# Robert Thorne (lawyer)

Robert Throne is an entertainment and licensing lawyer, known for being manager of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, in addition to the CEO of their company Dualstar Entertainment. Robert Thorne is Founder and CEO of The Robert Thorne Company, former President of the Century City Bar Association and a former law partner at Loeb & Loeb in Century City, California.

## Career

Thorne was admitted to the State Bar of California on December 16, 1980, and began his career as an entertainment lawyer. From 1987 to 1990, Thorne served as the chair of the Entertainment Law Section of the Century City Bar Association.
In February 1990, Thorne was made a partner at the law firm Loeb & Loeb in California.
Robert Thorne, was hired by Dave Olsen, Mary-Kate and Ashley's father, in 1990. At the time, they were only four years old, and Thorne was retained to help renegotiate their contracts for Full House. The legal advice morphed, and Thorne became the managers of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen when they were only 4 1/2-years old.
In March 1992, Thorne was named president-elect of Century City Bar Association in Los Angeles, after serving as the secretary for a number of years.
In 1993, on behalf of Mary-Kate and Ashley, Thorne founded the company Dualstar Entertainment.
In a 2001 interview, Thorne said, "Even though they're 14 years old, I work for them." Of the Dualstar success, he went on to say, "It started as a fiction, to be candid, that it was Mary-Kate and Ashley's deal, this brand, this whole thing. They were involved more like: 'Is this O.K.?' 'Sure.' Now they say we created a monster, but I don't think so. I think we created two professional executives."
On March 6, 2002, Thorne filed the articles of incorporation for a new business venture entitled Thorne Enterprises, Inc. A month later, on April 9, he filed an amendment updating the name to The Robert Thorne Company, and listing himself as its president and secretary.
In 2004, when the Olsen twins decided to move to New York for college, Thorne as their manager and CEO followed them across the country. He signed a contract for a $3.35 million town house in the complex. In February, he also bought a three-bedroom apartment on the 14th floor, directly below the Olsens' penthouse, for $2.13 million.
After Mary-Kate and Ashley turned 18-years old, they wanted to take on the full leadership position of their production company Dualstar Entertainment. Thorne, who officially had a minority stake in the company, was bought out for an undisclosed amount. "The decision was to respect their desire to take the helm perhaps a few years earlier than I had anticipated," Thorne told Reuters. "But I didn’t want to stand in their way provided that I was taken care of, as I was handsomely."
The following year, Thorne was secured by Hilary Duff to spearhead her new merchandising venture. In 2007, Thorne was quoted, "I don’t really represent people, I build businesses."

## Personal life
### Education

A graduate of UC Berkeley.
Thorne graduated from Hastings College of the Law on May 17, 1980.

### Family

Thorne's kids Griffin and Harrison were both trained by a private tennis coach.
In 2017, Thorne sold his three-story townhouse at One Morton Square in the West Village for $8.24 million.