| Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP | |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, CA |
|---|---|
| No. of Offices | 2 |
| No. of Attorneys | 192 (2009) |
| No. of Employees | 450 (2008) |
| Major Practice Areas | litigation, corporate, tax, real estate, bankruptcy, labor and employment, environmental |
| Key People | Mark Helm, Managing Partner |
| Revenue | $205 million (2007) |
| Date Founded | 1962 |
| Founder | Charlie Munger and Ronald Olson |
| Company Type | Limited liability partnership |
| Website | mto.com |
Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP (MTO) is a California law firm that has offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Charles Munger founded the firm in 1962 with six other lawyers.[1]
Contents |
Legal practice
Munger, Tolles & Olson is known for its defense of corporations in civil law suits and individuals in criminal trials and investigations. The American Lawyer described the firm as an "army of trial lawyers capable of waging war."[2] Chambers and Partners noted that the firm is a "litigation powerhouse."[3] High profile representations have included:
- The Getty Trust after allegations of wrongdoing in the acquisition of its antiquities collection;[4]
- Michael Ovitz in defending his executive pay at Disney;[5]
- California candidate for governor Bill Simon after a jury returned a $78 million verdict for fraud;[6]
- Southern California Edison in the reorganization of California's energy industry;[7]
- Merrill Lynch in the bankruptcy of Orange County;[8]
- The Philippines against Imelda Marcos and Ferdinand Marcos;[9]
- Several couples and Equality California in a California Supreme Court petition challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8.[10]
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.[11] 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.[12]
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.[13] Last year, the firm brought in $207 million in revenue and $1.3 million in profits per partner.[14]
The firm hires only a handful of top law school graduates each year and promotes from within. About seventy percent of attorneys have clerked for federal judges, including 18 for justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.[1] David Lat, the editor of Above the Law, described Munger, Tolles & Olson as "the super-prestigious L.A. firm with a knack for scooping up Supreme Court clerks." [15] Vault's 2009 Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms ranked the firm third in the nation for selectivity.[16] Nearly half of the attorneys who started at the firm in the last twenty years continue to practice there.[1]
Attorneys and alumni
There are 192 lawyers at Munger, Tolles & Olson.[1] In 2008, the Daily Journal named three attorneys to its list of the Top 100 Lawyers in California.[17] Prominent attorneys include:
- Brad Brian, one of the nation's best trial lawyers;[18]
- Jeff Bleich, on leave from the firm to serve as Special Counsel to President Barack Obama;[19] and Ambassador-Designate to Australia;[20]
- Robert Denham, past CEO of the investment bank Salomon Brothers during the 1990s and current chairman of the MacArthur Foundation;[21]
- O'Malley Miller, a leading real estate lawyer in Southern California;[22]
- Ronald Olson, a director of Berkshire Hathaway named the most influential lawyer in California by California Law Business;[23]
- John Spiegel, one of California's top trial lawyers.[24]
Notable alumni include:
- Alan Bersin, President Barack Obama's "Border Czar" and former United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the Southern District of California;
- Nancy Bekavac, the first woman president of Scripps College;
- Roderick Hills, former White House Counsel and Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC);
- Carla Hills, former United States Trade Representative and former Secretary of the Department 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;
- Vilma Socorro MartÃnez, Ambassador-Designate to Argentina and past president of MALDEF;[25]
- Charles Munger, Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway.
References
- ^ a b c d http://www.mto.com/about/
- ^ www.mto.com/about
- ^ http://www.chambersandpartners.com/editorial.aspx?ssid=32563
- ^ http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-me-getty2sep02,1,3861153.story
- ^ http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=ayHHtVC4w.GQ&refer=us
- ^ http://www.mto.com/lawyers/bio.cfm?id=19
- ^ http://www.mto.com/lawyers/bio.cfm?id=106
- ^ http://www.mto.com/lawyers/bio.cfm?id=87
- ^ http://www.mto.com/lawyers/bio.cfm?id=87
- ^ http://www.mto.com/probono/
- ^ http://www.mto.com/practiceareas/practicearea.cfm?id=2
- ^ http://www.mto.com/practiceareas/practicearea.cfm?id=22
- ^ http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul/08/business/fi-lawfirm8
- ^ http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2009/03/munger-revenue-and-profits-flat.html
- ^ http://www.abovethelaw.com/2007/02/skaddenfreude_baker_botts_mung.php
- ^ http://www.vault.com/companies/company_main.jsp?co_page=1&ch_id=242&product_id=406
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://www.chambersandpartners.com/PersonProfile.aspx?CPK=154041&ssid=27882
- ^ http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202429134210
- ^ http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/12/2683894.htm?section=world
- ^ http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/24413645.html?dids=24413645:24413645&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jun+03%2C+1992&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Salomon+Inc.+names+new+CEO+to+head+up+securities+house&pqatl
- ^ http://www.chambersandpartners.com/personprofile.aspx?cpk=155434&ssid=32561
- ^ http://www.4cajobs.com/commission/members/ronaldolson/
- ^ http://www.chambersandpartners.com/personprofile.aspx?cpk=194522&ssid=33063
- ^ LA Observed
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
