JAMESTOWN-Los Angeles attorney and producer Chris Olsen will speak at the 2017 JHS Commencement June 22nd at the Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater according to JPS Communications Coordinator Cathy Panebianco.
Olsen is a 1982 Jamestown High School graduate. The ceremony will start at 7 PM.
“We are both thankful and fortunate to have Chris Olsen as our keynote speaker for graduation this year,” said JHS Principal Mike McElrath. “Chris is a proud and highly successful JHS alum and I’m certain his message will be well-received by students and audience members alike. He has already gone out of his way to connect with several members of our senior class and his enthusiasm for JHS, and the Jamestown community, is most refreshing.”
Olsen obtained his Bachelor of Arts Degree with Honors from Elon University in North Carolina and his Juris Doctorate Degree (Cum Laude) from Pepperdine University, where he was also named the Best Oral Advocate in the country at the annual ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition.
The lawyer is admitted before the United States Supreme Court, the Federal Claims Court, and every state Court in California. He has worked on several significant cases, including the O.J. Simpson civil case representing the birth mother of Ron Goldman and the Lockheed Stealth bomber litigation, which resulted in the longest jury deliberations in U.S. history.
Olsen has handled hundreds of cases at the trial court level, and is also undefeated on appeal (8-0) where the Appellate Court upheld the favorable judgments rendered by the trial court.
The Jamestown alumnus has also been fortunate to be involved in the entertainment industry with some of the hottest properties and most talented writers and directors. He is developing a dramatic feature film about the story of Vince Lombardi and his Green Bay Packers, based on Jerry Kramer’s sports classic, Instant Replay. The project is being developed with Robert De Niro and his company, Tribeca. Oscar winner John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) has penned the script for the project.
Olsen has also produced several live events, most recently, the Celebrity Sports Roast & Toast of Steve Garvey and Dave Winfield at the MLB All-Star Weekend in San Diego and the Super Bowl Central Kick-Off concert at SB 49 in Phoenix, AZ.
Olsen’s book, Lucy Comes Home, chronicling Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s historic return to Jamestown in 1956 to premiere their MGM film, Forever Darling, will be published in the Spring of 2018.
He is also developing a film about the closure of the steel mills in Ohio entitled, Youngstown, based on the song from Bruce Springsteen and the book Journey to Nowhere, as well as a feature length documentary about Lucy and Desi’s visit that will include additional photographs, newsreel footage, and never before seen interviews of the people who were there.