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

John is joined by Dan Brockett, partner in Quinn Emanuel’s New York office and Chair of the firm’s Financial Institution Litigation practice.  They discuss how Dan and his team recently recovered over $581 million from JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, UBS, and Credit Suisse, as well as significant injunctive relief, in one of the largest antitrust class action settlements in history.  They discuss how these large banks act as brokers profiting with little to no risk in $1.7 trillion stock loan market and how they allegedly agreed to boycott new technologies, particularly new electronic platforms, which posed a threat to the banks’ lucrative position.  They also discuss how the case developed as a result of years of research by a Quinn Emanuel team at the firm’s expense, the five and a half year history of the litigation, and how a settlement was achieved in mediation after a Magistrate Judge recommended that the class be certified.  Finally, they discuss the injunctive relief reforming the market that the Quinn Emanuel team was able to obtain.

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 the key differences between litigating in the US and the UK, including the pre-action protocols that are mandatory in the UK before initiating a lawsuit, the UK presumption that the loser will pay the winner’s attorneys’ fees, and the differences between the broad discovery procedures in the US and the more narrow disclosure rules in the UK.  They also discuss the inability to prepare witnesses before testifying in the UK, the division of UK bar into solicitors and barristers, and the restrictions on public access to court records in the UK.  Finally, they discuss the comparative rarity of jury trials in civil cases in the UK and the differences in the types of interim relief available in the UK, including powerful asset freezing injunctions which are recognized by jurisdictions around the world.

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

John is joined by Robert Zink, former head of the U.S. Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Fraud Section and partner in Quinn Emanuel’s Washington, D.C. office and Steve Madison, former federal prosecutor and a partner in Quinn Emanuel’s Los Angeles office.  They discuss the four pending indictments against former President Donald Trump, including, for each indictment, what the government must prove, what former President Trump's defenses likely will be, and the potential impact of the different judges’ backgrounds and jury pools in each case. They also handicap the likelihood of President Trump prevailing in each case. Finally, they also discuss the potential impact of these cases on public discourse and political life.

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

John is joined by Andrew Berdon, partner in Quinn Emanuel’s New York Office, and Joe Paunovich, partner in Quinn Emanuel’s Salt Lake City office.  They discuss the $300 million victory Andrew and Joe’s team recently won in Delaware Chancery Court in an earnout dispute arising from a pharmaceutical merger.  The dispute involved the acquisition of Syntimmune, a biotech company founded around a promising antibody drug—Alexion 1830—designed to treat rare autoimmune diseases by reducing levels of IgG.  The drug was initially developed from academic research at Harvard and advanced by a venture-backed startup that invested over $75 million before selling the company to Alexion, now a division of AstraZeneca.

The acquisition included an upfront payment of $400 million, plus up to $800 million in earnout payments tied to eight developmental milestones, most of which were based on progress during pre-approval clinical trials.  The dispute arose when Alexion, shortly after the acquisition, deprioritized and ultimately terminated the drug’s development, citing safety concerns and a perceived loss of first-mover advantage.  No earnout payments were made.

The court found that Alexion breached its obligation to use "commercially reasonable efforts"—defined in the agreement as those a similarly situated biotech company would use—to develop the drug.  Evidence at trial showed Alexion made no attempt to benchmark its efforts against peer companies developing similar drugs.  Instead, internal shifts in corporate priorities and the subsequent acquisition by AstraZeneca led to the program’s quiet abandonment, despite a highly promising therapeutic profile and a still viable market opportunity.

The episode concludes with reflections on the broader pharmaceutical industry, the strategic use (and misuse) of earnout structures, and the importance of precisely drafted effort clauses to protect sellers when control shifts post-acquisition.

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

John is joined by Francis X. Suarez, Presidential Candidate, Mayor of Miami and Of Counsel (on Leave of Absence) in Quinn Emanuel’s Miami office.  They discuss Mayor Suarez’s personal experience running for President as an underdog candidate, including how he adjusts to the demands of constant travel without the advantage of private jets, what it is like to read the “opposition research” his opponent’s consultants have prepared about him, and how his years as a practicing lawyer have prepared him for this campaign. They also discuss his personal relationships with the other candidates, the current prosecutions of former President Trump, and what he has learned about the country, the process and himself as a result of this campaign.

