Legal Business

Bouncing back: Quinn Emanuel City revenues jump by a third

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Financial results 2014 Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
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Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has become the first US firm to release its London office figures for 2014, boasting a 33% increase in revenues and 44% for profits and rebounding from the sharp drop in turnover experienced in 2013.

Revenue shot up to £26.2m last year, with profits coming in £5.5m higher at £17.9m. The results form a huge contrast to 2013’s results, when the firm’s City office posted its first ever decline in revenue and profit since launching in 2008, both down by around 30%.

But 2014 saw the firm work on a higher volume of medium-sized matters including bank-related and general commercial litigation, as opposed to the one-off big ticket disputes the firm was known to work on previously. The stellar results have put office figures back to 2012’s level when the firm posted record-revenues of £27.5m and total fee-earner headcount in the office averaged 27 in 2012.

‘We are back to 2012’s level but without depending on the one or two big disputes,’ London co-managing partner Richard East (pictured) told Legal Business. He added: ‘We have had a good financial year on the back of a large number of medium-sized matters that have come from all over. We have been doing more general commercial litigation and arbitration and this is where we want to be, which is not too dependent on any one case.’

When the firm’s London net profit fell by one third (33%) to £12.4m, and City revenues also dropped 28% to £19.8m in 2013, the firm said the decline was down to three major pieces of litigation for clients Oleg Deripaska, Unicredit and Derek Quinlan either coming to trial or ending in 2012.

Quinn Emanuel’s City base houses some 30 fee-earners and will have 13 partners by March this year after DLA Piper’s litigation partner Nick Marsh officially joins. This year, the disputes shop plans to bulk up further in its newly launch competition practice, following the hire of competition litigation partner Boris Bronfentrinker from claimant firm Hausfeld & Co in October last year. The firm is also considering launching a white-collar practice in London to serve its European corporate clients on regulatory issues, and to work more closely with the firm’s Washington DC practice that largely focuses on white-collar.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Revolving doors: Clydes, Quinn Emanuel and Gibson Dunn make key hires

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Strategic recruitment Clyde & CoGibson, Dunn & CrutcherQuinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
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Last week saw Clyde & Co expand its transportation finance practice in the City, while Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan expands its litigation offering in Houston, and peer group firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher expanded its M&A offering in Singapore.

Clydes has expanded its City transportation finance group with Ince & Co partner Dean Norton joining. The hire comes as the firm pushes to grow its global marine practice. Norton joins with over 20 years’ experience in the shipping and energy sectors, advising owners, charterers and shipyards in relation to corporate structuring, joint ventures, shipbuilding and chartering arrangements.

He joined Ince & Co in 2007, where he headed the global offshore finance team. During his time there, he advised on the $600m LNG new-building project financing, and the $1.1bn drilling rig-financing deal. Before Ince & Co, Norton was an associate at Clifford Chance for six years.

London-based Marine partner Andrew Preston said: ‘Dean’s arrival adds new capability to the transport finance group, and reaffirms our commitment to fully servicing the global shipping industry. His standout banking and finance experience brings diversity and depth to what we can offer clients in an increasingly complex market and industry.’

Over on the other side of the pond, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan added litigator Charles Eskridge as a partner in its Houston office. Eskridge has experience of advising in commercial matters within antitrust, IP, including patents and trade secrets matters, aviation disasters, securities fraud, the First Amendment, ERISA, and asbestos bankruptcy litigation. He is also an experienced appellate advocate having briefed and argued numerous appeals in both federal and state courts.

Before joining Quinn Emanuel, Eskridge was a partner at Susman Godfrey, where he worked for the last decade. ‘Frankly, I never thought I would ever leave Susman Godfrey,’ said Eskridge. ‘I learned so much there and leave behind many good friends. However, Quinn Emanuel offered something unique – the opportunity to build something from the ground up with all the resources of the world’s largest litigation firm at my disposal. And to join partners of the calibre of David Gerger and Karl Stern in doing so is a real privilege.’

Quinn Emanuel managing partner John Quinn added: ‘It is rare you have the opportunity to add a partner of Charles’ calibre. He is a unique talent who will help us service our growing list of Houston based clients.’

