Bridget O’Connor is a trial attorney and litigation partner in the Washington D.C., office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Bridget has built an expansive reputation as a go-to attorney for companies involved in sophisticated disputes across the country. Be it BP in the Deepwater Horizon multi-district litigation or General Motors in ignition switch litigation, Bridget has been on the front lines driving high-profile, highly technical disputes to successful conclusions in state and federal courts and arbitrations across the country. These successful results include, among others, in-court wins for BNSF as the plaintiff in a two-week arbitration trial resulting in $109 million recovery (BNSF Railway v. FirstEnergy), for BASF as the plaintiff in a seven‑week trial resulting in a $169.9 million jury verdict in a breach of contract case in New Jersey (BASF v. Lyondell), and for Charter Communications in a 19-day trial against claims by its bank lenders that it breached its obligations in connection with more than $11 billion in secured financing and claims by creditors for breaches of fiduciary duties where the court found for Charter on all counts in a precedent‑setting opinion.
Bridget’s distinctive approach of preparing from a trial-ready perspective and digging deeply into scientific, technical, or economic intricacies sets her apart. Clients and colleagues trust that she will master every detail in a way that will ultimately make complex issues simple for judges and juries. Bridget has played pivotal roles in developing the legal and factual strategies in complex multi-district, restructuring, and commercial litigation matters, and in the presentation of those strategies at trial. Her experience has led to a valuable understanding of efficient and effective management of large-scale and sensitive cases. Bridget’s successful track record spans litigation matters and investigations in a broad range of subject matters, including breach of contract, business torts, product liability, banking, finance, restructuring and antitrust matters in a variety of forums.
After attending the University of Notre Dame, Bridget earned her law degree from Duke University School of Law. There, she served as Executive Editor for the Duke Journal of Comparative and International Law and also attained her M.P.P. at Duke’s Sanford Institute of Public Policy. Bridget then clerked for the Honorable D. Brooks Smith in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Since joining Kirkland, she has shared her trial experience as an instructor for the Kirkland Institute for Trial Advocacy (KITA) and as a visiting faculty member at Notre Dame Law School and at The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law. Bridget has also served as pro bono counsel on several high-profile cases, including for the plaintiffs in a successful challenge to North Carolina voting restrictions, which was ranked on the National Law Journal’s Pro Bono Hot List.