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

John is joined by Bill Price, the founder and co-chair of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan's National Trial Practice Group and a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office. Bill could lay claim (though he never would, being very modest) to be possibly the greatest business jury trial lawyer of his generation. He has tried over 50 cases to verdict and lost only two of them. Representing plaintiffs, he has won five 9-figure verdicts, as well as one ten-figure verdict. He has obtained equally remarkable results representing defendants. He is a master of all aspects of trial practice but is best known as a brilliant cross-examiner. This episode, therefore, focuses on the art of cross-examination. 

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

John is joined by Susheel Kirpalani, partner in Quinn Emanuel’s New York office and founder and Chairperson of the firm’s Bankruptcy and Restructuring Group. They discuss restructuring litigation, including fraudulent transfer litigation and valuation disputes, and how it differs from commercial litigation.  They also discuss the importance of building alliances with other stakeholders in the company, how much the practice is based on relationships and trust, and the opportunities that exist to design creative securities that allow a company to survive but also allow its creditors substantial recoveries. 

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

John is joined by Pablo Arredondo, the Co-Founder & Chief Innovation Officer of Casetext CoCounsel. They discuss how Casetext’s AI tools, based on large language models such as those employed by GPT-4, can be used by litigators to quickly review enormous databases using natural language, full sentence searches and identify relevant evidence even when the words used in the evidence are completely different from the words used in the search. They also discuss how this technology can assist in deposition preparation and expert cross-examination as well as likely applications for transactional legal work.

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

John Quinn is joined by Daniel Posner, a partner in Quinn Emanuel’s Los Angeles office, and Asher B. Griffin, Co-Managing Partner of Quinn Emanuel’s Austin, Texas office. They discuss how Dan and Asher’s Quinn Emanuel team was brought in to retry the damages award in a race discrimination case against Tesla and reduced the $136.9 million verdict another firm gave up in the first trial to only $175,000 in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages.  They discuss the unique challenges of a retrial on damages only, including how the jury in the retrial was instructed that Tesla was liable for both compensatory and punitive damages, how the judge limited the parties in the retrial to the documents and witnesses presented at the first trial and how they were still able to use the latitude allowed in cross-examination to challenge the credibility of each instance of alleged discrimination and achieve this outstanding result.

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

John is joined by Darius J. Khambata, SC, a barrister in the Mumbai office of One Essex Court.  They discuss the civil justice system in India, including the absence of a standing requirement to bring public interest litigation, the burden on the judiciary of handling millions of cases, and the emphasis on oral argument rather than written submissions.  They also discuss how, for many cases, the decision on interim relief is effectively determinative, how arbitration is becoming increasingly prevalent, and the prospect that technology and a new influx of highly skilled young lawyers may dramatically improve the efficiency of the Indian civil justice system. 

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

John is joined by Dan Rabinowitz, founder and CEO of Pre/Dicta Litigation Prediction Software.  They discuss how, given only a case number, Pre/Dicta uses data points, already in its database, such as the gender, location, political affiliation, ethnicity, education, and the work experience of judges, parties, and lawyers to accurately predict the outcome of motions to dismiss 85% of the time. This prediction is made without knowing the nature of the case, the claims or the legal arguments. They also discuss the potential applications of this technology to litigation, including assessing the best forum to bring claims and understanding the impact of litigation events on publicly traded companies.

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

John is joined by Robert M. (“Bobby”) Schwartz, a partner in Quinn Emanuel’s Los Angeles office and Andrew Brayton, an associate in that office.  They discuss how Bobby and Andrew won a settlement on behalf of the State of California against Polymer 80, the largest manufacturer and distributor of ghost guns, in which Polymer agreed to a permanent injunction barring it from selling ghost guns in California and to pay $5 million in penalties.  They also discuss their legal strategies, the discovery process, and the importance of the case in terms of protecting both law enforcement officers and the public.