And following Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s recent City raid, the US firm has added local corporate partner Robson Lee to strengthen its M&A and capital markets offering in the region. Lee specialises in corporate finance and capital markets transactions. He advises public listed companies on securities transactions, cross-border mergers and acquisitions and foreign joint ventures. He also used to practice advising local and foreign companies in funds raising and stock market floatation.

Lee joins from Shook Lin & Bok in Singapore, and is also an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore and a solicitor in England and Wales.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

A $150m award: Baker Botts loses another Russian case as Quinn Emanuel secures pay-out against gas giants

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Litigation Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
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Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan‘s Alex Gerbi and Stephen Jagusch have secured a $150m award for Danish engineering firm Core Carbon, with Baker Botts suffering another defeat on behalf of its Russian client base, this time Rosgaz, after recently being on the receiving end of a $50bn award against Russia for the state’s destruction of Yukos.

Core Carbon struck a deal in 2005 with Rosgaz, which is 50% owned by Gazprom, and Centregasservice to repair leaking gas pipes. With leaks of methane gas from the aging Russian pipelines, the Danish group repaired more than 150,000 parts to reduce emissions by around 8 million tons a year.

However, relations between the parties soured and a three-man tribunal at the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce agreed with Core Carbon that the Russian parties had broken the contract by refusing to finalise documentation. This meant that Core Carbon was unable to claim carbon credits, an international market set up under the UN’s Kyoto agreement, for its work.

As a result, an arbitral tribunal made up of One Essex Court’s Peter Leaver QC, Swedish firm Setterwalls’ Per Runeland and sole arbitrator Professor Michael Reisman awarded Core Carbon $150m in damages. A final hearing in late July and the recent award also ordered the two Russian companies to pay all of Core Carbon’s legal costs. Enforcement of the award will now commence.

Rosgaz, in its defence, alleged that Core Carbon had fraudulently obtained the contract and instigated criminal proceedings in the Russian courts. The tribunal did not accept this argument, leaving Baker Botts again on the losing side for a Russian client.

Earlier this year, Shearman & Sterling’s head of arbitration Emmanuel Gaillard and partner Yas Banifatemi triumphed over Baker Botts’ London-based co-head of international arbitration Jay Alexander and Texas-based partner Michael Goldberg in the record $50bn award against Russia in July for the destruction of bankrupted oil group Yukos.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Hunting titans: Quinn and HSF take lead as former Goldman Sachs bankers and UBS face off

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Litigation Herbert Smith FreehillsQuinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
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Unsurprisingly for a high-profile claim against a global investment bank, litigation heavyweights Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Herbert Smith Freehills find themselves squaring up to each other today (1 December).

Decura, a financial services platform run up by three former Goldman Sachs bankers, is suing UBS after the Swiss financial giant shrunk its investment bank in a move that the claimants allege damaged a joint venture with Decura.

The claim was filed in July and the trial started at the UK commercial court before Mr Justice Burton today. Robert Hickmott and Sue Prevezer QC at Quinn Emanuel have been instructed by Decura, with Herbert Smith Freehills’ banking litigator Damien Byrne Hill defending the bank.

Decura was founded in 2012 by Goldman Sachs partner and member of the bank’s risk committee Vishal Gupta. The start-up established an exclusive outsourcing relationship with the Swiss bank to provide its clients with investment platforms.

Five months after the deal was signed, UBS launched Project Accelerate, which sped up a restructuring that saw the bank make almost 10,000 workers in the City redundant. Decura claims this ‘radical transformation’ had ‘a material adverse effect on UBS’s ability to market the exclusive business services’ and is seeking damages for the termination of the joint venture.

Decura also claims that to date, just £230,000 of revenue has been generated by the joint venture, with just five enquiries passed to Decura between June 2013 and February 2014. Decura had expected to generate around $200m in annual revenue once the business was up and running.

