Berkshire Lawyering Buffett’s Way Remains the Munger Tolles Show

The threadbare hierarchy at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. that Warren Buffett has long been proud of extends to his legal department.

There isn’t one—not even a general counsel within its headquarters staff in Omaha, Neb., of roughly 30—even as Buffett’s conglomerate has grown to almost a quarter-trillion dollars in revenue. Its decentralized legal and compliance model leans on the Los Angeles-based law firm where Berkshire’s vice chairman, Charles Munger, and board member Ronald Olson are name partners.

Berkshire paid $8.4 million last year—up from $6.1 million in 2019—to Munger, Tolles & Olson, according to the company’s annual proxy statement, and $105.4 ...