Law, disrupted – Details, episodes & analysis

John is joined by Leslie Zhang Weihua, Vice President and General Counsel of United Energy Group, China, one of the largest independent oil and gas companies in the world.  They discuss Leslie’s extensive experience in international legal affairs, including his experience as general counsel for both large state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private companies in China.   They discuss the differences between providing legal services for SOEs and private companies, including the additional procedures SOEs must follow in making business decisions, the strategic issues in addition to return on investment that SOEs must consider and how rate sensitive SOE’s procurement procedures are and how that applies to hiring counsel.  They also discuss the expectations that Chinese clients have with respect to counsel finding creative solutions to regulatory issues, the rates paid for unsuccessful legal projects, and responsiveness in providing legal analysis. They also compare Chinese and Western law firms with respect to training, expertise, and specialization while noting the ongoing expansion of Chinese firms into international work and the Chinese government’s policy of encouraging the continued development of international arbitration centers in Hong Kong and Singapore.  Finally, they discuss the role lawyers can play in improving relations between the United States and China including the importance of recognizing the risks and costs of decoupling.

Podcast Link: Law-disrupted.fm
Host: John B. Quinn 
Producer: Alexis Hyde
Music and Editing by: Alexander Rossi

John is joined by Jeffrey Toobin, celebrated author and legal analyst, who reflects on his extensive career in law and legal journalism.  First, Jeffrey describes his legal background, including his clerkship on the Second Circuit which led to his years working for the Independent Counsel investigating the Iran Contra scandal (which led to his first book, Opening Arguments) and his years as an Assistant US Attorney.  He also describes his years writing for the New Yorker and covering the OJ Simpson trial which led to his second book, The Run of His Life.  Jeffrey then explains the writing process that has allowed him to complete nine books so far, including his strategy of writing about topics that have not been covered extensively by other authors, his absolute commitment to write 1,250 words per day for the project he is working on, and his habit of beginning to write each chapter in the middle and only writing the opening of the chapter later.  John and Jeffrey then discuss why books on trials are so popular, including how trials are “perfect dramatic stages” and good trial lawyers are experts in both emphasizing the dramatic elements in stories and making issues interesting and meaningful to non-lawyers.  Finally, John and Jeffrey discuss their favorite books about trial lawyers and personal insights into the most unforgettable lawyers Jeffrey has met including Johnnie Cochran, Barry Scheck, F. Lee Bailey and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

Podcast Link: Law-disrupted.fm
Host: John B. Quinn 
Producer: Alexis Hyde
Music and Editing by: Alexander Rossi

John is joined by Avichal Garg, Managing Partner of Electric Capital and Chairman of the Crypto Council for Innovation, and Emily Kapur, Co-Chair of Quinn Emanuel’s Blockchain & Digital Asset Litigation Practice and partner in the firm’s Silicon Valley office.  They discuss the complex legal and regulatory landscape surrounding cryptocurrency, digital assets, and the intersection with emerging technologies like AI.

The decentralization and autonomy of crypto systems challenges traditional legal concepts.  Crypto technology—ranging from permissionless innovation to autonomous systems—raises foundational legal questions about jurisdiction, liability, and personhood, especially when code may function as both speech and money.  While early legal battles focused on whether tokens are securities, today’s disputes often focus on jurisdictional issues and cross-border liability for autonomous systems with governance distributed around the world.

U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins, while posing regulatory and competitive challenges, may also be an unparalleled tool for promoting U.S. soft power and economic influence.  They can bypass traditional banking systems and reach global users, reinforcing the dollar’s dominance.  The recently enacted GENIUS Act provides a framework for regulating stablecoins in the U.S. without imposing restrictive reserve requirements, in contrast to European approaches.

The rapid evolution of crypto trading venues—centralized exchanges like Coinbase, decentralized protocols like Uniswap, and traditional financial instruments such as ETFs and digital asset treasuries—highlight the legal uncertainty about which regulatory entities have jurisdiction.  The increasing use of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) poses additional challenges under theories that all participants in a DAO are potentially liable as partners in a joint venture.

More legal innovation is needed, perhaps even entirely new legal entities or frameworks, to accommodate a future in which autonomous code can hold assets, transact, and potentially commit fraud.  Courts may begin to shape precedent in the absence of legislation, but a proactive regulatory approach or legal sandbox might be the key to responsibly managing these potentially disruptive forces.

Ultimately, the question is whether the law will domesticate crypto or will crypto force legal innovation?

Podcast Link: Law-disrupted.fm
Host: John B. Quinn 
Producer: Alexis Hyde
Music and Editing by: Alexander Rossi

John is joined by Richard East, Founder and Senior Partner in Quinn Emanuel's London office.  They discuss Richard’s extensive experience litigating in the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) court, including Richard’s experience winning the only case that has gone all the way from beginning through trial and judgment in the ADGM. They discuss the ADGM Court’s unique features as a common law English court within the Abu Dhabi court system, the broad jurisdiction rules, which allow companies present in the ADGM to sue and be sued by foreign defendants, and the extremely modern digitized court facilities that allow parties to present their case efficiently through electronic transmissions. They also discuss the NMC Healthcare case, where Quinn Emanuel’s actions in the ADGM Court played a crucial role in protecting the company from creditor claims and facilitating a restructuring that allowed the company to emerge and trade as a solvent group.