Decura stated in the particulars of claim: ‘Many of the products falling within the definition of Exclusive Business Services under the Agreement are no longer the focus of UBS IB (in particular structured and complex products on asset classes related to interest rates, credit, mortgages and commodities)…The number of relevant salespeople, in particular those who would formerly have been in a position to market exclusive business services, has substantially reduced.’

UBS, in its response on 10 November, said the claim was ‘deficient’ and ‘denies that Project Accelerate has affected its ability to perform its primary obligations under the agreement to market the exclusive business services’.

UBS added that Decura had acknowledged ‘there is no obligation’ on the Swiss-based bank to generate ‘a minimum amount of shareable revenue from sales of exclusive business services products to its clients’.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

For more on disputes work evolving after the banking crisis, read a summary of our recent round table discussion in Banking Litigation Insight: ‘The worst case scenario is £200m – litigation is containable’

Legal Business

News in Brief – November 2014

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Salaries Allen & OveryKing & Wood MallesonsQuinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
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PWC LEGAL LOOKS FOR REGIONAL GROWTH

Addleshaw Goddard and DLA Piper veteran Neal Shepherd was recruited by PwC Legal to head a regional push out of its Manchester office. The accountancy giant is targeting the north of England, with Shepherd focusing on mid-market M&A and expanding the team into PwC business areas, including employment and pensions.

 

Legal Business

Quinn Emanuel targets City competition practice with Hausfeld partner hire

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Strategic recruitment Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
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Disputes specialist Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan will offer an antitrust practice in London following the hire of competition litigation partner Boris Bronfentrinker from the City of office claimant firm Hausfeld & Co.

Antitrust is a key plank of Quinn’s US practice, and the hire of Bronfentrinker marks a move by the firm to extend the capabilities of the City office it launched in 2008 and is the latest stage of its strategy to develop a European competition practice following the recent opening of its Brussels office.

Bronfentrinker joins Quinn from specialist claimant competition litigation firm Hausfeld, where he had been a partner for over a year. Prior to this, he was a senior associate in Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s highly prized competition practice for seven years, where he spent a large amount of time representing defendants.

His practice is unusual in that he has experience of representing both claimants and defendants in competition litigation. He has represented clients before both the English High Court and the Competition Appeal Tribunal, and also has experience with general commercial disputes and managing internal investigations. Clients have included Continental, Deutsche Bahn, Samsung, PSA Peugeot Citroën and Visa Europe.

While Bronfentrinker will be based in London, he will also work across the firm’s Hamburg and recently-launched Brussels office, alongside managing partner of both offices and chair of the firm’s EU and German competition practice, Nadine Herrmann. The Brussels practice was set up earlier this year to focus on EU and member state competition litigation and investigations.

‘Because the firm does not have a corporate practice, we need to appeal to general counsel and say “hire us for your litigation because we have got the right guys”,’ said Richard East, co-managing partner of the firm’s London office. ‘I am particularly excited about Boris’ claimant-side experience. There are very few firms in London which combine our litigation expertise, global reach and relatively conflict-free position which will instantly make us unique in the competition space in London.’

Managing partner John Quinn (pictured) added: ‘Antitrust litigation has always been a significant part of our practice in the US. More recently it has become a growing part of our practice internationally. This is particularly true in the EU where the regulators are increasingly active. ‘

‘When I decided to leave Hausfeld, I knew there was only one firm that could provide me with the platform I need to develop my practice,’ said Bronfentrinker. ‘Competition disputes are increasingly a global issue, and Quinn Emanuel has a truly global footprint that will enable me to represent my clients in recovering damages or defending claims. From my very first meeting with a few of the partners in the London office, I knew this was the right place for me and my practice. The obvious quality, energy and “can do” attitude was apparent right from the get-go. ‘

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

The Disputes Dilemma

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 MARKET VIEW – INTRODUCTION 

Quinn Emanuel’s Ted Greeno weighs up the pros and cons of the different dispute resolution options and offers his insight into which option to pursue

It’s an old chestnut: which is better, litigation or arbitration? This is the third attempt I have had at it. In the first, I wrote an article singing the praises of arbitration over litigation. In the second, I debated for the motion: ‘This house considers that litigation is better than arbitration’, at a Commercial Litigators Forum event. On that occasion, my opponent (now partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan), Stephen Jagusch, used the entirety of his allotted time to quote my article back at me. So I approach this question with caution.

