Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP - The Inside View

Picturing California’s golden beaches and summery styles may not automatically fill you with the holiday spirit, but there’s one firm in the heart of LA where ‘tis the season all year round.

How so? Well, first of all, the holidays are a time for giving, and Munger, Tolles & Olson is nothing if not open-handed. It’s a pro bono powerhouse, ranking as the number one firm in our guide this year in terms of time attorneys spend on this work. This ethos of generosity also extends to the firm’s treatment of its associates, and those we spoke to highlighted MTO’s “great mentoring opportunities with senior partners,” its encouragement of employee vacations, and its charitable approach to bonuses (“that’s not prorated, you’re just being nice!” was one source’s reaction to their latest award) as major perks of joining up.

"Great mentoring opportunities with senior partners."

Second, the holiday season is also a time for family, and MTO’s parent-friendly approach particularly stands out amongst its peers. Given the firm’s generous parental leave allowance, and the specialist mentoring available for both those about to take it and those returning to active practice afterwards, it’s no surprise that associates we surveyed scored it well above the market average in terms of how feasible becoming a partner is for those with children.

Third, the flipside to seeing your relatives for the holidays is the high chance of a good old-fashioned family row, and, as a firm of elite litigation specialists, boy does MTO know how to have an argument and win. That’s reflected in the firm’s top-tier Chambers USA ranking for appellate law nationwide, as well as a slew of similar accolades in its home state, where its litigation teams are market leaders in the fields of energy, media & entertainment, and general commercial disputes. Being nice clearly doesn’t mean that the firm can’t pack a punch when it counts.

And finally, we’re not saying that MTO is literally Santa’s workshop, but they do have a Mr. Klaus among their Band-1-ranked partners, so make of that what you will…

Munger, Tolles & Olson is recognized as a Strong Performer for Junior Satisfaction and an Excellent Performer for Mid to Senior Satisfaction in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Strategy & Future

Right now, the shiny new toy beneath the tree which most law firms are keenest to unwrap is AI, and according to Co-Managing Partner Dan Levin, MTO is no exception. “We are thinking really hard and doing some really creative things with AI,” he says, adding that “AI will allow us to offer our clients solutions and opportunities that we haven't been able to in the past.” Indeed, he’s confident that the firm’s lean, efficient approach to staffing will prove to be a major advantage when adapting to this new technological reality. “For junior lawyers evaluating where to begin their careers,” he advises, “firms that are less dependent on the traditional high-leverage model are likely to become increasingly attractive as AI places pressure on that structure.”

"Right from the minute people walk in the door, we want them to act as if they were owners of the business."

Nonetheless, just as every holiday movie reminds us that the true meaning of Christmas is about more than the thrill of new stuff, Levin warns against forgetting the firm’s traditions and moral principles. “We will continue to practice law based on the core values of our profession,” he says, “and on the basis that we are officers of the court, practicing ethically and putting forward the best arguments we can based on the facts of the law for our clients.” Rather than making radical changes, MTO’s strategy is to “double down on our firm's culture.” This is based on “democratic decision-making and consensus building” and the idea that “Right from the minute people walk in the door, we want them to act as if they were owners of the business.”

That’s the plan at least, but the proof of the (figgy?) pudding is in the eating, so does MTO live up to its rhetoric about giving its most junior members a real stake its governance? The answer we heard from associates was a resounding yes. “The firm makes a lot of decisions based on committees of both partners and associates, so associates have a lot of awareness of decisions made within the firm and I don’t feel like I’m out of the loop,” one told us. Another enthused that “In almost all big decisions that have been made, the firm has either taken a firmwide vote or held townhalls where people can come in and raise a grievance, questions, or concerns.”

Read more from Dan Levin under the ‘Get Hired’ tab.

Munger, Tolles & Olson is recognized as a Strong Performer for AI Integration in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Summer program

We started by noting that MTO keeps the festive spirit going all year long, and that’s still true in the heat of the summer. In Los Angeles, past social events for summer associates have included a hike up the Hollywood hills, a Dodgers game, in-home partner dinners, and plenty of other meals. Despite this packed calendar, the vibe remains relaxed. “It never felt overwhelming,” said one junior, adding that there was “never pressure to go to all the social events — you could go to the ones that seemed interesting to you.”

Of course, it’s not all fun and games, as there’s also work to be done. However, it’s the kind that feels rewarding right away; as one associate put it, “the firm values giving their summer associates substantive work early and often throughout the summer.” In practice, this means incorporating summers into case teams and taking them to meetings. Summers might draft sections of briefs, draft memos that go to clients, and even work one-on-one with senior partners.