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

John is joined by C. Dabney O'Riordan, partner in Quinn Emanuel’s Los Angeles and DC offices and longest-serving leader of the SEC's Asset Management Unit, who left the agency last year.  They discuss the actions an asset manager can take if it identifies a potential issue to minimize its risk of an SEC investigation or enforcement action.  Among the actions they discuss for consideration include stopping the conduct and implementing remedial measures such as updating internal policies and procedures, providing additional training to staff, considering hiring a compliance consultant, and making remedial payments if appropriate.

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

John is joined by Chelsea Murtha, the Director of Sustainability at the American Apparel & Footwear Association; Jessica K. Ferrell, a partner at Marten Law LLP; and Joseph Paunovich, a partner in Quinn Emanuel’s Los Angeles and Salt Lake City offices.  They discuss the legal challenges surrounding PFOS chemicals, also known as forever chemicals, including the impact of federal and state regulations, the history of PFOS litigation, and the difficulties of proving harm from their use in consumer products. They also discuss the need for companies to be proactive in managing these chemicals and claims,  engage with policymakers, and ensure bulletproof marketing.

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

John is joined by Professor Mark Wu, the Henry L. Stimson Professor at Harvard Law School, an expert in international trade and international economic law.  They discuss the legal and geopolitical implications of President Trump’s tariff strategy.  The President’s approach is rooted in a belief that the post-1970s international trade regime, which the U.S. helped build, has been exploited by foreign powers to the detriment of American interests, particularly the manufacturing sector and working-class communities.  The administration intends to leverage America’s market dominance and security alliances to pressure trading partners into more favorable terms, including opening their markets to exports and investing in America.

To legally impose many of these tariffs, the President has relied on statutory authorities that Congress delegated to the executive branch, such as Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (covering national security issues from the importation of goods), Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (covering unfair trade practices by  foreign countries), and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which permits regulation of imports during a declared national emergency.  Unlike prior administrations, Trump has used IEEPA not only to declare national emergencies—such as the opioid crisis and trade deficits—but also to impose sweeping tariffs in response.

These actions have sparked a series of legal challenges.  Several importers and states have filed suits arguing that the president overstepped his authority under IEEPA.  Courts are now scrutinizing whether this use of IEEPA constitutes an overly broad delegation of congressional power and whether the tariffs align with the IEEPA’s statutory language.  The Court of International Trade ruled against the administration on this issue.  That case is now before the Federal Circuit, which heard the appeal en banc.  Whatever the outcome, the Supreme Court is likely to weigh in.

Even if tariffs under the IEEPA are barred by the courts, the administration has other tools at its disposal to achieve the same outcome, including imposing tariffs under Section 232, imposing tariffs under Section 301, and seeking additional legislation from Congress authorizing tariffs against specific countries.

Regardless of legal outcomes, the global trade regime has fundamentally changed.  There will be no going back to the pre-Trump regime.  Traditional alliances have been strained, other countries are adapting to long-term U.S. unpredictability, and legal precedents set here could impact more than trade law.

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

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

John is joined by Dan Webb, the Co-Executive Chairman of Winston & Strawn, LLP and one of the most distinguished trial lawyers in the United States.  John and Dan discuss how Dan recently won a $104.6 million verdict against Ford Motors in a trade secret case in Detroit.  They discuss how Dan selected a jury in a city where the most of the jury pool has a direct connection to the other side and how he made complex technical issues simple for a jury through careful storytelling and visual aids.  They also discuss how to stay on top of the trial lawyer game even after several decades of unparalleled success.

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

In the last episode of the series “The Career Path of a Large Law Firm Associate,” John is joined by Jack Baumann, who was elected a partner in the firm in 2022.  John and Jack discuss his progression from associate to partner. Jack takes us through his transition from his 9th Circuit clerkship to joining the firm.  They discuss Jack’s initial expectations as a new associate and his many firsts, including depositions, hearings, trials and other stand up opportunities and the mentorship he received along the way.  Jack offers tips for managing stress and workload. 

