Munger, Tolles & Olson

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Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
HeadquartersCalifornia Plaza
Los Angeles, California
No. of offices3
No. of attorneys200 (2023)[1]
Major practice areaslitigation, corporate, tax, real estate, bankruptcy, labor and employment, environmental
Key peopleHailyn J. Chen, and Malcolm A. Heinicke, Co-Managing Partners
Revenue$317.4 million (2023)[2]
Profit per equity partner$2.0 million (2022)[2]
Date founded1962
FounderCharlie Munger, Leroy Tolles, Carla Hills, Rodrick Hills
Company typeLimited liability partnership
Websitemto.com

Munger, Tolles, & Olson LLP (MTO) is an American law firm with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.. The firm represents clients in industries such as entertainment, technology, energy and healthcare.[3]

History[edit]

The firm was founded in 1962 by seven partners, including Charles Munger, Edwin Leroy “Roy” Tolles, Carla Hills and Rodrick Hills.[4][5] In 1965, Munger left the firm to join Warren Buffett in a business partnership, eventually serving as vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, a client of the firm.[6] Ronald Olson was hired in 1968 and became partner in 1970.[7]

The firm opened an office in San Francisco in 1991.[8] In 2016, the firm hired former Solicitor General of the United States Donald B. Verrilli Jr. to launch an office in Washington D.C.[9]

In 2019, the firm elected Malcolm Heinicke and Hailyn Chen as co-managing partners, succeeding longtime firm leaders Brad Brian and Sandra Seville-Jones. Brad Brian was named as firm chair.[10] At the time of her election, Chen was only the second Asian woman to assume a leadership position at a major law firm.[11]

Legal practice[edit]

Some of the firm’s notable clients have included Google, Disney, Bank of America, PG&E, BNSF Railway, Intel, Fortress and Berkshire Hathaway.[1]

Munger, Tolles & Olson is known for its democratic approach to management.[9] It typically hires graduates from top law schools and promotes from within, and places high value on judicial clerkships.[12][9] As of 2005, 19 of the firm's attorneys had clerked for justices on the U.S. Supreme Court.[13]

Recognition[edit]

Munger, Tolles & Olson ranked as the nation's top law firm on the American Lawyer A-List from 2008 to 2010.[14][15][16][17] In 2022, the firm had been ranked by Vault as the number one litigation boutique for eleven consecutive years.[18]

Notable representations[edit]

Litigation[edit]

  • Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) in litigation brought against the utility as a result of several California wildfires in 2017, 2018 and 2020.[19] The firm helped broker a series of multi-million dollar settlements.[20][19]
  • Transocean Deepwater Inc., a drilling company, in criminal and civil litigation arising from the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.[21] After a months-long trial, the court found that under a drilling contract, BP bore indemnity obligations for the millions of barrels of oil discharged during the spill.[22]
  • Vanessa Bryant in an invasion of privacy lawsuit regarding the inappropriate sharing of photos from the scene of the helicopter crash that killed her husband and daughter, Kobe and Gianna Bryant, and seven others.[23] The jury awarded Vanessa Bryant and others $31 million. The firm also represented the Kobe Bryant Estate in the wrongful death suit against Island Express, the helicopter company that was transporting the passengers who all perished in the crash.[23]
  • The Getty Trust after allegations of wrongdoing in the acquisition of its antiquities collection[24]
  • Southern California Edison in the reorganization of California's energy industry[25]
  • Merrill Lynch in the bankruptcy of Orange County[26]
  • The Philippines against Imelda Marcos and Ferdinand Marcos[27]
  • Defense of AFTERMATH RECORDS regarding the percentage of royalties owed for digital downloads[28]

Transactional practice[edit]

Pro Bono[edit]

The firm’s pro bono representation includes:

  • Challenging the constitutionality of Los Angeles County’s bail schedule policy and securing a preliminary injunction, halting enforcement of the bail schedule and eliminating cash bail for individuals on most low-level, non-violent offenses.[33][34]
  • Challenging the conviction of C.J. Rice—a Philadelphia man who a federal court found had his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel violated before being convicted of attempted murder in 2013. The conviction was overturned.[35]
  • Challenging San Francisco’s policy of towing lawfully parked vehicles without a warrant, solely due to unpaid parking tickets. The California Court of Appeal ruled San Francisco’s towing policy violated the Fourth Amendment and the California Constitution.[36]
  • The Bruce family, which successfully intervened in a taxpayer action attempting to prevent Los Angeles County’s return of the beachside property known as Bruce’s Beach—a Manhattan Beach resort in Los Angeles County, California—to the descendants of Willa and Charles Bruce, who lost the property through a racially discriminatory condemnation action 100 years ago.[37]
  • Families of five children and four adults killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, who reached a $73 million settlement with gun manufacturer Remington.[38]
  • Kenneth Walker III, boyfriend of the late Breonna Taylor, who reached a $2 million settlement with the City of Louisville to resolve lawsuits Walker filed stemming from the unlawful police raid that led to Taylor’s death in 2020.[39]


Lawyers[edit]

Munger, Tolles & Olson's headquarters in Los Angeles

Attorneys[edit]

