Join MTO
In 1962, seven lawyers who believed that a law practice of the highest quality could operate in a democratic and stimulating environment came together and founded our law firm. Today there are almost 200 of us--with a near even split between partners and associates--in offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
We are recognized nationally for the breadth, depth, and quality of our practice and also for our extraordinarily collegial environment. Among the noteworthy things about working at MTO are:
Our firm is run by consensus. We hold firm-wide meetings to discuss--and to vote on--issues important to us, including all hiring decisions. Each lawyer, from the most junior associate to the most senior partner, gets one vote. To inform their decisions, partners and associates alike receive information about the firm’s finances, practices and policies. Because the process values each person’s input, the participants feel involved and good decisions get made.
Our associates enjoy unmatched opportunities. Because we hire selectively and staff matters leanly, our most junior associates routinely do the kind of work reserved for much more senior lawyers at other firms. In matter after matter, even our first-year lawyers argue motions in court, take and defend depositions, participate in trials, negotiate transactions, draft key deal documents, and communicate directly with clients.
Our work is unusually interesting and challenging. Because of our relatively small size and lean staffing, we must, and do, turn down matters that seem unlikely to challenge our lawyers. We pride ourselves on being able to deliver, efficiently and cost-effectively, the most outstanding legal service on the most difficult problems confronting our clients.
We offer a varied practice. The breadth and depth of our practice continue to expand with the numbers and interests of our lawyers. Our litigators practice in areas including business and securities litigation, entertainment litigation, intellectual property, antitrust, environmental litigation, and labor and employment law. We also have a substantial and growing practice in the area of criminal investigations and defense, as well as a sophisticated appellate practice. Our corporate and tax lawyers have active practices in private equity, mergers and acquisitions, strategic business counseling and other corporate law advice. Our real estate lawyers represent a diverse array of clients, ranging from financial institutions to entrepreneurial developers, municipalities and public utilities, in connection with all aspects of real estate investment, development, finance and land use. A smaller number of our lawyers have developed equally successful practices in the estate planning and bankruptcy areas. The firm’s clients include many of the largest corporations in California and the nation, including companies in the aerospace, energy, entertainment, electronics, pharmaceutical, retail and insurance industries. Other clients include other law firms, international corporations, major universities and foreign governments.
Our attorneys are extremely loyal to the firm. We have significantly less associate turnover than do other firms, which we attribute to the belief that our associates reward the firm’s confidence in them with loyalty to the firm. When people do leave, it generally is because they have chosen to go into government service, teach, or do something altogether different. Because of the caliber of the lawyers we recruit, it is unsurprising (and indeed a great source of pride to all of us) that many of our colleagues have gone on to other careers in government, academia, business and politics.
Our pro bono practice is every bit as broad--and taken every bit as seriously--as the work we do for paying clients. We view our pro bono work as a responsibility that we have as professionals and as citizens to assure a fair and just legal system. The firm was one of the charter signatories to the American Bar Association’s Pro Bono Challenge and consistently devotes more than three percent of all attorney time to delivering needed pro bono legal assistance (approximately 4.5% in 2007). The firm encourages all of its attorneys to participate in pro bono efforts, and pro bono hours, which are not capped, are treated the same as billable hours for purposes of associate reviews and bonuses. Attorneys at all levels of the firm are encouraged to bring in new pro bono matters of interest. The firm has been recognized nationally for its commitment to serving indigent and under-represented clients as well as for participating in civil rights impact litigation. Over the past two years alone we have handled numerous pro bono cases on issues ranging from immigrants’ rights to campaign finance reform. Our commitment to pro bono matters has included not only extensive trial work for indigent clients, but also appeals to the United States Supreme Court, the California Supreme Court and several federal circuit courts. In recognition of its efforts, the firm has received the ABA’s prestigious Pro Bono Publico Award as well as the California Bar President’s Annual Pro Bono Firm Award.
Our partnership track is short and flexible. Because we hire extraordinary new lawyers and give them meaningful opportunities early on, we generally first consider our associates for partnership anywhere from five to seven years at the firm--considerably earlier than at virtually any other major firm. On the other hand, we recognize that each attorney develops at his or her own pace, and that some lawyers may work part-time for some portion of their associate years. Therefore, we do not have a rigid preconception of the minimum or maximum amount of time it can take to attain partnership, and we have no “up-or-out” policy.
We value diversity and believe that our firm can be a platform for success for every lawyer we hire. We are dedicated to addressing the tough issues, in our firm and our society, that impair success by women and minority lawyers. Our Diversity Committee is led by, and has the support of, senior partners. We actively encourage women and members of minority and other underrepresented groups to pursue careers at the firm. We also have established a 1L Summer Program for exceptional first year law students who will contribute to the diversity of our firm.
Because of these differences, accomplished law students and young lawyers who could go anywhere--top graduates from national law schools, 17 Supreme Court clerks, and others who have distinguished themselves in various ways--chose to join Munger, Tolles & Olson. When we meet as a firm to discuss and vote on hiring decisions, we look for those who have demonstrated excellence and leadership in their prior pursuits and who promise to bring intellectual curiosity, drive, and a sense of individuality to an already extremely talented and diverse group of lawyers.
If the unique firm we have described here is one that appeals to you, we encourage you to contact us about career opportunities at Munger, Tolles & Olson. As we have long believed that good work will come to good lawyers, we extend offers of employment each year to those individuals who excite and engage us, without any pre-set number of “slots” we have to fill.
For more information, please contact Mr. Jay Fujitani or Mr. Robert L. Dell Angelo, the Co-Chairs of our Recruiting Committee, or Ms. Kevinn Villard, our Director of Legal Recruiting. Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, age or disability.