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

In the third installment of the series "The Career Path of a Large Firm Associate," John is joined by Mari Henderson, an associate at Quinn Emanuel’s Los Angeles office.  Mari has been with the firm for eight years. She left for three years to work as a prosecutor in the district attorney's office. Mari talks about her goal, when she started with the firm, of becoming a trial lawyer and how she has achieved that goal by trying cases at the firm and in the district attorney’s office. She discusses the support she has received at the firm and the firm’s flexibility that has made it possible for her to become a trial lawyer and her goals now for the future.  

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

In the second episode of the series “The Career Path of a Large Firm Associate,” John is joined by Matt Arrow, a mid-level associate at Quinn Emanuel who joined the firm in 2021. They discuss life as a young associate, his progression into a mid-level role, and the support he received along the way. Matt discusses the impact of remote work on young associates and the adaptations he and the firm have made.  Matt discusses his work experiences in just over a year at the firm, including his first deposition experiences, an upcoming arbitration, and some of the opportunities provided to him as early as day one at the firm.

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

In the first episode of the series “The Career Path of a Large Firm Associate,” John is joined by Homin Ban, a first-year associate in Quinn Emanuel’s Los Angeles Office. Together, they talk about Homin’s first sixth months at the firm. Homin shares with John his journey from law school to Quinn Emanuel, including Homin’s unique summer associate experience working remotely in South Korea as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. They then discuss Homin’s time as a first-year associate, including navigating Quinn Emanuel’s “Work From Anywhere” policy, Homin’s first interactions with clients and partners, and the different types of cases and opportunities he has had thus far. 

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

In this mini-series of one-to-one interviews, John invites associates of Quinn Emanuel at different stages of their careers to discuss their experiences, what they have learned, and their expectations for the future. Check out the trailer, and look out for upcoming episodes soon. 

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

John is joined by Alex Bäcker, the founder of Lawbotics, who was named IT Executive of the Year by the International Business Awards, and Ryan Landes, a partner at Quinn Emanuel’s Los Angeles office.  They discuss generative AI and its impact on litigation.  In particular, they discuss the impact generative AI will have on factual discovery, including document and deposition review and analysis, as well as legal research and writing. They also discuss current limitations of generative AI, including limitations on material available to train the AI or for the AI to reference, fictional answers AI can generate, the lack of citations, and AI’s tendency to generate the most common responses rather than the best responses.

For more information on Lawbotics AI: https://www.lawbotics.ai/ visit their website!

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Keep up to date with John Quinn on Twitter: @jbqlaw

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

John is joined by two experts in international arbitration, Philippe Pinsolle, partner in Quinn Emanuel's Geneva office and Head of International Arbitration for Continental Europe, and Stephen Jagusch KC, partner in Quinn Emanuel’s London office and Global Chair of the firm’s International Arbitration Practice. Together, they discuss the specialized field of international arbitration, including factors to consider when opting for arbitration, strategies for crafting arbitration provisions, how to select the best arbitrators, challenges to final judgments, and issues regarding the subsequent enforcement of awards.

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

In this episode, John talks with Courtney Bowman, the Global Director of Privacy and Civil Liberties Engineering at Palantir Technologies, about the challenges of regulating AI technology. They discuss the need for regulatory regimes to address the different types of AI technologies in use today including facial recognition, lending and insurance decision-making, healthcare tracking, and genetic sequencing, among other applications.  They also discuss the different approaches to AI regulation in the US and the EU, and whether regulation should be all-encompassing or targeted to specific technological contexts. Finally, they discuss how businesses should proceed now before future AI regulations have taken their final form.

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

John Quinn is joined by Mohammed Rashik, Founder and CEO of Rain Intelligence, a legal technology company that helps lawyers identify emerging legal needs and find potential clients—to make rain. Rain Intelligence provides AI-powered analysis of data from social media, government filings, e-commerce platforms, and other sources to detect patterns and events that could signal potential class action cases, regulatory issues, or other complex litigation opportunities. The goal is to make business development for lawyers more systematic and data-driven than more traditional, reactive methods.

The idea for Rain Intelligence was born from Mohammed’s frustration with the lack of tools to help generate clients when starting a solo practice. He began identifying legal issues proactively—such as discovering that a warehouse fire had likely been caused by a neighboring property’s code violations—and found this approach led naturally to client engagement. The core insight was that legal needs often follow predictable patterns triggered by real-world events, and those patterns can be identified and scaled using data science.

