MARINA A. TORRES is a litigation associate in the Los Angeles office of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP. Ms. Torres joined the firm in 2008 after graduating from Stanford Law School.
Ms. Torres’ practice consists primarily of complex, multi-party civil litigation in the areas of commercial contract disputes and business torts, product liability defense, and trial work of all types.
Representative matters include:
- Second-chaired week-long state jury trial on behalf of a multi-billion dollar oil refining & marketing company in a contract and negligence dispute with a public utility company.
- Representation of film producer in federal investigation under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) involving the production of a major Hollywood film.
- Co-counsel with the ACLU of Southern California in a class action lawsuit against a city’s district attorney and police department challenging the constitutionality of a neighborhood gang injunction.
- Member of trial team successfully defending best-seller author against allegations made by director seeking half of the domestic profits generated from sales of movie and book.
- Member of litigation team successfully settling class action lawsuit against leading beverage company alleging deceptive labeling and advertising.
Ms. Torres maintains a vibrant pro bono practice, focusing primarily on immigration matters. Most recently, she was awarded the 2010 Social Justice award by ACLU of Southern California for her work as co-counsel in litigation against the state of California for the failure of its agencies to properly enforce regulation protecting the rights of farm workers. The National Immigration Legal Center will also be recognizing Ms. Torres in October 2010 for her litigation work challenging systemic delays in the processing of naturalization applications resulting from FBI background checks, which resulted in a settlement that ended indefinite delays for many naturalization applicants.
Ms. Torres is active with community affairs. She is currently on the Board of Directors for the Latina Lawyers’ Association, as well as on the Executive Committee of the Barristers Division of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Ms. Torres is also involved with the Associates Advisory Board of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, where she seeks to increase pro bono involvement and increase awareness of the Foundation’s mission. Ms. Torres is also active with the Scholarship Committee of the Cal Alumni Association, and plays a central role in the firm’s recruiting practices by serving on both the firm’s recruiting and diversity committees.
Ms. Torres received her J.D. from Stanford Law School in 2008, where she was on the Executive Board of the Stanford Law Review and a lead articles editor for the Stanford Journal of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. She served as Co-President of the Stanford Latino Law Students Association, Co-President of the Stanford Law & Policy Society, and was a member of the Stanford Mock Trial team her first year. Ms. Torres also externed for Judge Dale Fischer of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and at the Immigrants’ Rights Project of the Northern California ACLU. Her interest in human rights led her to publish the following article while she was studying for the California bar: Inside Looking Out: An Application of International and Regional Linguistic Protections to the U.S. Spanish-Speaking Minority, 87 Neb. L. Rev. 599 (2009).
Ms. Torres graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with distinction. During her time at Berkeley, Ms. Torres worked at the Central Intelligence Agency as a Presidential Support Analyst, where she provided research and policy support to a cohort of CIA and inter-agency briefers. She was also a research assistant at the Berkeley Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Study Center, specializing in Latin American affairs, and was active in student government.
After graduating from Berkeley, Ms. Torres worked as an AmeriCorps volunteer for the Illinois Migrant Assistance Project at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago. There, she handled wage and hour disputes and complaints over working and housing conditions. In addition, Ms. Torres provided legal outreach to the migrant community of rural Illinois.
Marina is a native Spanish speaker with family roots in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico.
Education
- Stanford Law School (J.D., 2008); Sr. Development Editor, Stanford Law Review; Lead Articles Editor, Stanford Journal of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties; Co-President, Stanford Latino Law Students Association; Stanford Mock Trial; President, Stanford Law and Policy Society; President's Award Recipient
- University of California, Berkeley (B.A., cum laude, Rhetoric, Political Science, Ethnic Studies)
