Munger, Tolles & Olson has brought back former corporate partner Brett Rodda from Silver Point Capital LP, where he spent the last two-and-a-half years as general counsel of the Greenwich, Connecticut-based private investment firm.

Rodda's first day back at Munger Tolles will be Oct. 1. The corporate lawyer will work out of the firm's office in Washington, D.C., where Munger Tolles set up shop two years ago after hiring former U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. Rodda said he will bring a transactional focus to Munger Tolles' office in the nation's capital, which has had an appellate litigation focus.

“Washington, D.C., is a great platform to practice corporate law,” Rodda said. ”Historically, naturally, there has been a traditional focus on works related to the government, but I think Washington has grown tremendously as a world city and I think there is a whole transactional world. It is full of really interesting opportunities because there are money managers, public companies, national associations and wealthy individuals, and all of them need good corporate law advice.”

Prior to going in-house in late 2016, Rodda spent nearly 17 years at Munger Tolles' Los Angeles headquarters, where he handled corporate transactions and securities matters for clients, such as investment funds, strategic buyers and boards of directors. Rodda has represented clients in their investments in Silicon Valley and technology startups, including having once counseled Beats Electronics on its $3 billion sale to Apple Inc. in 2014. As general counsel for Silver Point, he handled in-house legal matters for the firm and its funds.

Brett Rodda

“One of the areas we want to together grow the practice is something I did in the past, which is working on corporate investigations,” Rodda said. “Otherwise, the D.C. office is made up of litigators who are handing some of the most [important] appellate issues, as well as trial court matters for a variety of clients.”

Rodda noted that he was also drawn to the opportunity to work with Verrilli, who founded and has helped build out Munger Tolles' office in Washington, D.C. With Rodda's arrival, Munger Tolles now has 13 lawyers working in the city. Two litigation associates, however, Celia Choy and Dahlia Mignouna, are expected to leave the firm to become clerks next summer for U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer.

“For a technology company I think it can't just [focus] on Silicon Valley or Silicon Beach without thinking about the implications in Washington, D.C., it just would not be a wise strategy,” Rodda said.

In Munger Tolles' announcement touting Rodda's hire, name partner Ronald Olson, whose practice involves a mixture of litigation and corporate counseling, welcomed the former partner back to the firm, which earlier this month also brought aboard corporate partner Kelly Kriebs in Los Angeles.

“Brett's experience and business savvy offers clients smart, thoughtful counsel in navigating their most important, high-stakes deals, and we are thrilled to have him back,” Olson said in prepared remarks.

Earlier this year, Munger Tolles hired real estate specialist George Fatheree III in Los Angeles from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where he spent the past decade. In 2017, Munger Tolles saw its gross revenue rise slightly, to $236.3 million.