Rain Intelligence delivers daily personalized reports tailored to each attorney’s practice areas, clients, and litigation history. These updates synthesize signals from a wide range of data pipelines—such as product labels, product recalls, consumer complaints, Substack articles, government announcements, and class action advertising—to identify high-potential legal opportunities. The opportunities are analyzed to assess the prospects for proving liability, the amount of damages, and the collectability of judgments. The service is subscription-based and is currently used by roughly half of the Am Law Top 10 firms and 20% of the top 200.

Mohammed explains how Rain Intelligence pieces together disparate data sets to uncover legal risks that may not be obvious in isolation. For example, labeling a food item “preservative free” while including citric acid, which regulators consider a preservative, could be the basis for a lawsuit when combined with regulatory guidance and recent litigation trends. The technology is built to integrate seamlessly into legal workflows, helping lawyers generate business by doing what they do best—spotting legal issues and advising clients.

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

John is joined by William A. (Bill) Burck, Co-Chair of Quinn Emanuel’s Investigations, Government Enforcement and White Collar Criminal Defense Group.  Bill is one of the leading practitioners of what might be called “DC Law.” He has been referred to by the New York Times as the “new Edward Bennett Williams”  -- the man to see in D.C. Together, they discuss the unique aspects of “inside the beltway” practice including persuading prosecutors and regulators of the policy merits of your clients’ positions, representing witnesses in congressional investigations and hearings, and some of the challenges of working in a highly partisan environment.

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

John is joined by Michael A. (Mike) Brown, partner at Nelson Mullins and founder of the firm’s Baltimore office. Together, John and Mike discuss the process of successfully selecting a jury, including the importance of getting the jury to open up about their biases by disclosing some of your background or opinions and encouraging those jurors who voice biases against your client to speak freely. In addition, they discuss some of their favorite questions to ask to elicit biases from jurors who are reluctant to disclose them.

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

John is joined by Kathleen M. Sullivan, senior counsel in Quinn Emanuel’s Los Angeles office and Founding Chair of the firm’s National Appellate Litigation practice, and Derek L. Shaffer, partner in Quinn Emanuel’s Washington, DC office and Co-Chair of the firm’s National Appellate Litigation practice. Together, they discuss what appellate lawyers do: how they reverse bad trial outcomes, preserve good trial outcomes and help trial teams to make sure the trial record includes everything necessary for a successful appeal.

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

Last year, John B. Quinn was joined by Christopher Tayback, managing partner of Quinn Emanuel’s Los Angeles Office. John served as General Counsel of the Academy for over 30 years, and both Chris and John have represented the Academy in various legal matters for decades. 

In this podcast, they share details of some well-known legal issues the Academy has faced, exploring the uniquely important intellectual property issues and, more generally, the fundamental problems the Academy faces since motion pictures are increasingly viewed and premiered on television as opposed to in theaters.

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 Michael T. Lifrak, partner in Quinn Emanuel’s Los Angeles office, and Ellyde R. Thompson, partner in Quinn Emanuel’s New York office. Together, John, Michael and Ellyde discuss the recent class action securities suit against Elon Musk, based on his August 7th, 2018 tweet about taking Tesla private. 

They discuss how Michael and Ellyde’s team obtained a complete jury verdict in Mr. Musk’s favor that denied the plaintiffs any recovery for their $12 billion in alleged market losses.

If you enjoy this episode, please leave a like, review, or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any major podcast platform.

Check out all the latest episodes at: www.law-disrupted.fm/

Keep up to date with John Quinn on Twitter: @jbqlaw

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

John is joined by David A. Nelson, a partner in the Chicago office of Quinn Emanuel & co-chair of the firm’s National Intellectual Property Litigation Practice. David is widely recognized as one of the most successful patent trial lawyers in the United States. They discuss how trying patent cases is different than trying other commercial cases. 

They also discuss how to win patent cases at trial including the importance of developing common sense explanations for technical arguments, developing a consistent narrative from the beginning, and using fact witnesses to bring life to your technical arguments.

If you enjoy this episode, please leave a like, review, or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any major podcast platform.

