Brian S. Currey
Presiding Justice Currey received the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Outstanding Jurist Award in 2024.
He attended the University of California, Davis, which recognized him as the outstanding male graduate, and the University of Virginia Law School, where he served on the Virginia Law Review.
He then spent nearly 30 years litigating complex cases at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, serving in various roles including vice-chair of the litigation department. Some of his high-profile matters included the Exxon Valdez criminal case, the Cantara Loop/Sacramento River train derailment and toxic chemical spill, and the Vioxx products liability litigation. He also advised on and litigated antitrust, business, energy, intellectual property, public finance, infrastructure, and other issues. On the pro bono front, he served as counsel to the Christopher Commission after the Rodney King incident, was a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s task force on criminal justice reform, and secured a Supreme Court victory allowing the U.S. Census to more accurately count traditionally undercounted groups. He helped to create and oversaw an award-winning training program in which O’Melveny lawyers gained trial experience by acting as pro bono prosecutors for several cities. He also received an award from an environmental organization for his pro bono work in Southern California.
In 2010, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appointed him as Counsel to the Mayor, and later as Deputy Mayor for Economic and Business Policy. He oversaw City departments responsible for the airport, port, convention center, planning, building and safety, and other key functions. His time at City Hall gave him an insider’s understanding of how government works and a deeper understanding of public policy issues facing the Golden State.
In 2014, Governor Brown appointed him as a Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge. He presided over both criminal and civil dockets and ultimately served on the Complex Civil Litigation Court. He also acted as a Justice pro tem in Divisions 1 and 3 of the Second District Court of Appeal.
Governor Brown appointed him to the Court of Appeal in December 2018. Governor Newsome later elevated him to Presiding Justice of Division 4. In both instances, the Commission on Judicial Appointments unanimously confirmed his appointment after the Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission bestowed an “exceptionally well qualified” rating.
Presiding Justice Currey has served as the sole representative of appellate justices on the Board and Executive Board of the California Judges Association (CJA). He also was the liaison between the CJA board and CJA’s Appellate and Civil committees.
Presiding Justice Currey is Chair of the California Civility Task Force, a joint project of CJA and the California Lawyers Association, in cooperation with the State Bar of California. The Task Force’s initial report contains meaningful proposals for improving civility in the practice of law, and may be viewed at Caljudges.org/Civility. The proposals have been or are in the process of being adopted.
Presiding Justice Currey is a member of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers’ Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Litigation Section. He also belongs to several other professional associations. He speaks and writes on legal issues, and has taught at the USC Gould School of Law.
In his spare time, he likes running, hiking, kayaking, fly-fishing, and enjoying life with family and friends.