“There`s no other company of this size that has this kind of decentralized, autonomous structure where all legal functions are pushed down or down,” said Lawrence Cunningham, a law professor at George Washington University who has written two books on Buffett`s corporate governance model. Munger Tolles, who advised Berkshire on the purchase of Lubrizol, was also hired to help clean up the Sokol case. Olson and the firm`s lawyers worked with Berkshire`s audit committee on an 18-page report that was submitted to the company`s board of directors on Sokol`s business. Cunningham said that despite some concerns about Munger Tolles` multiple hats, it was the company`s internal review of the case that led to Sokol`s firing rather than his resignation, the latter option initially favored by Buffett for someone who was once seen as a potential successor as Berkshire`s CEO. If you or someone you know needs legal advice in any of our areas of business, please contact Berkshire & Burmeister today to discuss your issue. We are committed to providing you with the legal advice and representation necessary for a successful outcome. Contact us for a free initial consultation and see how we can help you. The company has been involved in about 60 percent of Berkshire-related transactions since 2005, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, with its work involving nearly $120 billion in transactions. The huge portfolio of legal work that comes from the Berkshire empire is spread over dozens, if not hundreds, of firms. And there`s Munger, who turned 97 on January 1. He hasn`t worked for the firm that bears his name since 1964, but he has spent more than 50 years serving Munger Tolle`s lawyers and remains a keen legal mind, Olson said. Berkshire & Burmeister is a true general practice firm specializing in more than 20 practice areas, including: Olson is complementary to General Electric Co.
Model that has created sophisticated in-house legal services led by general counsel and general counsel, a development it considers “good for U.S. companies.” In 1991, a sign of his confidence in Munger Tolles, Buffett hired the firm`s former managing partner, Robert Denham, as general counsel for Salomon Inc., the parent company of investment bank Salomon Bros., which was grappling with a bond trading scandal at the time. Berkshire became Salomon`s largest shareholder in 1987 after Buffett invested $700 million for a 12% stake. Our firm has represented Nebraska clients in a wide range of jurisdictions for over 25 years. Olson, who turns 80 in July, is the holding company`s de facto legal chief. He has served on Berkshire`s board of directors since 1997 and joined Munger Tolles in 1968, six years after the company was co-founded by Munger, Buffett`s longtime business partner. If you or a loved one is experiencing a dispute or legal situation, an experienced lawyer is highly recommended to help you throughout the procedure. A lawyer can help: Berkshire Hathaway Inc.`s fragile hierarchy, of which Warren Buffett has long been proud, extends to its legal department. Mary Ann Todd, a longtime Munger Tolle negotiator who has managed numerous Berkshire-related transactions, left the firm in 2018 to become a partner and general counsel at BDT Capital Partners LLC, an investment firm founded by former Goldman executive Byron Trott, Buffett`s longtime banker. The issues Munger Tolle advises Berkshire on are similar for other large publicly traded companies, but Berkshire is alone with its “trust-based compliance culture,” Cunningham said.
This means that a Berkshire-owned company like Benjamin Moore, who laid off his entire legal group in November and outsourced his work to Littler Mendelson, can run a law firm in advance and be held accountable if necessary. Berkshire Law, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, provides legal services to real estate investors, owners, developers, entrepreneurs and related companies. We pride ourselves on offering our clients experienced legal advice and representation. Berkshire`s myriad operating companies – such as Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co., ice cream chain International Dairy Queen Inc., insurer GEICO Corp., battery maker Duracell Inc. and paint dealer Benjamin Moore & Co. — have, for the most part, their own legal and compliance staff like traditional corporate law departments, Cunningham said. Those in regulated industries, such as Berkshire Hathaway Energy, tend to have more in-house lawyers. “If you look at Berkshire`s legal fees compared to most companies, it would be pretty modest,” Olson said in an interview.
Although he declined to discuss the details, Olson said Munger Tolles had a “fair billing rate” for Berkshire and had not cut any special offers for his client. At McKennon Law Group PC, we fight vigorously against insurers to enforce your right to benefits from long-term and short-term life and disability insurers such as Berkshire Life Insurance Company (Berkshire), in part because we know insurers like Berkshire and have often argued against them. McKennon Law Group PC founder Robert J. McKennon and some of the other lawyers at McKennon Law Group PC have previously represented insurance companies for many years. There is no law firm better placed to deny your life, disability, health or long-term care claims than McKennon Law Group PC. The person in Berkshire most similar to an in-house legal chief was Forrest Krutter, a lawyer who served as a business secretary until his death in 2013 at the age of 58 after battling pancreatic cancer. The following year, Buffett told shareholders that Berkshire had no general counsel or human resources office, “almost unthinkable in other companies.” Berkshire does not make secondments, the temporary placement opportunities that some companies offer to lawyers from outside law firms. Olson said that “good lawyers integrated closer to the facts and decisions” of a company whose internal orbit includes Munger Tolle are the key to lean, principled business operations. Based in Tempe, Arizona, Berkshire Law Office is committed to assisting its clients in all areas of family law, including divorce, high net worth divorce, legal separation, marital separation, annulment, spousal support (alimony), legal decision-making (custody)/parenting matters, paternity, support, asset allocation, protection orders and prenuptial arrangements.
In 1992, Buffett shocked Wall Street by making Denham his handpicked successor as Salomon`s president and CEO. Denham, who returned to the company in 1998 after completing the sale of Salomon to Travelers Group Inc. is one of the many Munger Tolles partners who have a close relationship with Berkshire. Others include Judith Kitano, who specializes in debt trading, and litigants Kelly Klaus and George Garvey, Olson said. Munger Tolles, unlike an in-house legal chief, is constantly exposed to other companies, regulators and opposing lawyers, Olson said. Berkshire can also adapt to “peaks and troughs of work requirements” by outsourcing legal assignments to Munger Tolles, Olson said. At Berkshire & Burmeister, we use the latest technologies and techniques available to facilitate research, communication with customers and litigation documentation. In today`s increasingly complex world, we believe clients want legal representation that meets their needs and is flexible. That`s why we work with our clients to develop case strategies from scratch that are specifically tailored to their own legal needs. There isn`t one — not even a general counsel at its headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska, of about 30 people — although Buffett`s conglomerate has reached nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars in revenue. The decentralized legal and compliance model relies on the Los Angeles-based law firm, in which Berkshire Vice President Charles Munger and board member Ronald Olson are partners by name. Berkshire Law Office lawyers have dealt with divorce cases with an estate value of more than one hundred million dollars in cases where only debts were to be divided; They represented low-income business presidents and single parents, as well as everyone in between.
Our lawyers try to resolve most issues so that our clients have more control over their bottom line and do not incur unnecessary legal costs. But when a fair settlement is not an option, our lawyers aggressively pursue our clients` interests in court, often employing experts in business valuation, legal decision-making (custodial valuations), forensic accounting, tax implications, professional valuations, real estate valuations and retirement accounts.