Southern California’s Top Federal Prosecutor Returns to Munger, Tolles & Olson
Munger, Tolles & Olson is pleased to announce the return of E. Martin Estrada to the firm as a partner. Martin served as United States Attorney for the Central District of California from 2022-2025, during which time he led a team of over 550 attorneys and staff in protecting the public across the country’s largest judicial district with almost 20 million people.
“We are thrilled that Martin has chosen to return to MTO and look forward to working with him to support our clients and address their most critical needs,” said Firm Chair Brad Brian. “Martin is one of the leading trial lawyers of his generation. He has been tremendously successful as U.S. Attorney. We look forward to Martin bringing his deep leadership skills and litigation expertise back to the firm, where he and a number of other lawyers in his generation will continue to propel the firm forward.”
A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Martin’s practice focuses on trials and investigations, representing major corporations, institutions and prominent individuals in their most significant and sensitive matters. He has repeatedly been recognized for his excellence in advocacy; he has been named one of the Top 100 Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal, is a two-time recipient of the California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) award, and has received awards from the Federal Bar Association, the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and the Daily Journal.
“I am profoundly grateful to have had the opportunity to serve my country and give back to the community as U.S. Attorney,” said Martin. “Now, I am excited to return to MTO and get back to trying cases and litigating the most significant matters in the nation. I look forward to collaborating with the phenomenal talent at MTO to take on our clients’ most pressing issues and help steer the firm to continued excellence and success.”
During his recent tenure as U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Martin oversaw some of the most high-profile cases in the country, including the prosecution of those responsible for the death of actor Matthew Perry, the conviction of the translator for Shohei Ohtani for stealing over $16 million from the baseball superstar, the prosecution of celebrity lawyer Tom Girardi, and the apprehension and conviction of the Pico-Robertson shooter for attempting to murder two Jewish congregants based on religious animus. During his tenure, he pursued impact litigation to promote public safety and the rule of law, prioritizing matters involving civil rights, human trafficking, hate crimes, public corruption, national security and corporate crime. He created new structures in the office to address this work, including establishing the Corporate Crime and Securities Fraud Strike Force, the Vulnerable Communities Task Force, the Operation Safe Cities violent crime initiative, and the Figueroa Corridor Human Trafficking Initiative. Martin also initiated criminal justice reform measures, including creating one of the first federal conviction integrity committees and a new executive position of Chief of Ethics and Post- Conviction Review, and expanding the district’s pioneering Conviction and Sentencing Alternatives (CASA) diversion program for low-level offenders.
Martin was a partner at MTO from 2014 to 2022 and an associate at the firm from 2004 to 2007. From 2007 to 2014, he served as Deputy Chief of the Violent and Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles and as the International Organized Crime Coordinator.
“We are delighted that Martin is returning to MTO,” said Co-Managing Partner Hailyn Chen. “His return underscores our unwavering commitment to excellence and our dedication to delivering premier legal services to our clients in their most challenging matters.”
Martin is deeply committed to pro bono work, having led some of MTO’s most significant matters during his previous tenure at the firm. These include serving as lead attorney for the Bruce family in the Bruce’s Beach litigation, which allowed the County of Los Angeles to return beach-side land to the descendants of a Black family who had the land taken away from them based on racial animus in the 1920s and leading the trial team in Martinez v. New Mexico, a first-of-its-kind education rights victory against the State of New Mexico.
Martin clerked for Judge Arthur L. Alarcón of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Judge Robert J. Timlin of the Central District of California. He received his J.D. with distinction from Stanford Law School and his B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of California at Irvine.