It’s also worth noting that the program is still evolving and improving. The firm is moving to a second-half split summer model, allowing attendees the flexibility to pursue additional opportunities during the first half of their vacation period, and in 2027 there will also be a cohort based in San Francisco for the first time.

The Work

Newbies receive their initial projects through a first-year work advisor who assigns work based on individuals’ interests and the firm’s needs. After this first year, they then transfer to the firm’s free market system, although regular reviews are still conducted to check that no-one is falling behind. Dan Levin explains it as follows: “there are a lot of guardrails around the free market, but we don't have command and control. It's not like someone calls you up and says, ‘you're now working on this case, show up in so-and-so's office in 30 minutes and get the materials.’”

Munger, Tolles & Olson is recognized as a Strong Performer for Work Allocation & Autonomy in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

"One thing that sets our firm apart and that I really appreciate is how we tend to be general litigators; we don’t specialize in particular areas.”

This emphasis on freedom and autonomy is also reflected in the choice of work available. Although almost every attorney at MTO works in litigation, an associate enthused that “One thing that sets our firm apart and that I really appreciate is how we tend to be general litigators; we don’t specialize in particular areas.” This creates the opportunity to build a very wide-ranging casebook indeed, as MTO’s activity spans fields including patents, trade secrets, labor & employment, antitrust, false advertising, securities, sanctions, insurance, appellate and white-collar defense – basically every kind of work a potential litigator could imagine! Typical clients include universities (for whom MTO has covered everything from First Amendment disputes to contract disputes and investigations) and utilities (for whom the firm has recently done extensive work related to wildfires and associated regulation).

Nonetheless, we did hear some words of warning about some informal limits of the generalist approach’s flexibility. “If you’re trying to break into a new practice area,” one associate told us, “it can be difficult to suddenly be the person whom the partner doing that matter thinks about, or for you to make time in your schedule.” So, although even specialist groups such as the patent and regulatory teams are welcoming of new faces, a bit of extra effort may be needed if you want to truly sample everything the firm has to offer.

As for the specific tasks associates handle within each matter, the firm likes to challenge its recruits early on. For example, a source related how “One thing that was a highlight for me early in my career was to get into case teams where I could take depositions in my first two or three years at the firm.” Another reported that, “My tasks scaled up as I learned to litigate but I never felt like I was doing grunt work; I felt from the beginning like it was interesting and substantive.” Associates described being heavily involved in the drafting process (especially on briefs) and having plenty of interaction with clients, co-counsel, and opposing counsel.

The firm’s culture of democratic decision-making also spills over into its approach to case strategy: “It’s never the case where a decision is made then I’m told what to do,” one associate told us. They felt this helped their development through making them take ownership of cases. As one explained: “Even as a first-year associate, you’re expected to contribute to the strategy discussions. You’re expected to know the facts of the case really well, you’re expected to present ideas about how to litigate the case and about the strengths and weaknesses of your client’s case, then incorporate that into your work.”

The case teams are usually quite small, leading to extensive praise for the extensive partner contact. “That contact helps me to learn,” one source told us, before adding “It allows me to see how a brilliant lawyer practices law.”

Litigation clients: The Walt Disney Company, Netflix, AT&T. Represented law firm Susman Godfrey in a challenge to an Executive Order targeting its business, which was struck down as unconstitutional in the DC federal district court.

Culture

If anyone’s out there dividing law firms into a ‘naughty’ and ‘nice’ list, associates made it pretty clear that they think MTO belongs on the latter. “There is a sense of if you’ve made it to the firm, you belong here,” reckoned one interviewee, who loved how “Your thoughts and opinions are valued.” Another concurred that “It’s not a cutthroat firm at all,” but rather somewhere people work “because they really enjoy the law and they really care about getting into the nitty gritty and solving hard problems and talking to their friends and coworkers about these issues.”

"If I were to say who my good friends are at the firm, half of them probably would be partners!”

We’ve already spoken about the relative lack of hierarchy at MTO, and it’s worth noting that this extends beyond working hours. “If I were to say who my good friends are at the firm, half of them probably would be partners!” one associate told us. “Not even partners I work with but just partners I’ve happened to get to know. There isn’t this divide.” There are certainly plenty of opportunities to build up those friendships, as we heard the LA office has in-person social activities on a weekly basis, such as lunches with speakers or panels, and that the turnout is typically strong. There are also simultaneous lunches across the firm’s three offices, connecting them virtually.

