Firm History
Although new in name, Louris Marshall O’Brien (LMO) stands at the pinnacle of a long and heralded tradition. LMO’s predecessor, Miller O’Brien Jensen (MOJ), was renowned for its success, but also for its longevity, having worked on behalf of individual employees, groups of employees and labor organizations longer than any firm in Minnesota. LMO now continues that proud tradition. Its lawyers share the essential DNA of their MOJ predecessors, DNA marked by a deep commitment to the interests of workers, but also by exceptional savvy and competence in the protection of those interests.
As LMO’s predecessor, MOJ was forged by fire during the “big bang” of employment law in the 1980s when Bill O’Brien joined forces with Rich Miller. Over the next 40 years, Bill and Rich, joined by Tim in 2010, and Emily in 2013, threw themselves into the work of fighting for employees, and often against the superior resources of employers. For his part, Roger Jensen had been a respected competitor of MOJ (as principal at Jensen, Bell, Converse & Erickson) before aligning with Miller and O’Brien, also in 2010.
In their focused work, this collective of lawyers won countless verdicts, settlements, and arbitration awards for their clients. Among these was the first whistleblower verdict for an employee in Minnesota, the largest pre-suit settlement of a sex discrimination class action ever recorded, the largest settlement of a disability discrimination case for an employee in the public sector, as well as innumerable reinstatement orders for unjustly terminated union workers.
While there have been many such trumpeted results in their history, LMO’s lawyers know the essential truth of workplace disputes: that much of the hard and best work is done in the trenches and shadows, in developing compelling bargaining leverage and unique strategies, in providing our clients with wise advice and counsel at critical junctures, and in negotiating and securing fast, efficient and effective resolutions. This approach, honed by MOJ and embraced by LMO, allows clients to navigate workplace problems, to move on with their lives with pride, and without protracted legal battles. In the MOJ tradition, LMO prides itself on this sort of client-centric resolution of workplace disputes.
So, although new in name, LMO is deeply seasoned in contending with the unique challenges of the twenty first century workplace. Indeed, there is no law firm in Minnesota with more experience in workplace law than LMO, that understands better the nuance and complexity of navigating employment challenges on behalf of employees.
With Bill O’Brien’s move to of-counsel status in 2025, Roger Jensen’s retirement in 2021, and Rich Miller’s passing in 2024, LMO acknowledges, celebrates, and holds close the life work of these icons, their decades of dedicated contribution, the indelible mark they have each made on the employee rights and labor movements.