- Munger, Tolles & Olson
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Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP Headquarters Los Angeles No. of offices 2 No. of attorneys 181 (2011) No. of employees 450 (2008) Major practice areas litigation, corporate, tax, real estate, bankruptcy, labor and employment, environmental Key people Sandra A. Seville-Jones, Managing Partner Revenue $198 million (2009) 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] [14] The firm topped the "A-List" list of the nation's most elite law firms again in 2009 [15] and 2010 [16]. After three years at the top of the list, the firm took second place in the 2011 rankings. [17].
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] Vault's 2012 Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms ranked the firm third in the nation for selectivity, and second in transparency.[18] Nearly half of the attorneys who started at the firm in the last twenty years continue to practice there.[1] Additionally, the firm ranked third on the American Lawyer's 2011 Diversity Scorecard, with 23.4 percent of the firm's attorneys and 16.1 percent of the firm's partners as minorities. [19]
Attorneys and alumni
Munger, Tolles & Olson's headquarters in Los Angeles
There are 181 lawyers at Munger, Tolles & Olson.[1] In 2008, the Daily Journal named three attorneys to its list of the Top 100 Lawyers in California.[20] Prominent attorneys include:
- Jeff Bleich, on leave from the firm to serve as Special Counsel to President Barack Obama;[21] and Ambassador-Designate to Australia;[22]
- Robert Denham, past CEO of the investment bank Salomon Brothers during the 1990s and current chairman of the MacArthur Foundation;[23]
- Ronald Olson, a director of Berkshire Hathaway named the most influential lawyer in California by California Law Business;[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 Martínez, 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/USA/Editorial/32563#org_3535
- ^ 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://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/06/30/munger-tolles-tops-amlaws-a-list-once-again/
- ^ http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/07/01/deja-vu-all-over-again-munger-tolles-again-tops-the-a-list/
- ^ http://www.law.com/jsp/tal/PubArticleTAL.jsp?id=1202497958155
- ^ http://www.vault.com/wps/portal/usa/companies/rankings?companyId=406
- ^ http://www.mto.com/media/news.cfm?type=Headlines&id=526
- ^ [1]
- ^ 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.4cajobs.com/commission/members/ronaldolson/
- ^ LA Observed
External links
Categories:- Law firms based in Los Angeles, California
- Law firms established in 1962
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