According to associates, the firm’s non-stratified culture also means that they are treated with the appropriate level of responsibility and independence when it comes to managing their schedule. “There isn’t much micromanagement of what are you doing at every hour of the day,” one insider told us. “If you want to go home at 2pm because you have a doctor’s appointment or something, there isn’t any scrutiny of that. That makes you feel more trusted and valued as an individual.”

Munger, Tolles & Olson is recognized as a Strong Performer for Culture in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: 2,000 target

Thoughtful, hand-picked gifts are the gold standard, but if we’re honest, don’t we all occasionally wish for cash instead of another year of Aunt Jean’s home-made ‘fashion items’? If you can’t escape her knitwear this holiday season, then at least you can rely on MTO to be generous with the dollar bills, as base salaries match the Cravath scale and there is also a sign-on bonus available to those who have done clerkships. The firm has a relatively flexible approach to bonuses generally, which some associates particularly appreciated. “I like that I don’t have to meet this random arbitrary number to get my bonus,” one source told us, adding that “as long as I work hard and do good work, I’m going to get a bonus, and if I’m doing extraordinary work then I’m going to be recognized for that and compensated even more highly.”

As for the hours, “That’s something they’ve improved on in the last couple of years,” one associate reported, as “around the time I started, they made an improvement on being more clear about what the hours expectations were.” The firm is definitely interested in more than just maximizing billables: we even heard that “if you bill too many hours over the span of a few months someone from the development and retention committee will reach out to you” to check in on how things are going and ensure that you can still find time for your own wellbeing.

Munger, Tolles & Olson is recognized as a Strong Performer for Benefits & Quality of Life in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Pro Bono

By now, it will come as no surprise to learn that associates rated MTO comfortably above the market average for its commitment to pro bono work, and described this commitment as a major factor drawing them to the firm. “That is an area where MTO stands out for me,” one told us, “because I think a lot of firms have a commitment to pro bono just for the purpose of developing their associates professionally, whereas here almost everyone I know, ranging from juniors to the most senior partners, is involved in pro bono work in some capacity.” Indeed, that culture runs right up to the top of the firm, and Co-Managing Partner Dan Levin is particularly keen to stress how MTO is “proud of a lot of the pro bono work we've done here in Los Angeles with respect to the ICE immigration raids, and in Washington on a whole range of matters.”

Of course, all this doesn’t mean that experience gained through this work isn’t handy for MTO juniors’ CVs, even if that’s not the primary motive. Our sources highlighted the valuable skills they learned from pro bono activity, particularly via one-day immigration trials; “A lot of associates get really good trial experience that way early on,” we heard, as they benefit from being “fully in charge of the trial and doing the direct examination of the client and the cross‑examination of the government’s witness.” As well as these smaller cases, the firm also has a few large, long-running, pro bono projects (including major litigation on issues of police transparency) that a lot of lawyers can sign up to be involved in, providing a good balance between manageable single-plaintiff matters which involve a “really fulfilling” level of individual responsibility, and collaborative work on headline-setting cases.

Pro bono hours 

• For all US attorneys: 10,001 
• Average per US attorney: 187 

Munger, Tolles & Olson is recognized as an Excellent Performer for Pro Bono in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Career Development

One thing that really sets MTO apart is how many of its attorneys have clerked. Those who join straight out of law school are encouraged to take some time to clerk and many of the firm’s lateral hires come from clerkships. New joiners who came in via this route were full of praise for the firm’s ability to onboard them smoothly: “I was nervous about jumping back into private practice,” one reported, “but when talking to people at the firm, I felt reassured that they knew how to handle people with my resume and integrate them back into private practice through corporate work.” Meanwhile, among those attorneys interested in leaving MTO to explore opportunities outside the private sector, there was a lot of confidence in the “pipeline that goes between the firm and government and back.”

Regardless of when you join the firm and how long you stay, there’s certainly plenty of training on offer. Examples include National Institute for Trial Advocacy-led courses on how to conduct depositions, regular lunchtime talks and trial academy sessions, and multi-day retreats. The firm is also open to letting its attorneys go beyond its internal programs in order to hone their skills. For example, associates can spend several months externing at the city attorney’s office in LA, where they get hands-on experience of trying misdemeanor cases, and one interviewee was impressed by how there are “buckets of money that the firm sets aside for you to go to conferences or do training that’s a little more niche.”