Legal Business

Women in law: Quinn Emanuel’s name partner Kathleen Sullivan and London MP Sue Prevezer QC talk diversity

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With leading international firms including most of the Magic Circle nailing their gender diversity targets to the wall, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan’s London co-managing partner Sue Prevezer QC and New York-based name partner Kathleen Sullivan spoke to Legal Business about women in law, the US litigation firm’s handle on diversity and its style of doing business.

At the 690-lawyer firm, around a quarter of practice heads are female. Overall partner numbers are lower than that – 36 of the 202 partners, or 17.8%, are women – but Quinn, which does not have specific gender diversity targets, was the first Am Law 100 firm to include a female name partner, rebranding from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges to include Sullivan four years ago. Furthermore, 15% of women at the firm fall into its ‘highly compensated’ category.

How influential are women at the firm?

Sullivan: Senior women play a very integral part of the consultative process in this firm. This doesn’t happen a lot in other firms. For example, I play a direct role in every lateral hire the firm makes. I helped recruit Sue and other women. Being a senior woman in the firm, I think it is very important to recruit other senior women to the firm.

How diverse are the advisory teams at Quinn?

Sullivan: I was part of a jury trial team for a client, Motorola, which was acquired by Google. We had a trial team that had eight women and three men against a trial team that was 100% men. And we just composed the team of who the best people were. This happens frequently in our State side cases.

How do you assess female partner promotion prospects in the UK compared to the US?

Prevezer (pictured): There is a difference historically between the way women have gone through the ranks in the UK and the US. They are more gender blind, in a good way, in the States, and the glass ceiling has been heavier in the UK. This is changing but very slowly. There has been a higher rate of female promotion and a healthier disregard of gender in the US. It doesn’t surprise me that the targets aren’t being hit in the UK.

More generally speaking, how hard is it for women to make partner at present?

Prevezer: It is a challenge for women to make it right up to the partnership. It’s the same challenge at the Bar. A lot of women have set up their own businesses because of the inability to maintain a healthy work/life balance. However, it is quite sexist just to focus on women, because as long as you keep looking down that telescope, you are never going to change things. So you have to offer flexibility to men too. It is hard. To make it work, you need a fantastic support network both inside and outside of work. I am very lucky to have both.

How competitive are successful female lawyers with each other?

Prevezer: It’s nice to see another woman heading up a firm. Women network a lot. Karyl Nairn QC at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is a great friend, as is Juliet Blanch at Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Natasha Harrison at Boies, Schiller & Flexner. We all know each other very well. Although we have come up the ranks through different routes we all have similar experiences.

Other than the advisory committee for the evaluation of contingency fee cases, why doesn’t the firm have a formal management committee?

Sullivan: It is a joy to be at a firm where we spent more time practising law and less time on committees and administration. Our office managing partners have administrative burdens and we also have a lot of women in that role. There is only one committee at the firm – the contingency fee committee and that is based in the US.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Sue Prevezer QC, partner and chair of the international trial practice, London

2008 – present: London co-managing partner, Quinn Emanuel

2007 – 2008: Financial restructuring group, Bingham McCutchen

2000 – 2007: Queen’s Counsel, Essex Court Chambers

Kathleen Sullivan, partner and chair of the national appellate practice, New York

2005 – present: Partner, Quinn Emanuel

1999 – 2004: Dean, Stanford Law School

1993 – 2012: Stanley Morrison professor of law, Stanford Law School

Legal Business

Quinn sees London revenue and profit drop by around 30% as Weil Gotshal’s 2013 numbers decline

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Expansive US litigation boutique Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has posted conflicting global and London results for 2013, with overall turnover up by 14% to $972.7m while the firm’s City office has posted its first ever decline in revenue and profit since launching in 2008, both down by around 30%.