Alumni[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "How to Be a Firm that Businesses Call When Billions are at Stake". LA Business Journal. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  2. ^ a b Yount, Jessie (2023-03-08). "Munger Tolles Sees Flat Revenue, Profits Following Record 2021". Law.com.
  3. ^ Orzeck, Kurt (2014-07-22). "California Powerhouse: Munger Tolles & Olson". Lae360.
  4. ^ Arnold, Laurence (2014-10-30). "Roderick M. Hills dies at 83; head of the SEC under President Ford". Los Angeles Times.
  5. ^ "Co-founder of Los Angeles law firm". Los Angeles Times. 2008-02-01.
  6. ^ Kolz, Amy (2011-05-06). "Munger Tolles's Ron Olson and Berkshire: The Question of Lawyers Serving on Client Boards". AM Law Daily.
  7. ^ Maharaj, Davan (1995-09-05). "HENNIGAN VS. OLSON : Court Rivals : 2 Lawyers Will Slug It Out in O.C. Bankruptcy Debacle : Ronald L. Olson: Investment Giant Is Latest of His High-Profile Clients". Los Angeles Times.
  8. ^ Savage, David G. (2016-09-28). "Obama's former Supreme Court lawyer, Donald Verrilli, joins L.A. law firm". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ a b c Randazzo, Sara (2016-09-28). "California Law Firm Hires Former Solicitor General for Washington, D.C., Office". Wall Street Journal.
  10. ^ Packel, Dan (2019-03-06). "Munger Tolles Elects New Managing Partners; Brad Brian Named Chair". American Lawyer.
  11. ^ Chen, Vivia (2019-05-10). "News Flash: Asian American Woman Is New Leader at Elite Law Firm". American Lawyer.
  12. ^ McIntyre, Andrew (2012-12-04). "How Munger Tolles defied the rules and built a national law firm". Los Angeles Daily Journal.
  13. ^ Schmitt, Kellie (2005-09-06). "Munger, Tolles Bags 4 High Court Clerks". Law.com.
  14. ^ Chang, Andrea (2008-07-08). "L.A. law firm judged No. 1". Los Angeles Times.
  15. ^ "THE AM LAW 100: Munger Revenue and Profits Flat".
  16. ^ Jones, Ashby (2009-06-30). "Munger Tolles Tops AmLaw's A-List, Once Again". The Wall Street Journal.
  17. ^ Jones, Ashby (2010-07-01). "Deja Vu All Over Again: Munger Tolles Again Tops the 'A-List'". The Wall Street Journal.
  18. ^ Rubino, Kathryn (2022-04-26). "Elite Law Firm Will Offer $150,000 In Clerkship Bonuses". Above the Law.
  19. ^ a b Atkins, Dorothy (2023-05-31). "PG&E To Pay $50M To End Criminal Case Over Zogg Fire". Law 360.
  20. ^ Yount, Jessie (2021-11-28). "When Disaster Strikes, Munger Tolles' Litigators Come to Clients' Rescue". Law.com.
  21. ^ Kunzelman, Michael (2013-02-19). "Judge approves Transocean's $1B spill settlement". Law.com.
  22. ^ Orlando, Michael (2015-03-15). "In re Deepwater Horizon: Additional Insured Questions Resolved". IRMI.
  23. ^ a b Clough, Craig (2022-08-24). "Kobe Bryant Jury Awards Families $31M Over Crash Pics". Law 360.
  24. ^ Felch, Jason; Frammolino, Ralph (2006-09-02). "Investigators Secretly Mined Munitz's Records". Los Angeles Times.
  25. ^ Davis, Ryan (2009-10-06). "Bankruptcy Partner Returns To Munger Tolles & Olson". Law260.
  26. ^ Maharaj, Davan (1995-09-05). "HENNIGAN VS. OLSON : Court Rivals : 2 Lawyers Will Slug It Out in O.C. Bankruptcy Debacle : Ronald L. Olson: Investment Giant Is Latest of His High-Profile Clients". Los Angeles Times.
  27. ^ Rempel, William (1990-11-06). "Marcos Claims Pact Near With Aquino Government". Los Angeles Times.
  28. ^ "Em2m Llc. v. Records, s. 09-55817, 09-56069". Retrieved 2023-08-21.
  29. ^ Osakwe, Chinekwu (2022-03-22). "Munger Tolles, Willkie steer Buffett's $11.6 bln Alleghany deal". Reuters.
  30. ^ Thomas Jr., Landon (2006-06-27). "A $31 Billion Gift Between Friends". The New York Times.
  31. ^ O'Brien, Thomas L. (2005-05-01). "For Buffett, the One That Got Away". The New York Times.
  32. ^ Frye, Andrew (2011-08-26). "Buffett BofA Deal Is Latest to Capitalize on Bank Weakness". Bloomberg.
  33. ^ Kim, Gina (2023-05-17). "Calif. Judge Halts Some Pre-Arraignment Cash Bail In LA". Law 360.
  34. ^ Stoltze, Frank (2023-05-17). "LA Judge Temporarily Limits Cash Bail Requirement". LAist.
  35. ^ Tapper, Jake (2023-11-27). "C.J. Rice conviction overturned". CNN.
  36. ^ Steier, Raya. "California Court of Appeal Declares San Francisco's Poverty Tows Unconstitutional As Legislature Confronts Towing Policies Statewide". LCCRSF. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  37. ^ Greene, Jenna (2022-07-28). "Black family's oceanfront land seized in 1929 returned with help from pro bono lawyer". Reuters.
  38. ^ Greene, Jenna (2022-03-01). "Pro Bono Heroes: How big (and small) firms helped win the Sandy Hook settlement". Reuters.
  39. ^ Romano, Matthew (2023-07-11). "Justice Is Served: Highlights From Big Law's Year of Impactful Pro Bono". American Lawyer.
  40. ^ "Munger Tolles adds former US deputy assistant attorney general". World Preview. 2017-03-08.
  41. ^ "Salomon Inc. names new CEO to head up securities house". Chicago Tribune. 1992-06-03.
  42. ^ "The Careerist: Munger Tolles's New Partners Are 75 Percent Women of Color + More". The American Lawyer. 2012-12-11.
  43. ^ "Commission Members | Ronald L. Olson". Archived from the original on 2009-06-09. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
  44. ^ 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.
  45. ^ Korosec, Kirsten (2020-04-21). "Cruise hires PG&E board chairman Jeff Bleich as chief legal officer". Techcrunch.
  46. ^ "CUA Law Adjunct Professor Daniel Bress Confirmed to Serve as Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit". Law.edu. 2019-07-09.
  47. ^ "First openly Gay judge for U.S. Eastern District of California receives U.S. Senate confirmation". Elk Grove News. 2023-02-24.
  48. ^ "John Frank". Oaktree Capital. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  49. ^ Lyons, Byrhonda (2022-10-25). "California Supreme Court". LAist.
  50. ^ "Arizona appeals judge joins Phoenix law office". Phoenix Business Journal. 2022-03-03.
  51. ^ "Leondra R. Kruger appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to state Supreme Court". Los Angeles Times. 25 November 2014.
  52. ^ Fulcher, Robb (2010-06-03). "Assemblyman Ted Lieu confident in Attorney General run". Easy Reader & Penninsula.
  53. ^ Fritsch, Jane (September 2, 1990). "Felicia Marcus : Fighting for the Environment From Inside the Establishment". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
  54. ^ LA Observed
  55. ^ "President Biden Announces Fourth Slate of Judicial Nominations". White House. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  56. ^ "President Biden Names Seventh Round of Judicial Nominees". White House. Retrieved 2024-02-21.

External links[edit]

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