considers one of Sacramento's top litigators – was too tempting to pass up.

Although their political party affiliations differ, Stevens and O'Connell are longtime friends. In addition, each served as assistant U.S. attorney in the Central District of California and each presided over the Sacramento-based Eastern District of California as U.S. attorney.

"There's a real benefit to having two former U.S. attorneys team up," Stevens noted. "One of the things it does is bring instant credibility, which is a traditional obstacle to small firms."

Chief among the clients that have already signed up with the firm are McClatchy Newspapers, Inc., GTE California, ITT Educational Services, Hewlett-Packard Co. and TRW Inc.

"We've been fortunate to be able to represent some major corporate clients in our first few weeks," Stevens said. "One always wonders, 'if we build it, will they come?'"

O'Connell and Stevens are joined in the new firm by partner Stephen J. Burns, a classmate of Stevens at Boalt Hall School of law, and associate Craig C. Allison, who followed O'Connell to the firm from Downey Brand.

"A smaller firm provides more independence and flexibility [than a large firm]," Stevens added. "I like being able to choose the type of cases I take and the type of clients I work for."

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