| Headquarters | Los Angeles |
|---|---|
| No. of offices | 10 [1] |
| No. of attorneys | 500 [2] |
| Major practice areas | Litigation only |
| Key people | John Quinn |
| Revenue | $420M (2009)[3] |
| Date founded | 1 January 1986 |
| Founder | John B. Quinn, Eric Emanuel, David Quinto, Phyllis Kupferstein |
| Company type | Limited liability partnership |
| Website | |
| Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan, LLP | |
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP is a litigation-only law firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Currently, the firm employs 500+ attorneys throughout ten locations. In 1986, Quinn Emanuel opened its first office in Los Angeles. Currently, the firm has office locations in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Tokyo, London, Mannheim, and Moscow. Today, its largest office is located in New York City.
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The firm was established in 1986 by John B. Quinn, Eric Emanuel, David Quinto, and Phyllis Kupferstein with the purpose of being a litigation-only firm. Joined in 1988 by name partner A. William Urquhart, the firm aimed to do away with law firm formalities. Beginning in 2007, Quinn Emanuel expanded internationally by opening its first office in Tokyo. A year later, the firm expanded to London, then Mannheim, Germany in 2010, and Moscow in 2011.[4]
Quinn Emanuel is the first AmLaw 100 firm to have a female name partner.[5][6] The firm changed its name in March 2010 to include Kathleen Sullivan, former Dean of Stanford Law School, who heads the firm's appellate practice. The firm was previously known as Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges.[7]
A large part of the firm's self-image is the lack of a formal dress code. This casual self-image extends into the corporate structure of the firm, which lacks any formal management committees other than an advisory committee for the evaluation of contingency fee cases. Around 35 percent of Quinn attorneys went to Yale, Harvard, Stanford, NYU or Columbia. [8] On 1 September 2011, Washington DC's Legal Times Blog announced that the firm was opening up its first office in the nation's capitol.
Intellectual Property litigation is the firm’s largest practice area and currently has over 200 lawyers who litigate IP cases.[9]
The firm's largest practice area is intellectual property litigation. The firm's has represented numerous large companies such as, IBM, Google, Shell Oil, Morgan Stanley, CNA, Zurich, Samsung, SONY, Disney, Yahoo, Symantec, Mattel, Qualcomm, Activision, Dubai World and ING. However, the firm also often represents smaller companies and individuals in lawsuits as plaintiffs.
The firm specializes in the following areas of law:[10]
Anitrust and Trade Regulation
Appellate Practice
Banking and Financial Institution Litigation
Bankruptcy and Restructuring
Class Action Litigation
Construction Litigation
Domestic and International Arbitration & Mediation
Employment Litigation and Counseling
Entertainment and Media Litigation
Government Contracts Litigation
Insurance and Reinsurance Litigation
Insurance Recovery
Intellectual Property Litigation
International Trade Commission Proceedings
Investment Fund and Fund Advisor Litigation
Life Sciences Litigation
Plaintiffs' Litigation
Public Strategy in High Profile Litigation: Media Relations
Real Estate Litigation
Satellite and Aerospace Litigation
Securities Litigation
Sports Litigation
Structured Finance and Derivatives Litigation
Transnational Litigation
White Collar Defense and Internal Investigations
Quinn Emanuel consistently ranks among the top of various industry surveys. The American Lawyer ranked the firm "Top IP Litigation Department of the Year" in 2010 and was recognized as one of the top six Litigation Departments in the U.S.[11] Chambers and Partners recognized John B. Quinn as "one of the best trial lawyers in California." [12] Chambers and Partners also ranked Quinn Emanuel among the top tiers for the following categories: Intellectual Property: Patent, Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets; Litigation: General Commercial, Trial Lawyers and White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations; Media and Entertainment; Appellate Law; Bankruptcy and Reconstructing; Sports Law; and Insurance.[13]
Quinn Emanuel regularly appears within the top three of The American Lawyer's annual listing of highest profits per partner. In 2010, Quinn Emanuel posted profits per partner of $3.6 million, ranking number two in the United States.[14] The American Lawyer also ranked the firm as the most profitable law firm in the United States among the country's top 200 highest grossing firms.[15]
In 2010, Vault.com ranked Quinn Emanuel as 23rd in law firms according to reputation. In 2011, the firm further rose to number 19. The rankings for 2012 place the firm at number 16, an all-time high. In Vault.com's specialty rankings, Quinn Emanuel ranked 6th in litigation and 5th in intellectual property litigation.[16] Legal 500 ranks Quinn Emanuel as a second tier firm in the Patent Litigation and Trade Secrets practice areas.[17] In January 2011, Law360 awarded Quinn Emanuel the "Insurance Group of the Year" award.[18] In June 2011, the British legal publication, "The Lawyer" awarded Quinn Emanuel's London office "International Law Firm of the Year". [19]
Several years ago, the firm made a decision to sever its ties with the large global money center banks (with the exception of Morgan Stanley). This put the firm in the position to be adverse to these banks. The firm has brought large suits against Bank of America, UBS, Merrill Lynch, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, and Deutsche Bank seeking billions in damages.
The firm had instituted the Quinn Emanuel Diversity Scholarship Program. This opportunity is open to outstanding law students of diverse backgrounds. The scholarship includes a $15,000 stipend and a place in Quinn Emanuel's summer associate class. Quinn Emanuel awards up to five Diversity Scholarships annually.[20]
John B. Quinn, recognized as an "Attorney of the Decade" by The Daily Journal.[21]
A. William Urquhart, named "One of California's Most Successful Business Lawyers" by California Law Business and one of the "Outstanding Trial Lawyers of America," by Chambers USA.[22]
Kathleen Sullivan, former Dean of Stanford Law School[23] and Law360's 2011 Appellate MVP of the Year.[24]
Susan Estrich, legal and political analyst, author and law professor.[25]
Charles K. Verhoeven, ranked by The Daily Journal as one of the top 100 lawyers in California, holds an 11-0 record as lead trial counsel before the Federal Circuit. The National Law Journal has described Verhoeven as one of the most successful litigators in the country.[26]