Throughout all this, a junior and senior mentor help each new associate integrate into the firm. There’s a budget available for meals and coffees with mentors – whether those are the formal mentors or the informal ones associates find on their own. Associates praised their mentors in terms such as “phenomenal,”“incredible” and “extraordinary,” and several reported forming close friendships with the people assigned to them. Nonetheless, there’s no pressure to be best buds for life: we also heard that “the mentoring relationship can be very flexible, and you can make it what you want it to be.”

Munger, Tolles & Olson is recognized as a Strong Performer for Career Development in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Inclusion

If the holidays are the season of goodwill to all men, MTO is determined to ensure that this extends to women and everyone else too. The firm’s active commitment to inclusion manifests through a range of affinity groups which are open to everyone, and associates can create new groups if they wish. “I feel lucky to be here and appreciate the support group and all the one‑on‑one support people have offered to me,” said one associate of their participation. Furthermore, the firm puts on dinners and speaker events to celebrate heritage months and days of recognition.

As mentioned previously, the firm is also particularly adept at addressing concerns about feasibility of balancing becoming a parent with a career in law. Our interviewees reassured us that lawyers at MTO “care about each other’s families,” and we heard that, as well as there being generous arrangements for parental leave and specialist support for lawyers returning to work afterwards, “When we do big retreats, the firm will invite your family to come with you to a very welcoming space.” This fits into a broader pattern where “they want you to succeed as a professional but also as a person.”

“MTO makes me feel like I’m working at somewhere that has a backbone, and I appreciate that.”

And finally, if all of this talk of family and the holiday spirit is making the firm sound a little too fuzzily sentimental, it’s worth noting that it can come with a hard edge when needed. Dan Levin points out the firm’s commitment to taking on tough, politically charged fights, saying “this past year, law firms had to stand up for the legal profession and the rule of law. We were among those who put up their hands and did so.” Associates certainly agreed with this assessment. “MTO stood firm in its values and beliefs, which is why I want to continue to work here,” shared one insider, while another added that “MTO makes me feel like I’m working at somewhere that has a backbone, and I appreciate that.”

Get Hired

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus  

OCI applicants interviewed:  142

Interviewees outside OCI:  22

 Historically, MTO conducts OCIs at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Chicago, Michigan, Penn, Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, Loyola, and USC. The firm’s hiring partners tell us: “We also hire students from schools outside of those where we typically conduct OCI, including Northwestern, Georgetown, Duke, University of Texas, University of Virginia, and UC Irvine, among others.” Munger associates have often undertaken clerkships, and the hiring partners explain: “For our post-clerkship hiring, recruits most commonly have graduated from law schools at which we also recruit for our summer program. But we also hire students out of federal clerkships who graduated at or near the top of their classes from other law schools.”   

 In addition to academic excellence, Munger looks for candidates who bring “leadership, intellectual curiosity, and a sense of individuality to an already extremely talented and diverse group of lawyers.” The hiring partners add that the firm is looking for commitment: “Unlike other law firms, we only hire lawyers we believe have the potential to ultimately become partners at the firm.” Associates involved in recruiting told us: “We’re looking for people who can exhibit initiative and resilience. We want people who have demonstrated that they can be the best in a way that goes beyond their GPA.”   

 Top tips for this stage:   

“We are looking for students genuinely interested in practicing law, and doing it with us. Be yourself during the interview. We have your resume and will see your transcript; the interviews are a chance for you to convey your interest in working with us to help solve our clients’ toughest problems, and for us to get to know you better as a person.” – Munger’s hiring partners  

 Callbacks  

Applicants invited to second stage interview:   51

Callbacks for summer associate candidates consist of “a series of 30-minute interviews with lawyers of varying seniority.”  The hiring partners explain that in addition to traditional interviews, the firm uses “a competency-based interviewing method – also known as 'behavioral interviewing'. This process allows candidates to showcase their experience and gives our interviewers a more thorough understanding of the knowledge, skills and abilities a candidate could bring to our firm.”   

