Michael O’Brien Joins Davis Wright Tremaine Employment Services Team
Davis Wright Tremaine
An attorney with more than two decades of labor and employment-related experience joined Davis Wright Tremaine’s employment services team in Anchorage. Michael O’Brien comes to Davis Wright from Perkins Coie, where he built a local and national practice that encompasses traditional labor, litigation, and counseling.
Prior to joining Perkins, O’Brien spent eleven years as associate general counsel for the UA System. There he represented system universities in complex legal issues involving labor and employment, Title IX, NCAA violations, and other education laws. He began his career as a State of Alaska public defender, where he tried dozens of jury trials to verdict.
O’Brien brings significant experience litigating employment cases as well. A significant portion of his work involves advising clients on their most complex labor challenges: union organizing, collective bargaining, arbitrations, and responding to unfair labor practice allegations.
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August 2026
“Companies around the country are experiencing a dramatic rise in union organizing,” says Jenna Mooney, co-chair of Davis Wright’s employment services group. “This has resulted in a significant spike in demand for the kind of rare expertise that Michael brings. We are delighted that he will expand our capacity to serve clients across multiple industries on these critical strategic issues.”
O’Brien received his JD from Vermont Law and Graduate School, where he also received a master’s degree in environmental law and policy. He also has a master’s degree from St. John’s College and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Montana. He began his career in Alaska leading trail crews in Kenai Fjords National Park and writing for The Seward Phoenix LOG newspaper. He most recently served as president of the Federal Bar Association’s Alaska chapter and is a past recipient of the Alaska Bar Association’s Bryan P. Timbers Pro Bono Award, which honored his years of work assisting survivors of domestic violence.
“Joining Davis Wright provides me the opportunity to expand my practice as part of a team focused on strategic growth,” O’Brien says. “I’m looking forward to sharing my experience as a mentor and developer of younger associates. I also plan to be an active participant in Davis Wright’s renowned pro bono program.”
