Tim O'Brien

Tim O'Brien, an attorney and award-winning journalist, covered the U.S. Supreme Court for more than two decades. His unique perspective and anecdotes about the Court are both entertaining and illuminating. A much sought after dinner speaker, O'Brien knows the stories behind the stories about the Court, the Justices and their work. He was the keynote speaker at the D.C. Judicial Circuit Conference at Williamsburg, Virginia in 2002.

Mr. O'Brien's reporting has received the highest accolades of both the legal and journalism professions.  The National Academy of Arts and Sciences awarded Mr. O'Brien an Emmy for his contributions to CNN's coverage of the September 11th terrorism attacks.  His television documentaries on the criminal justice system received the American Bar Association's highest award (The Silver Gavel) as well as a Columbia-DuPont Award for Excellence in Journalism. His reports on the death penalty and alternative dispute resolution have also been recognized by the ABA for journalism excellence.  He is a leading proponent of televised coverage of Supreme Court proceedings, advancing his arguments on the Op-Ed pages of the New York Times.

Active in the Washington legal community, Mr. O'Brien is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the Bar of the Supreme Court of the U.S.; he is an elected member of the American Law Institute, a former Director of the American Judicature Society and sits on the Advisory Board of the National Legal Center for the Public Interest. He is a "Distinguished Alumnus" of Michigan State University and a member of the Board of Visitors of the Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans.

Mr. O'Brien is currently Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law the Shepard-Broad Law Center at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale.  He has held similar positions at the Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans (2003) Hofstra University School of Law in New York (2000), St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami (2001) and previously at Nova. (1999, 2002).