Marisa Brutoco of Davis Wright Tremaine in San Francisco. Courtesy photoIn-House Lawyer for Apple, Amazon and Google Joins Davis Wright Tremaine
Marisa Brutoco is expected to help expand the firm's presence in Silicon Valley and bolster its tech practice, which has about 50 lawyers nationwide.
October 25, 2019 at 03:10 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Corporate Counsel
For Marisa Brutoco, a former in-house lawyer for Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc. and Google, going into private practice wasn't exactly a difficult decision.
Brutoco on Monday joined Davis Wright Tremaine as a partner in the firm's Silicon Valley-based technology, privacy and security practice, where she'll be working with some of the same tech giants that she represented as corporate counsel.
"Now I can focus on more than just one," Brutoco said in an interview on Friday.
She is expected to help expand Davis Wright's presence in Silicon Valley and bolster its tech practice, which has about 50 lawyers nationwide. She said the size and reach of the practice group was one of the reasons she joined the firm.
"I like being part of a tech group that's a leading provider at the firm, not just a service group," she said.
The other reason: Davis Wright has a close relationship with its tech clients, Brutoco said. The firm works on-site with Facebook, for instance. And it is a preferred provider for Amazon, where Brutoco most recently served as counsel for Lab126, the company's San Francisco Bay Area research and development team.
"That model appealed to me," she said of Davis Wright's approach. "It's pretty darn close to in-house and the benefit it provides is you work with a great portfolio of companies, as opposed to just one."
During her time at Amazon, Brutoco worked on high-profile licensing deals, including one that integrated Netflix with Alexa and the Amazon Fire TV. She also was involved in a deal for Amazon Fire to stream the ESPN and Apple TV apps.
Before she joined Amazon, Brutoco served as a corporate counsel for Google and was the lead lawyer for YouTube and Google Play's sports content and the head lawyer for the launch of YouTube's live streaming platform.
She began her in-house career in 2009 as a lawyer for iTunes at Apple, which she joined after a five-year stint with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Brutoco focused on commercial transactions and copyright licensing while at the firm.
"She has the experience, reputation and relationships to help us build a top-of-market team in San Francisco and Silicon Valley to complement our tech, media, entertainment, and communications teams in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and Washington," Wendy Kearns, co-chairwoman of Davis Wright's tech, privacy and security practice, said in a statement.
Kearns is among several women leaders at Davis Wright. Others include the chairwomen of the firm's media and entertainment practice, communications practice and executive committee.
"It's refreshing to see a law firm with so many young leaders and such a commitment to the success of its women lawyers," Brutoco said.
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