Munger, Tolles & Olson

Munger, Tolles, & Olson LLP (MTO) is a prominent California law firm with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. It is consistently ranked among the most selective law firms in the United States with regard to hiring and regularly tops lists of the country's elite law firms.[1][2] Charles Munger founded the firm in 1962 with six other attorneys.[3]

Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP

Headquarters	California Plaza Los Angeles, California
No. of offices	3
No. of attorneys	170 (2011)
No. of employees	450 (2008)
Major practice areas	litigation, corporate, tax, real estate, bankruptcy, labor and employment, environmental
Key people	Hailyn J. Chen, and Malcolm A. Heinicke, Co-Managing Partners
Revenue	$204 million (2011)
Date founded	1962
Founder	Charlie Munger, Leroy Tolles and Ronald Olson
Company type	Limited liability partnership
Website	mto.com

Legal practice

Munger, Tolles & Olson is known for its defense of corporations in civil lawsuits and individuals in criminal trials and investigations. The American Lawyer described the firm as an "army of trial lawyers capable of waging war."[4] Chambers and Partners noted that the firm is a "litigation powerhouse" known for its "intellectual excellence."[5]

The firm typically hires graduates of the most prestigious law schools with "impeccable grades, law review, and a federal clerkship" and promotes from within.[6] Known for its egalitarian culture, Munger Tolles maintains a 1:1 partner to associate ratio where each lawyer gets an equal vote in hiring decisions.[7] Nearly half of the attorneys who started at the firm in the last twenty years continue to practice there.[3]

About eighty percent of attorneys have clerked for federal judges, including 18 for justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.[3] All but one of President Obama's appointments to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California have been Munger Tolles alumni.[8][9][10]

Notable representations include:

• The Getty Trust after allegations of wrongdoing in the acquisition of its antiquities collection;[11]
• Michael Ovitz in defending his executive pay at Disney;[12]
• California candidate for governor Bill Simon after a jury returned a $78 million verdict for fraud;[13]
• Southern California Edison in the reorganization of California's energy industry;[14]
• Merrill Lynch in the bankruptcy of Orange County;[15]
• The Philippines against Imelda Marcos and Ferdinand Marcos;[15]
• Several couples and Equality California in a California Supreme Court petition challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8.[16]
• Defense of AFTERMATH RECORDS regarding the percentage of royalties owed for digital downloads. Known as the "Eminem Decision".[3]
• Defense of ABC's reality show The Glass House in a lawsuit by CBS alleging copyright infringement.
• Defended and lost the case of self-help speaker James Arthur Ray (The Secret) when he was convicted of criminally negligent homicide for the deaths of 3 people at a sweat lodge in Sedona, Arizona.

The firm has a transactional practice that represented Yahoo!'s board of directors during Microsoft's proposed takeover; Warren Buffett in his $31 billion gift to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and Berkshire Hathaway in its $22 billion purchase of General Reinsurance and $5 billion investment in Goldman Sachs.[17] Additionally, the firm served as legal counsel during the construction of the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles.[18]

Recognition

In 2008, Munger, Tolles & Olson ranked as the nation's top law firm on the American Lawyer A-List based on financial performance, pro bono practice, associate satisfaction and workplace diversity.[19][20] The firm topped the "A-List" of the nation's most elite law firms again in 2009[21] and 2010.[22] After three years at the top of the list, the firm took second place in the 2011 rankings.[23]

In 2015, Vault ranked the firm first in the nation for selectivity, and sixth in transparency.[24] Additionally, the firm ranked third on the American Lawyer's 2011 Diversity Scorecard, with 23.4% of the firm's attorneys and 16.1% of the firm's partners as minorities.[25]

Lawyers

Munger, Tolles & Olson's headquarters in Los Angeles

Attorneys

There are 170 lawyers at Munger, Tolles & Olson.[3] In 2008, the Daily Journal named three attorneys to its list of the most Top 100 Lawyers in California.[26] Attorneys include:

• Robert Denham, former CEO of the investment bank Salomon Brothers during the 1990s and current chairman of the MacArthur Foundation;[27]
• Don Verrilli, former U.S. Solicitor General in the Obama administration[28]
• Ronald Olson, a director of Berkshire Hathaway, who was named the most influential lawyer in California by California Law Business;[29]
• Jeffrey L. Bleich, former Special Counsel to the President and United States Ambassador to Australia[30]

Alumni

• Alan Bersin, President Barack Obama's "Border Czar" and former United States Attorney for the Southern District of California;
• Nancy Bekavac, the first female president of Scripps College;
• Roderick Hills, former White House Counsel and Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC);
• Carla Anderson Hills, former U.S. Trade Representative and former Secretary of Health and Human Services;
• Carolyn Kuhl, judge on the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles and former Deputy Solicitor General at the Department of Justice;
• Brett Kavanaugh, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States[31]
• Leondra Kruger, Justice of the California Supreme Court[32]
• Vilma Socorro Martínez, United States Ambassador to Argentina and past president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF);[33]
• Felicia Marcus, Chairman of California State Water Resources Control Board[34]
• Charles Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway
• Paul J. Watford, Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• John B. Owens, Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Michelle Friedland, Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Daniel P. Collins, Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

See also

• List of law firms
• White-shoe firm

References

1. http://www.vault.com/company-rankings/law/best-law-firms-to-work-for/?sRankID=35
2. https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/almID/1202793476168/
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-04-12. Retrieved 2009-06-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-02-09. Retrieved 2010-04-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. https://www.chambersandpartners.com/USA/firm/3535/munger-tolles-olson
6. http://www.top-law-schools.com/munger-tolles-olson-llp.html
7. http://www.vault.com/company-profiles/law/munger,-tolles-olson-llp/company-overview
8. https://www.mto.com/news/headlines/2014/Michelle-Friedland-Sworn-In-as-Ninth-Circuit-Judge
9. <https://www.mto.com/news/headlines/2014/John-Owens-Sworn-In-as-Ninth-Circuit-Judge
10. <https://www.mto.com/news/headlines/2012/Paul-Watford-Sworn-In-as-9th-Circuit-Judge
11. Felch, Jason; Frammolino, Ralph (2006-09-02). "Investigators Secretly Mined Munitz's Records". Los Angeles Times.
12. "Lawyers at Disney's Ovitz Trial Learn to Adapt to Delaware". Bloomberg. 2005-01-11.
13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-11-01. Retrieved 2009-06-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-03-11. Retrieved 2009-06-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2009-06-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-06-20. Retrieved 2009-06-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-06-20. Retrieved 2009-06-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
18. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-11-13. Retrieved 2009-06-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
19. Chang, Andrea (2008-07-08). "L.A. law firm judged No. 1". Los Angeles Times.
20. http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2009/03/munger-revenue-and-profits-flat.html
21. Jones, Ashby (2009-06-30). "Munger Tolles Tops AmLaw's A-List, Once Again". The Wall Street Journal.
22. Jones, Ashby (2010-07-01). "Deja Vu All Over Again: Munger Tolles Again Tops the 'A-List'". The Wall Street Journal.
23. http://www.law.com/jsp/tal/PubArticleTAL.jsp?id=1202497958155
24. http://www.vault.com/company-rankings/law/best-law-firms-to-work-for/?sRankID=35&rYear=2015
25. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-11. Retrieved 2011-09-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
26. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2009-06-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
27. "Salomon Inc. names new CEO to head up securities house". Chicago Tribune. 1992-06-03.
28. Olson, Elizabeth (2016-09-28). "Donald Verrilli, Former Solicitor General, to Join Law Firm". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
29. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-06-09. Retrieved 2009-06-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
30. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-11-07. Retrieved 2014-11-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
31. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/LSB10170.pdf
32. https://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-supreme-court-nominee-20141125-story.html
33. LA Observed
34. Fritsch, Jane (September 2, 1990). "Felicia Marcus : Fighting for the Environment From Inside the Establishment". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2015-05-07.

External links

• Munger, Tolles & Olson website
• American Lawyer profile of the firm after placing first on the A-List
• L.A. Times article about the firm
• Chambers and Partners profile