Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
Name	Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
Founded	1986
Founders	John B. Quinn, James H.M. Sprayregen, Bruce G. Wexler, headquarters = Los Angeles | offices = 23 | num_attorneys = 800+ | practice_areas = Litigation, Arbitration, Intellectual Property, Antitrust, Securities

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan is a global litigation boutique founded in 1986 known for trial-focused practice and high-stakes representations. The firm has operated across major commercial litigation venues, appearing before forums such as the United States Supreme Court, International Chamber of Commerce, London High Court, European Court of Justice, and arbitration tribunals like the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. Quinn Emanuel's roster includes lawyers who previously practiced at firms linked to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Securities and Exchange Commission, and federal judiciary chambers.

History

Quinn Emanuel was established in Los Angeles during a period shaped by litigation involving entities like Time Warner, Sony Corporation, Microsoft, AT&T, and MCI Communications. Early matters connected the firm with panels convened by the Federal Trade Commission and disputes heard by judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and district courts such as the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Expansion included cross-border matters with counsel interacting with institutions like Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and sovereign participants from Argentina, Venezuela, and Iraq in investor-state disputes under treaties such as the Energy Charter Treaty. The firm grew through high-profile trials resembling matters before the International Criminal Court in profile (though civil in nature) and staffed teams that had worked on cases involving the Enron scandal and the WorldCom litigation ecosystem.

Notable Cases and Litigation

Quinn Emanuel litigators have represented clients in proceedings analogous to landmark matters involving Apple Inc., Google, Facebook, Oracle Corporation, and Intel Corporation on intellectual property and antitrust fronts. The firm has appeared in securities and shareholder disputes tied to corporations like Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Lehman Brothers estate litigation. In arbitration, teams acted in investor-state disputes echoing cases such as Philip Morris v. Uruguay and Occidental Petroleum v. Ecuador before panels operating under UNCITRAL rules and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution. The firm also defended pharmaceutical and biotech clients against litigation sharing features with cases involving Pfizer, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, and disputes about patents similar to litigation over CRISPR-related technologies. High-stakes bet-the-company trials included matters involving media conglomerates like News Corporation, WarnerMedia, and Discovery, Inc., plus litigation touching Nokia, BlackBerry, and telecom disputes reminiscent of AT&T v. Microsoft-era fights.

Practice Areas

The firm's litigation-focused practice spans areas comparable to those handled by boutiques and large international firms: Intellectual property disputes including patent cases involving United States Patent and Trademark Office proceedings and European patent matters; Antitrust and competition litigation with filings before institutions such as the Department of Justice, European Commission, and the Competition and Markets Authority; Securities litigation and regulatory defense connected to the Securities and Exchange Commission and class actions in circuits including the Second Circuit and Ninth Circuit; cross-border arbitration under ICC, LCIA, and ICSID rules; and complex commercial litigation involving supply chains with counterparties like Boeing, Airbus, Siemens, and General Electric. Additional work mirrors Mergers and Acquisitions disputes and takeover litigation akin to cases involving Dell Technologies, Heinz, and 3G Capital transactions.

Offices and Global Presence

Quinn Emanuel operates offices in major legal and financial centers paralleling networks maintained by firms with hubs in New York City, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Sydney, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Boston, Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Milan, Dubai, São Paulo, Mexico City, Toronto, Brussels, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, and Seoul. Its global footprint supports cross-border coordination with local counsel in jurisdictions such as China, India, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Chile, and integrates practice alongside international institutions like the World Bank and regional appellate courts including the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Firm Structure and Management

The firm is structured as a partnership with leadership functions filled by managing partners and practice group chairs similar to governance at firms like Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Latham & Watkins, and Sidley Austin. Management liaises with compliance teams experienced in matters before regulatory bodies such as the Department of Justice, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Its model emphasizes trial teams modeled on historic litigation units from firms connected to judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and former prosecutors from the United States Attorney's Office. Compensation and recruitment practices are competitive with peers like Gibson Dunn, Kirkland & Ellis, and Sullivan & Cromwell.

Recognition and Rankings

Quinn Emanuel has received rankings in publications and directories comparable to The American Lawyer, Chambers and Partners, Legal 500, Benchmark Litigation, and Law360 for litigation, arbitration, and intellectual property work. Its attorneys have been listed in directories such as Best Lawyers in America and recognized by awards associated with organizations like the International Bar Association, American Bar Association, and specialist tribunals tracking excellence in disputes similar to honors given by GAR (Global Arbitration Review). The firm’s trial record is often cited alongside leading litigators who have handled matters before the United States Supreme Court and major international arbitral panels.

Category:Law firms