Podcast Link: Law-disrupted.fm
Host: John B. Quinn 
Producer: Alexis Hyde
Music and Editing by: Alexander Rossi

John is joined by Luke Nikas, Partner in Quinn Emanuel's New York office and Co-Chair of the firm's Art Litigation and Disputes Practice. They discuss the intersection between art, the law and art disputes more generally. The also discuss the Knoedler Art Gallery case, where Luke represented the President of the Gallery,  and the legal and factual issues that surround authenticity disputes. They also discuss the relationship between collectors, dealers, gallerists and art advisors. 

Podcast Link: Law-disrupted.fm
Host: John B. Quinn 
Producer: Alexis Hyde
Music and Editing by: Alexander Rossi

John is joined by James Bremen, Partner in Quinn Emanuel’s London office and Chair of the firm’s Construction and Engineering Practice.  They discuss the complexities of construction litigation and arbitration, including the difficulty of litigating hundreds, if not thousands, of alleged breaches or deviations from the original contract, the ripple effect one change can have on a project’s schedule, and the issues a party must consider when deciding whether to terminate a contract.  They also discuss the multiple parties and jurisdictions that may be involved in a dispute, the wide variety of experts who often testify, and the importance of selecting attorneys, mediators, arbitrators, and, when possible, judges who are familiar with this practice area, including the language and the specialized contracts involved.

Podcast Link: Law-disrupted.fm
Host: John B. Quinn 
Producer: Alexis Hyde
Music and Editing by: Alexander Rossi

John is joined by Christopher Bogart, Chief Executive Officer, Director and Co-Founder of Burford Capital and Derek T. Ho, Partner at Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, P.L.L.C.  They discuss how Derek obtained a $16 billion judgment, the largest ever in the United States that has not been overturned on appeal, against Argentina on a claim for breach of contract.  They also discuss the role Burford played in financing the litigation.  In the 1990s, when Argentina wanted to privatize its nationally owned oil company YPF, it faced investor skepticism due to its troubled history of nationalizing private companies.  To address those concerns, it structured the YPF offering to include a right of shareholders to have their shares repurchased by Argentina at an agreed upon price if Argentina ever retook control of YPF.  In 2012, Argentina retook control of YPF, but refused to repurchase the remaining public shares at the agreed upon price.  John, Christopher and Derek discuss the role Burford played from the outset of the case, Argentina’s assertion of foreign sovereign immunity, and Argentina’s other defenses.  They also discuss the summary judgment process and ruling, the three day bench trial composed entirely of expert witnesses, and the status of post-trial motions and appeal.

Podcast Link: Law-disrupted.fm
Host: John B. Quinn 
Producer: Alexis Hyde
Music and Editing by: Alexander Rossi

John is joined by Richard V. Sandler, partner at Maron & Sandler and author of Witness to a Prosecution: The Myth of Michael Milken. Richard is the personal attorney and life-long friend of Michael Milken.  He represented Michael in the 1986 federal investigation and prosecution off Drexel Burnham Lambert, and its High Yield and Convertible Bond Department, a department Michael created and was head of. Michael was the most successful and innovative financier of his time and Drexel, an upstart investment bank, was the most successful securities firm on Wall Street, thanks to Michael. Led by Drexel, the high yield bond market grew rapidly from the end of the 1970’s from $70 billion to over $2.2 trillion dollars in 2022.

John and Richard discuss the highlights of what happened in the case, the tactical decisions and key turning points, and the lessons to be drawn from this historic prosecution.   

Podcast Link: Law-disrupted.fm
Host: John B. Quinn 
Producer: Alexis Hyde
Music and Editing by: Alexander Rossi

John is joined by Christopher A. Seeger, founding partner of Seeger Weiss, LLP, one of the preeminent mass tort class action lawyers in the United States.  They discuss some of the major class action cases Chris has handled including the NFL concussions case, the Volkswagen clean diesel case, the 3M combat earplugs case, the CPAP machines case against Phillips, as well as the opioid cases.  They also discuss Chris’s background, including how he started his career as a corporate transactional  lawyer and transitioned to litigation and plaintiffs’ work, made a name for himself to the point where he was invited to join plaintiffs’ Steering Committees, and established good relationships with a wide network of firms.  Finally, they discuss how young lawyers can get noticed, how to settle difficult cases, and the role of bellwether trials.

Podcast Link: Law-disrupted.fm
Host: John B. Quinn 
Producer: Alexis Hyde
Music and Editing by: Alexander Rossi

In this episode of Law, disrupted, John is joined by Norman (Norm) E. Siegel, partner at Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP in Kansas City, Missouri. He is the lead plaintiffs’ counsel in the $450 million settlement of a data breach class action against T-Mobile. They discuss how data breach litigation has evolved in the past 10 years. They discuss recent California legislation establishing statutory damages for data breaches in general, as well as for breaches involving medical information. They discuss legislation in other states, as well as the prospects for federal legislation establishing uniform national standards regarding data security similar to the standards in Europe under the GDPR. Finally, they discuss damages theories and how they have evolved in the past five years.

Podcast Link: Law-disrupted.fm
Host: John B. Quinn 
Producer: Alexis Hyde
Music and Editing by: Alexander Rossi