Sean A. O'Brien

About Sean A. O'Brien

Sean A. O'Brien is a partner at Payne & Fears in Irvine who practices employment and business litigation in federal and state courts and in private arbitration. He defends employers against wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, and harassment claims, as well as wage-and-hour class actions and PAGA representative actions. He is known for his work on trade secrets and unfair competition. Since 1996, he has written the chapter on that subject in the CEB treatise Advising California Employers and Employees, and he has been retained as an expert consultant on those topics. He has also served as co-counsel in trademark and patent infringement cases. Before joining Payne & Fears in 2003, he spent 16 years as a business litigator at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker in Orange County. He earned his J.D. from Berkeley Law (Boalt Hall) and an M.B.A. from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business.

Where Sean A. O'Brien practices

Practice areas

Credentials

Bar admissions

California State Bar No. 133154 (Active admitted 1988-01-26)