 Top tips for this stage:   

“In order to prepare for the interview, we recommend that you think through professional or school-related circumstances in which you faced conflict, displayed leadership, and/or had to work with others to achieve a common goal. Our interviewers will ask you for specific examples, so be prepared to share the situation, the actions you took, the outcome, and what you learned from the situation. We also ask you to take some time to learn about us, what differentiates us, and what makes us a unique – and, we think, special – place to practice law.” – Munger’s hiring partners  

 Summer program  

Offers: 37 (2Ls) 

Acceptances:  25 (2Ls)

 Those who are lucky enough to snag a spot in Munger’s summer program will be given “a realistic idea of what it is like to practice law at our firm, where new lawyers get early responsibility from day one,” the hiring partners explain. They add “You will work closely with attorneys on matters that interest you, doing meaningful assignments. Your summer will include invitations to attend frequent lunches hosted by our lawyers and firm alumni about cutting-edge areas of law; training programs; and thoughtfully curated social events.” On top of this, summers are assigned a work coordinator and a social adviser; the former "will find assignments that are of interest to you and provide guidance and feedback during the summer," say the hiring partners, while the latter “will help ensure that you meet and get to know a broad swath of lawyers at the firm and get a true sense of what it is like to practice law in our distinct and uniquely collegial and collaborative culture, where early responsibility and radical transparency are the norm.”

Interview with Dan Levin, co-managing partner

Commercial strategy, market position and trends

Chambers Associate: How would you define your firm’s current position and identity in the legal market? What differentiates your firm from your peer firms in the market?

Dan Levin: At MTO, we're really proud  to take on our clients’ hardest problems. We  deliver the highest quality legal work and  we do it efficiently. Compared to many of our peers, we're smaller, and we staff a little more leanly, but we get terrific results for our clients. This model has worked for us, and we think it will continue to do so, even as we evolve and as the market changes.

CA: Have there been any developments at the firm over the past year that you’d like law students to know about?

Levin: First and foremost, we're incredibly proud of the work that we've done over the last year upholding the rule of law in the US. We represented Susman Godfrey, one of the four firms that received an executive order that would have effectively shut them down. We're proud of that work. We're proud of a lot of the pro bono work we've done here in Los Angeles with respect to the ICE immigration raids, and in Washington on a whole range of matters. This past year, law firms had to stand up for the legal profession and the rule of law. We were among those who put up their hands and did so.

We continue to show up, and despite our relatively small size compared to some firms, we are handling some of the most important front-page-news cases in the country. We're working on the social media addiction cases, and we're working on mass tort cases across the country. Here in LA, we're representing the city of Los Angeles in the wildfire litigation, just as we did for the Hawaii utility after the Maui fire.

In the last year, we've also had the opportunity to bring in some really tremendous new hires, including from government. We brought in Bridget Fitzpatrick, who was the US Attorney in Washington DC, Dave Ryan from the US Attorney’s office here in LA, corporate partners Andy Garelick and Nicole Howell, and Andrew Radsch in our patent group up in San Francisco. We are not a firm that has always grown through huge amounts of lateral hiring, but we're making really strong targeted lateral hires that are going to help the firm compete and grow in the future.

CA: Are there any domestic or international events/trends that are affecting any of the firm’s practices at the moment? Are there any trends that you think are affecting the business of law firms more generally, and how is that playing out with your firm?

Levin: AI. We are thinking really hard and doing some really creative things with AI. It is going to transform the profession. It has already in certain ways. AI will allow us to offer our clients solutions and opportunities that  we haven't been able to in the past. It's also going to make our lawyers more efficient and more valuable. For junior lawyers evaluating where to begin their careers, firms that are less dependent on the traditional high-leverage model are likely to become increasingly attractive as AI places pressure on that structure. Next year  we'll be light years beyond where we are today on this, but it's a really exciting development in the legal profession.

CA: What is your firm’s commercial strategy focusing on, and how do you expect the next year to unfold?

Levin: In terms of our strategic priorities, we have been growing slowly. We will continue to do that as we hire really terrific lawyers. We continue to double down on our firm's culture. We have a model of democratic decision-making and consensus building. Right from the minute people walk in the door, we want them to act as if they were owners of the business. We give newer lawyers a lot of responsibility right away. We share the firm's financial data with all our lawyers, not just partners. This culture of shared goals and values really benefits clients, and internally it allows us to work better and enjoy our work.

CA: It’s come up in interviews that Munger’s organizational structure where there aren’t really practice groups gives more flexibility around the kind of work they can take on. Could you tell me more about this in relation to training and career progression at the firm?

Levin: Let me talk a little bit about structure and then I'll talk a little about training. We don't have fixed practice groups. We have practice groups within the firm where people can share ideas and collaborate, but neither associates nor partners are assigned a particular one.

