About

John B. Quinn is the most famous lawyer in the world practicing at a large law firm according to a 2016 survey conducted by Bloomberg Law. Described as a “master strategist” by American Lawyer and a “Legal Legend” in the 10th Anniversary edition of the Lawdragon: The 500 Leading Lawyers in America, John was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Law by the Busan University of Foreign Studies, in Busan, Korea, in July 2024 for his contributions to the legal profession and his global impact on business litigation.

John is, of course, also the executive chairman and founding partner of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, the largest law firm in the world devoted solely to business litigation and arbitration which The Wall Street Journal has termed a “global litigation powerhouse.” Annual surveys of the top legal decision makers at over 300 of the world’s largest organizations, conducted by independent research provider BTI Consulting Group, have consistently ranked Quinn Emanuel as the world’s most feared litigation law firm. The firm comprises over 1,100 lawyers across 36 offices in 12 countries.

John has amassed a trail of victories second to none in the field of business litigation. His practice ranges across the full spectrum of business litigation cases. A very small sample of the kinds of cases John has won include:

• Obtaining a $1.1 billion settlement for General Motors in an action against Volkswagen, certain VW directors and officers, and GM’s former head of sourcing in Detroit for stealing secret GM documents;
• Winning a jury verdict establishing liability in an insurance coverage case for Occidental Petroleum regarding business interruption losses from over two hundred terrorist bombings of an oil pipeline in Colombia, leading to a nine-figure settlement;
• Defending the University of Southern California in a retrial against a dental implant manufacturer seeking more than $1 billion in lost profits and prevented the plaintiff from receiving any lost profits; and
• Obtaining a $150 million settlement from Deloitte & Touche on behalf of Dr. Enrico Bondi, Extraordinary Commissioner of Parmalat S.P.A., in three separate lawsuits against Grant Thornton, Bank of America, and Citigroup arising out of the largest bankruptcy in European history (“Europe’s Enron”), for aiding and abetting Parmalat’s insiders in the commission of fraud and for auditor malfeasance.

A few of his other victories include:

• Winning $176 million as lead trial counsel for Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and his companies in an arbitration against Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. and its CEO Dr. Henry Ji;
• Obtaining a $295 million jury verdict for two former Bertelsmann AG executives against Bertelsmann AG;
• Defending Samsung Electronics Company in Apple Inc.’s “holy war” against the Android smartphone operating system where, after a trial held in Apple’s backyard, the jury awarded less than 5.5% of the amount Apple sought and decided that Apple itself infringed one of Samsung’s counterclaim patents; and
• Obtaining a $2.1 billion settlement for two dozen hedge fund plaintiffs—including Elliott, Davidson-Kempner, Appaloosa, and Angelo Gordon—as holders of Yosemite and Enron Credit-Linked (ECLN) Notes in the Yosemite v. Citibank action in the Enron MDL.

John is a highly sought-after speaker.

• At the Forum of Chief Legal Advisors 2024 in Singapore (July 2024), John spoke on “Investor State Arbitrations.”
• At the Korean Federation of Industry Conference in Jeju Island (July 2024), he spoke on “Lessons Learned Representing Korean Companies in Litigation Outside Korea.”
• At the Future Investment Initiative Priority Summit in Miami (February 2024), he spoke on the “Emerging Legal Risks Posed By AI.”
• At the Milken Institute in Beverly Hills (May 2023), he spoke on the panel “Governing AI: Ethics, Regulation, and Practical Applications.”

John has also chaired panel discussions including:

• “How Will AI Change Finance?” at the Future Investment Initiative Conference in Riyadh (October 2023),
• “Do Investors Finally Understand ESG?” at the Milken Institute in Beverly Hills (May 2022),
• “Managing Social Risks and Liabilities In International Business” at the Future Investment Initiative Conference in Riyadh (October 2022), and
• “What Policies Most Encourage Foreign Investment?” at the Future Investment Initiative Conference in Riyadh (October 2021).

John’s podcast, ‘Law, disrupted’ addresses the most pressing legal issues of our time with top experts in the field. The podcast discusses cutting-edge subjects legal issues, such as SPACs, generative AI, litigation finance, ransomware, climate change, and beyond.