Check out all the latest episodes at: www.law-disrupted.fm/

Keep up to date with John Quinn on Twitter: @jbqlaw

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

John is joined by Dr. Ron A. Dolin, Lecturer at Harvard Law School, Senior Research Fellow at Harvard Law’s Center on the Legal Profession and co-author of the textbook, Legal Informatics.  Together they discuss how recent advances in technology will impact the law and the practice of law.

If you enjoy this episode, please leave a like, review, or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any major podcast platform.

Check out all the latest episodes at: www.law-disrupted.fm/

Keep up to date with John Quinn on Twitter: @jbqlaw

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

John is joined by Michael Packard, federal prosecutor and civil litigator at the Boston office of Quinn Emanuel, and Bill Weinreb, an expert in white-collar criminal defense and complex litigation.

Together, John, Bill and Michael discuss the recent acquittal Bill and Michael obtained for Jie “Jack” Zhao, the CEO of iTalk Global Communications Inc. in a high-profile “Varsity Blues” prosecution. Prosecutors claimed Zhao paid $1.5 million in bribes to obtain admission for his two sons to attend Harvard. Zhao was one of only four, out of roughly 60 defendants, who did not plead guilty and one of only two who were acquitted at trial. They explain the honest services fraud statute at issue, the preparation for trial, and the specific tactics and evidence Bill and Michael used to win the acquittal.

If you enjoy this episode, please leave a rating, review, or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any major podcast platform.

Check out all the latest episodes at: www.law-disrupted.fm

Keep up to date with John Quinn on Twitter: @jbqlaw 

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

John is joined by Thomas Krueger, the Former Director of Strategic Trade and Nonproliferation for the National Security Council and current Senior Policy Advisor at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

Together, they discuss the latest regulatory controls on hi-tech exports to both Russia and China, explaining the legal basis for these restrictions, the specific technologies involved and the efforts made to get European and Asian allies to join in these restrictions.  

If you enjoy this episode, please leave a like, review, or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any major podcast platform.

Check out all the latest episodes at: www.law-disrupted.fm/

Keep up to date with John Quinn on Twitter: @jbqlaw

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

John is joined by one of the most successful trial lawyers in the US, Jon Loevy, co-founder of Loevy & Loevy.

Together, they discuss the $228 million jury verdict Jon won in the first trial brought for violations of Illinois’ unique Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). They explain the BIPA statute, focusing on the landmark suit Jon brought against BNSF Railway Co., including the history of the litigation, the trial itself, the course of settlement negotiations, and the implications of the case for the future of privacy litigation.

If you enjoy this episode, please leave a like, review, or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any major podcast platform.

To find out more about the podcast and sign up to our newsletter, visit: www.law-disrupted.fm

Keep up to date with John on Twitter: @jbqlaw

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

John is joined by Renny Hwang, Deputy General Counsel and Head of Litigation at OpenAI and former Head of Litigation at Google. They discuss the legal issues surrounding AI technology. Renny explains that he believes that existing law is well equipped to deal with copyright, fair use and product liability issues raised by AI, but the challenge the industry faces is that most people do not understand how AI works. He also explains that he believes other legal issues, such as corporate transparency and governance, might require new regulations. John and Renny discuss the likely impact of patent and trade secret law on the AI industry in light of the industry’s tendency to publish significant research and findings. They also discuss the effect of the absence of comprehensive federal AI regulation, including the difficulty companies have in to implementing different compliance regimes for different jurisdictions and the possibility that the European AI Act will become the de facto default standard for AI regulation globally. Finally, Renny explains that OpenAI is a mission-driven company focused on building safe and beneficial AI and that commitment is reflected in OpenAI’s Board-level Safety Committee.

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 Paul Schwartz, Professor at the UC Berkeley School of Law and Director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, Viola Trebicka, partner in Quinn Emanuel’s Los Angeles office and the Co-Chair of the firm's Data Privacy and Security Practice, and Stephen Broome, partner in the firm’s Los Angeles and New York offices and the Co-Chair of the firm's Data Privacy and Security Practice. Together they discuss the explosion of data privacy claims on court dockets across the United States. 
The conversation begins with John asking what developments the panel is seeing right now with data privacy claims. Stephen highlights how more cases are being filed daily, particularly under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), as well federal and state wiretapping laws and new novel theories of recovery that were not previously plead in privacy cases. 
Viola then explains the two categories of claims plaintiffs have been filing recently.  The first category are common law invasion of privacy claims that are now being applied to modern data privacy issues. The second category consists of claims based on repurposing statutes that did not contemplate modern data gathering over the internet. 
One example of these statutes is the Federal Wire Tap Act of 1968 which was intended to prohibit people from physically connecting to a landline telephone without permission. Today, on the internet, when someone goes to the website for a company, they know they are communicating with that company, but that company will often send the person’s data off to a third party which tracks ads or pages the person visits clicks on.  Plaintiffs are now alleging that those third parties are eavesdroppers violating the Wire Tap Act. 
Another statute plaintiffs increasingly use is the Video Privacy Protection Act which was passed in the late 1980s to prevent reporters from learning what videos a person rented at a video store. Now, many websites have embedded videos.  Plaintiffs are now alleging that websites that share information about what embedded videos a person has watched, they have violated the VPPA.  
John moves the conversation to why the US does not have comprehensive national legislation addressing data privacy. Paul explains that while Europe as well as states such as California, Nevada, and Virginia have passed statutes governing data privacy, the proposed federal statute, the American Data Privacy Protection Act (ADPPA) has not yet been brought to a vote in Congress. 
The discussion then turns to how plaintiffs build large damage claims. Viola explains that plaintiffs focus on unjust enrichment and restitution theories.  Unjust enrichment theories are usually asserted when the case centers on advertising data. 
The panel then discusses how these theories when applied to classes that include tens of millions of plaintiffs can easily lead to total damages figures in the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars. 
The discussion then turns to what companies can do to avoid these huge awards.  Paul emphasizes that companies need to get ahead of these issues before they get sued by seeking privacy counseling, hiring Chief Privacy Officers, and mapping where their customers’ data is and what is happening to it. 
Finally, the group discusses two notable issues that have come up in recent FTC enforcement actions.  The first is the possibility of imposing personal liability on senior executives for data privacy violations.  The second is that when it settles a case, the FTC will now spell out in extreme detail what it expects of companies who have had a cybersecurity breach, including specific future measures to be taken and what kinds of cyber security professionals the company must hire.

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 Michael Schachter, Partner and Co-Chair of the White-Collar Defense Practice Group at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.  Michael has an unparalleled record of victories in some of the most high-profile criminal trials in the United States. Describing Michael in 2022, Chambers USA stated, "The things he can do in a courtroom are magical.”  Together John and Michael discuss the high-profile defense verdict Michael obtained in the Eastern District of New York on behalf of client Tom Barrack, founder of the global investment firm Colony Capital.

John opens the conversation by asking Michael about the background of the charges against Mr. Barrack. Michael explains that Mr. Barrack had served as the chair of the Inauguration Committee for former President Trump. In the course of the numerous investigations of the former president’s affairs, the Inauguration Committee was examined thoroughly with no findings of wrongdoing. However, this brought Mr. Barrack under the government’s scrutiny.

The charges ultimately brought against Mr. Barrack alleged that he acted as an agent of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) without notifying the Department of Justice in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 951, obstructed justice, and made false statements to federal agents when they interviewed him. Michael explains that the allegations about acting as an agent of the UAE arose from meetings Mr. Barrack had with the UAE’s National Security Advisor and the Crown Prince. 

Michael explains that Section 951 prosecutions are generally reserved for espionage cases, whereas lobbying cases, such as this one, are usually prosecuted under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA). Prosecutions under FARA require the government to prove that the defendant knew of the registration requirement for foreign lobbyists. Michael speculates that the government proceeded under Section 951 to avoid having to prove this element.

The conversation then turns to the evidence presented at trial. Michael explains that the government built its case primarily on text messages and emails taken out of context, particularly a text message in which Mr. Barrack discussed a proposal that he become a special envoy to the Middle East. In that text, Mr. Barrack suggested that if he had such a role, it would benefit the UAE. Michael explains that at trial, he has able to show that Mr. Barrack affirmatively declined the special envoy role. Michael also called former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to testify about a conversation in which Mr. Barrack spoke against the actions of the UAE in a dispute it was having with Qatar. 

John then moves the conversation to Michael’s use of cross-examination during the prosecution’s case to establish his own themes with the jury. Michael describes how the defense team used the cross-examination of an expert called to testify that the UAE was not a good ally to the U.S. to prove that it really was. Michael also recounts how the defense used the cross-examination of former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who previously headed Exxon, to show that it made good business sense for the head of a global large global business, such as Colony Capital, to meet with members of royal families in the Middle East who are often key business decision-makers. 

Finally, Michael and John discuss the possible impacts this case might have on government policy. Michael suggests that the case might convince the government to return to a more restrained approach to prosecutions under Section 951, confining them to espionage cases as in the past. He also suggests that the cross-examination of the FBI agents at trial might lead the FBI to record their interviews rather than relying on an antiquated process of relying entirely on one agent making handwritten notes as their only record of the interview.

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 Mark Lanier, Founder of the Lanier Law Firm. Mark is consistently recognized as one of America's premier civil trial lawyers. Together John and Mark discuss the $650.6m award Mark recently won on behalf of two Ohio counties in a bellwether trial against CVS, Walgreens & Walmart for their role in the opioid crisis.

John and Mark begin by discussing the basis of the claims against these pharmacies. Mark explains that because opioids are controlled substances, pharmacies must ensure that a prescription is valid and proper before filling the prescription. Further, pharmacies must notice and resolve any red flags that arise in connection with a prescription before filling it. Mark provides several examples of potential red flags, including (a) several seemingly healthy people presenting prescriptions for the same dose of the same medicine written by the same doctor, (b) a prescription from a doctor located so far away that the customer had to drive by many other pharmacies that could have filled the prescription, or (c) the customer paying for other prescriptions with insurance, but paying cash for the opioids.

John then turns the discussion to how Mark proved at trial that these pharmacies violated their duties on a systemic basis. They discuss the statistical evidence that Mark presented, including the methodology Mark used to sample an appropriate number of prescriptions to see how many raised red flags and how many times the pharmacies resolved those issues before filling the prescriptions. John and Mark also discuss policies that stores adopted preventing pharmacists from investigating red flags, including requirements that prescriptions be filled in 15 minutes or less.  

They then discuss the defenses Walmart, Walgreens & CVS presented, that they each sold only a small percentage of the opioids sold in the two counties, so their actions could have had only a minimal effect on the opioid crisis. 

The conversation then moves to the damages phase of the trial, including injunctive relief. Mark explains why he focused his presentation on injunctive relief, particularly the costs of the actions the counties would have to take to control the opioid crisis over the next 15 years, rather than estimating the damages incurred to date. They discuss the remediation plan Mark first presented, the defendants’ attempts to poke holes in it, and the scaled-down plan Mark ultimately presented to the court.

John and Mark then discuss what the $650.6m judgment for two small counties in one state would mean when extrapolated to the country as a whole. They also discuss the current state of opioid litigation in general, including the three buckets of plaintiffs (governmental entities affected by the crisis, opt-outs and hospitals and other healthcare institutions) as well as the three buckets of defendants (manufacturers and importers of opiates, opiate distributors, and pharmacies) and where each group currently stands in terms of litigation and settlement.

John then turns the discussion to the arguments the pharmacies will raise on appeal. Mark explains the pharmacies’ arguments that the case is an unwarranted extension of the law of nuisance, their arguments against the joint and several liabilities, as well as their claim that the jury was tainted by one juror’s alleged misconduct. 

Finally, John and Mark discuss some of Mark’s other remarkable trial wins, including the $118m he won in a case that he had earlier offered to resolve for $10,000. This leads to a discussion of how experienced and thoughtful trial lawyers avoid posturing and candidly negotiate the best possible settlements for their clients. They end by discussing Mark’s recent decision to open an office in the United Kingdom, a decision driven by recent changes to mass tort law in the United Kingdom.

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