We think that's really valuable. Every new lawyer gets the same advice: work on a range of matters, work with a range of people, and you will learn a great deal. You will learn what's interesting to you and what's less interesting. As you get more senior, you may gravitate towards certain practice areas. Maybe you’ll decide that you want to  develop an expertise in antitrust or in securities or in white-collar investigations. That's fabulous. But to get there, you should work on a range of cases. Even if you're going to be an appellate lawyer, you should take some depositions in a case earlier in your career. Learn how to do that. It will make you a better lawyer, wherever you end up.

This structure has worked for us for a long time in terms of training. We run a whole program for new lawyers, we do retreats, and we do a series of training programs. We bring in the National Institute for Trial Advocacy to do deposition training, and we have an incredible program where we send lawyers and mid-level associates to spend a couple months externing at the city attorney's office here in LA. They're the lead trial lawyer and they try misdemeanor criminal cases for the city, getting incredible hands-on, in-court trial experience. So, we do those sorts of more formalized training programs, and then there is a lot of on-the-job training, because we are a low-leverage place where one of the things that sets us apart is that partners roll up their sleeves and do the work. That's an incredible opportunity for learning on the job. If you're a junior lawyer in your first, second, or third year at the firm, you're going to be working with senior lawyers directly without layers and layers of intermediaries.

CA: The firm hires a lot of associates from clerkships. Could you tell me a bit about how the firm integrates these new hires into the firm? For example, getting their first assignments and getting integrated into teams?

Levin: We do hire a lot of people out of clerkships; probably the majority of our associates. We have a structure where a small group of lawyers handles the staffing of new lawyers. When you come in, you're assigned a more senior mentor and a more junior mentor who can give you advice about what's out there, what to look for, and how to think about the work. Then the committee members who handle the assignments for junior lawyers will work on matching people with opportunities. So maybe you're on two or three different matters when you start, with hopefully a little bit of a variety in terms of whom you're working with and the types of matters. This probably helps with the staffing for the first year of a lawyer's career here.

After that we have a free market system, but I would say it's a structured free market system in the sense that everyone has a mentor attached to them. We do frequent formal reviews, designed to make sure that people aren't slipping through the cracks. So, there are a lot of guardrails around the free market, but we don't have command and control. It's not like someone calls you up and says, “you're now working on this case, show up in so-and-so's office in 30 minutes and get the materials.” We treat people like professionals. We expect them to step up, put their hands up, and volunteer for work. But we're respectful when people say, “I'm swamped right now, and I don't have the bandwidth to take on something new.” It all comes from a desire to make people, even when they're brand new, take ownership and  responsibility for their careers and to feel like they have an investment in the enterprise.

Inside the Firm

CA: How is the firm evolving to accommodate the needs/expectations of the next generation of lawyers?

Levin: We have a lot of different programs in place for people as they go through the stages of life, including reduced hours schedules, for people where that makes sense. We have a robust parental leave program. We've really tried to be thoughtful about matching people with mentors as they're about to go out on parental leave, as well as matching people with mentors as they return and ramp back up. It’s not just about the amount of leave, or the six months that you're away with an infant. You're a parent for many years, and there are a lot of things to balance and juggle. We think holistically and counsel people about how to make those choices. People work hard. These are tough and demanding jobs. But we treat people respectfully and thoughtfully in terms of how they balance competing demands on their own time.

The Legal Profession

CA: How do you predict the legal profession will change in the next five years? Are there any particular challenges the industry is facing?

Levin: We'll continue to change with technology, and as the problems facing clients evolve, we will evolve to meet those challenges. That is probably going to be the biggest change over the next five years. At MTO, we will continue to practice law based on the core values of our profession, and on the basis that we are officers of the court, practicing ethically and putting forward the best arguments we can based on the facts of the law for our clients. I am optimistic that those core features of the profession of law will remain and will not be materially different five years from now. It would be bad for the profession if those were to change fundamentally over the next five years, but I'm optimistic that they won't, and we're going to ensure that they don't change at MTO.

The Fun Bit

CA: Throwing it back to law school: it's been a long day of classes and studying. What's your go-to easy meal to have before you crash?

Levin: I ate so badly in law school. We would go to the pizza place around the corner from the law school and I feel like I ate way too many slices of pizza, with a bit of crummy side salad.

CA: What was the first concert you attended?

Levin: The Grateful Dead at the Meadowlands in in New Jersey when I was in 10th grade.

CA: Thinking about the ways in which the legal profession is developing, what is the one skill you have learnt in your career that you think is key for young attorneys to learn?

Levin: Take the time to do your work carefully, so that you can do it right, you can do it concisely, and you can do it in such a way that you feel proud when you hand the work to someone else.