Inside Quinn Emanuel’s Bet to Sue Wall Street

Lawyers at Quinn Emanuel made a fateful decision right before the financial crisis hit: They would stop trying to represent the major financial institutions of the world – a huge source of business for large law firms – and start representing clients who wanted to sue them instead.

Today, after obtaining billions in settlements from the banks over their roles in the recession and other alleged conduct, the firm’s attorney headcount has doubled, revenue has tripled, and top partners have out-earned executives of the banks they’ve recovered billions from.

“We’ve always had a lot of money sloshing around,” John Quinn, ...