The top 35 Global 100 firm’s 14% spike overshadows the majority of US 2013 increases so far, although by its own 2012 benchmark of an 18% increase to $852.6m represents a slight drop. Meanwhile, the firm’s profit per equity partner increased by 7.1% to $4.5m from $4.2m in 2012.

However, in London net profit fell by one third (33%) to £12.4m, as City revenues also dropped 28% to £19.8m. The firm said the decline in its London income was down to three major pieces of litigation for clients Oleg Deripaska, Unicredit and Derek Quinlan either coming to trial or ending in 2012.

London co-managing partner Richard East (pictured) said: ‘2012 represented the end of a number of very significant cases that we started work on in the two years previously. These matters made up a substantial proportion of the London office’s revenue in 2012 and it is impossible to replace such significant matters overnight, especially given our relatively small scale in London.

‘However, during the course of 2013 we have picked up a number of major new instructions for clients both in commercial litigation and arbitration and are confident that 2014 will be a good year for London.

‘We knew that 2013 would be a transitional year for us, but we feel we are in a uniquely strong position to capitalise on our investments in London in 2014 and we look forward to another year of growth.’

The London office currently houses around ten partners including global head of arbitration Stephen Jagusch and partner Anthony Sinclair, both who joined from Allen & Overy in 2012, and litigation partner Ted Greeno who joined from Herbert Smith Freehills last year. The firm also launched its seventh office in Brussels to focus on European Union and member state competition litigation and investigations in February 2014.

Elsewhere, following a year that saw a round of redundancies and a number of high profile partner departures, Weil, Gotshal & Manges has unveiled a drop in 2013 revenue of 7.4% to $1.14bn from $1.23bn, while PEP is down to $2.07m from $2.23m in 2012.

In June 2013 the top 20 Global 100 US firm announced it was placing 60 associate jobs under review, as the departures include corporate partner Mark Soundy’s move to Shearman & Sterling, funds partner Nick Benson’s move to Latham & Watkins in January this year, not to mention an eight partner team that moved to Sidley Austin in Dallas last September.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

For a detailed analysis of Weil’s performance see Comment: Weil Gotshal and the narrative of the New Normal

Legal Business

New frontiers for Quinn Emanuel as US litigation leader sets up in Brussels

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Following a year of rapid international expansion that saw highly profitable litigation outfit Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan dominate the global litigation agenda with launches in jurisdictions such as Sydney and Hong Kong, the top 35 Global100 firm today (18 February) confirmed to Legal Business that it is to broaden out its capability with a launch in the heart of the European Union (EU), in Brussels.

The new office, its seventh in Europe, will focus on EU and member state competition litigation and investigations and will be managed by Nadine Herrmann, head of the firm’s European competition practice.

Herrmann will divide her time between Quinn’s Hamburg and Brussels offices and joining her in Brussels will be dual-US and English qualified anti-trust and intellectual property partner Catherine Manley and German-qualified Jan Jacob, both specialists in competition law.

Quinn’s managing partner, John Quinn (pictured) commented: ‘Any major antitrust dispute or investigation includes an EU component. In fact, more and many originate in the EU. Brussels is the epicentre of EU competition matters. We believe we had to have an office in Brussels to effectively represent our clients in these global disputes. Nadine is a veteran of these disputes, particularly when there is also an IP component.’

Herrmann added: ‘Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union. We believe a Brussels office is essential to effectively represent clients before the European Commission and before the Union Courts. It will provide an excellent platform from which to expand our competition practice. Opening the office in Brussels demonstrates our commitment to our European competition practice.’

In May 2013 Quinn opened an office in Sydney with the hire of Herbert Smith Freehills partners Michael Mills and Michelle Fox and the same month also saw it launch in Hong Kong with the hire of senior arbitrator John Rhie from leading South Korea commercial law firm, Kim & Chang.

This latest move comes as the 591-lawyer firm, which for 2012/13 turned out a profit per equity partner figure of $4.4m and turnover increase of 18% to $852.6m, contributing to its selection as Legal Business US Law Firm of the Year 2014, looks to extend its capability in areas including competition and arbitration.

UK managing partner Richard East told Legal Business: ‘We needed to have a proper presence in Brussels.’

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk