'We used to cold call people': How Quinn Emanuel built London's most successful litigation practice
London senior partner Richard East on the boutique that beat the Magic Circle.
Contents
When Richard East launched Quinn Emanuel’s London office in April 2008, the timing seemed all wrong. A credit crunch was crippling financial markets, the UK government had just nationalised failing lender Northern Rock, and Bear Stearns had already collapsed in a fire sale to JPMorgan. Lehman Brothers would follow just six months later.
At the time, the concept of a litigation-only firm wasn’t widely known in the UK. "Even the word ‘litigation boutique’ hadn’t really become part of anyone’s lexicon", East says in an interview for The Non-Billable Podcast. "It was a unique offering."
While some firms had dabbled in disputes against banks, it was almost unheard of for a US firm to enter the London market openly advertising that it would sue the world’s biggest financial institutions. Quinn Emanuel, with sharp elbows and a sharper focus, did just that.
Today, it’s a bet that has paid off. The London office is now the firm's second largest, with revenues topping £200 million last year, surpassing every Magic Circle litigation practice and, East claims, "more successful than any other litigation practice in the London market."
Listen to the full-length interview on the podcast. Episode page with links here.
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A financial crisis and an opportunity
The April 2008 timing was certainly unorthodox, just as storm clouds gathered over the global economy. But East, then a junior partner at Kirkland & Ellis, saw something in Quinn’s singular focus. Recruited by the late Bill Urquhart and eventually meeting founding partner John Quinn in LA, he was sold. "It felt like the firm was kind of built for me", he says. "It was a firm that obviously focused on what I focused on."
At the time, East was doing bankruptcy and restructuring disputes. Quinn wanted to expand, and he had already helped build two London offices from scratch at Cadwalader and Kirkland. "It was out of the blue, a complete surprise to me", East says. "But I felt very excited about it in a way I didn’t feel about the other opportunities I was seeing."
The timing - just before the financial crisis - was, he admits, "completely coincidental." But it proved perfect. "It was a great time to start a litigation boutique in London, for sure."
Law Firm | Trainee First Year | Trainee Second Year | Newly Qualified (NQ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Addleshaw Goddard | £52,000 | £56,000 | £100,000 |
| Akin Gump | £60,000 | £65,000 | £174,418 |
| A&O Shearman | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Ashurst | £57,000 | £62,000 | £140,000 |
| Baker McKenzie | £56,000 | £61,000 | £140,000 |
| Bird & Bird | £47,000 | £52,000 | £102,000 |
| Bristows | £46,000 | £50,000 | £88,000 |
| Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner | £50,000 | £55,000 | £115,000 |
| Burges Salmon | £47,000 | £49,000 | £72,000 |
| Charles Russell Speechlys | £50,000 | £53,000 | £88,000 |
| Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton | £57,500 | £62,500 | £164,500 |
| Clifford Chance | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Clyde & Co | £47,000 | £49,500 | £85,000 |
| CMS | £50,000 | £55,000 | £120,000 |
| Cooley | £55,000 | £60,000 | £157,000 |
| Davis Polk | £65,000 | £70,000 | £170,000 |
| Debevoise | £55,000 | £60,000 | £173,000 |
| Dechert | £55,000 | £61,000 | £165,000 |
| Dentons | £50,000 | £54,000 | £100,000 |
| DLA Piper | £52,000 | £57,000 | £130,000 |
| Eversheds Sutherland | £46,000 | £50,000 | £110,000 |
| Farrer & Co | £47,000 | £49,000 | £88,000 |
| Fieldfisher | £48,500 | £52,000 | £95,000 |
| Freshfields | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Fried Frank | £55,000 | £60,000 | £175,000 |
| Gibson Dunn | £60,000 | £65,000 | £180,000 |
| Goodwin Procter | £55,000 | £60,000 | £175,000 |
| Gowling WLG | £48,500 | £53,500 | £98,000 |
| Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer | £56,000 | £61,000 | £145,000 |
| HFW | £50,000 | £54,000 | £103,500 |
| Hill Dickinson | £43,000 | £45,000 | £80,000 |
| Hogan Lovells | £56,000 | £61,000 | £140,000 |
| Irwin Mitchell | £43,000 | £45,000 | £76,000 |
| Jones Day | £56,000 | £65,000 | £160,000 |
| K&L Gates | £50,000 | £55,000 | £115,000 |
| Kennedys | £43,000 | £46,000 | £85,000 |
| King & Spalding | £55,000 | £60,000 | £165,000 |
| Kirkland & Ellis | £60,000 | £65,000 | £174,418 |
| Latham & Watkins | £60,000 | £65,000 | £174,418 |
| Linklaters | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Macfarlanes | £56,000 | £61,000 | £140,000 |
| Mayer Brown | £55,000 | £60,000 | £135,000 |
| McDermott Will & Emery | £65,000 | £70,000 | £174,418 |
| Milbank | £65,000 | £70,000 | £174,418 |
| Mills & Reeve | £45,000 | £47,000 | £82,000 |
| Mischon de Reya | £47,500 | £52,500 | £95,000 |
| Norton Rose Fulbright | £50,000 | £55,000 | £135,000 |
| Orrick | £55,000 | £60,000 | £160,000 |
| Osborne Clarke | £54,500 | £56,000 | £94,000 |
| Paul Hastings | £60,000 | £68,000 | £173,000 |
| Paul Weiss | £55,000 | £60,000 | £180,000 |
| Penningtons Manches Cooper | £48,000 | £50,000 | £83,000 |
| Pinsent Masons | £49,500 | £54,000 | £105,000 |
| Quinn Emanuel | n/a | n/a | £180,000 |
| Reed Smith | £50,000 | £55,000 | £125,000 |
| Ropes & Gray | £60,000 | £65,000 | £165,000 |
| RPC | £46,000 | £50,000 | £90,000 |
| Shoosmiths | £43,000 | £45,000 | £97,000 |
| Sidley Austin | £60,000 | £65,000 | £175,000 |
| Simmons & Simmons | £52,000 | £57,000 | £120,000 |
| Skadden | £58,000 | £63,000 | £173,000 |
| Slaughter and May | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Squire Patton Boggs | £47,000 | £50,000 | £110,000 |
| Stephenson Harwood | £50,000 | £55,000 | £100,000 |
| Sullivan & Cromwell | £65,000 | £70,000 | £174,418 |
| Taylor Wessing | £50,000 | £55,000 | £115,000 |
| TLT | £44,000 | £47,500 | £85,000 |
| Travers Smith | £54,000 | £59,000 | £120,000 |
| Trowers & Hamlins | £45,000 | £49,000 | £80,000 |
| Vinson & Elkins | £60,000 | £65,000 | £173,077 |
| Watson Farley & Williams | £50,000 | £55,000 | £102,000 |
| Weightmans | £34,000 | £36,000 | £70,000 |
| Weil Gotshal & Manges | £60,000 | £65,000 | £170,000 |
| White & Case | £62,000 | £67,000 | £175,000 |
| Willkie Farr & Gallagher | £60,000 | £65,000 | £170,000 |
| Withers | £47,000 | £52,000 | £95,000 |
| Womble Bond Dickinson | £43,000 | £45,000 | £80,000 |
Rank | Law Firm | Revenue | Profit per Equity Partner (PEP) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DLA Piper* | £3,010,000,000 | £2,400,000 |
| 2 | Clifford Chance | £2,300,000,000 | £2,040,000 |
| 3 | A&O Shearman | £2,200,000,000 | £2,200,000 |
| 4 | Hogan Lovells | £2,150,000,000 | £2,200,000 |
| 5 | Freshfields | £2,120,000,000 | Not disclosed |
| 6 | Linklaters | £2,100,000,000 | £1,900,000 |
| 7 | Norton Rose Fulbright* | £1,800,000,000 | £1,100,000 |
| 8 | CMS** | £1,620,000,000 | Not disclosed |
| 9 | Herbert Smith Freehills | £1,300,000,000 | £1,300,000 |
| 10 | Ashurst | £961,000,000 | £1,300,000 |
| 11 | Clyde & Co | £844,000,000 | £739,000 |
| 12 | Eversheds Sutherland | £749,000,000 | £1,300,000 |
| 13 | BCLP* | £661,000,000 | £748,000 |
| 14 | Pinsent Masons | £649,000,000 | £793,000 |
| 15 | Slaughter and May*** | £625,000,000 | Not disclosed |
| 16 | Simmons & Simmons | £574,000,000 | £1,076,000 |
| 17 | Bird & Bird** | £545,000,000 | £696,000 |
| 18 | Addleshaw Goddard | £495,000,000 | Not disclosed |
| 19 | Taylor Wessing | £480,000,000 | £915,000*** |
| 20 | Osborne Clarke** | £456,000,000 | £771,000 |
| 21 | Womble Bond Dickinson | £448,000,000 | £556,000 |
| 22 | DWF | £435,000,000 | Not disclosed |
| 23 | Fieldfisher | £407,000,000 | £966,000 |
| 24 | Kennedys | £384,000,000 | Not disclosed |
| 25 | DAC Beachcroft | £325,000,000 | £700,000 |
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Cold calling clients
The firm’s early years were intense but the team landed decent work quickly - including representing property investor Robert Tchenguiz during the Icelandic banking crisis.
With a tiny team - six to eight people in the first year - they built a pipeline of matters by leaning on conflict referrals from other firms and chasing down leads through old school direct outreach. "A lot of our work came from other firms who had conflicts", East explains. "They trusted us because we weren’t doing any corporate finance or M&A, so they were happy to recommend us to clients."
But it wasn’t just word of mouth. "We used to cold call people", East says. "It felt like being a door-to-door salesman occasionally, but it was very effective." He still remembers matters that came in years later from 15-minute meetings that left one clear message: "We are litigation only. It's all we do. And we can often act in situations where other firms can't."
Quinn didn’t spend on glossy brochures or corporate events. "We put a huge effort into walking around, meeting clients, prospects, other firms - anyone who would talk to us for 15 minutes", East says.
Built like a standalone business
Although Quinn’s US arm supported the launch, East insisted that the London office be profitable from the outset. "I knew that if you’re just burning through money and not showing a return, it would become a difficult relationship", he says. "In our first full year, we made a profit."
That early financial independence has shaped the culture of the London office, which now operates much like a standalone business. "We’ve always wanted to be successful on our own terms, with clients sourced from this marketplace", East explains. "The fact the US firm acts for a client might get you a meeting. It won’t win you the work."
The strategy has enabled Quinn to scale up without compromising its model. The firm doesn’t sit on panels, and it doesn’t do corporate work. "We’re not conflicted in the same way, and that means we can act in situations where other firms can't", East says. "That message - that we’re litigation-only - resonates and sticks."
Beating the Magic Circle at their own game
East is candid about who he’s competing with. "Last year, we were bigger than all the Magic Circle practices in revenue terms", he says. "Bigger than all the other US practices in London too." The firm’s revenue now trails only a handful of global firms with significantly larger teams - some with two to three times the number of lawyers.
Herbert Smith Freehills (now HSF Kramer) is still ahead in London litigation revenues, but East sees a structural edge for Quinn. "They’re still strong, and they’re still the player I feel I'm chasing", he says. "But when you go full-service and aim to be a global superpower, it inevitably means making decisions about clients and conflicts that don’t help the litigators."
As for the Magic Circle, in East’s view their rigid structures and global ambitions are liabilities rather than strengths. "The lockstep model has worked against them", he says. "US firms can pay people to reflect their true value. Magic Circle firms have been hampered and now they're all trying to move to structures that allow them more flexibility to retain and attract talent."
Big Law consolidation, meanwhile, presents opportunities for Quinn. "Frankly, when two big firms merge, I see it as an advantage - it just creates another monolith full of conflicts."
Talent, compensation and culture
East is equally unsentimental about how Quinn recruits and rewards its lawyers. The firm doesn’t offer training contracts, focusing instead on experienced laterals at associate and partner level.
Quinn already leads the City market for associate pay. NQs start on £180,000. "We have to be comfortably above the Magic Circle to attract talent", East says. Despite being a US firm, Quinn doesn’t follow the Cravath scale for associate pay ($225,000 for NQs on current rates).
In theory, at least, that means it can pay its London lawyers whatever it chooses. "We have our own scale. We pay in pounds, and we bill in pounds. Why would you bake exchange-rate risk into your biggest cost?"
The firm’s culture is flat, fast-moving and unusually flexible. "There’s less formality. Less focus on titles. If you’ve got the gumption and the confidence, you can do almost anything here", East says.
Associates are expected to "own cases", not just follow instructions. "What we’re looking for is the kind of people who will think it’s their case, who’ll strategise and bring ideas to the partner."
That attitude is reflected in Quinn’s office policies. The firm has a flexible work-from-home approach, including Augusts when associates can work from anywhere. "We don’t have any code in terms of what people wear", East adds. "We’re focused on people who are independent and clever and interested in what they’re doing."
Unsurprisingly, being one of the highest-paying firms in the city, Quinn also demands serious output. "We are a hard-working firm - 2,000 billable hours a year is pretty typical", East says. "But we also give people incredible responsibility. We want associates who own cases - not just do tasks."
What's next: trials, growth and AI
2025 is already shaping up to be one of Quinn’s busiest trial years in London. "We’ve got 10 major trials this year. That’s extraordinary - we normally have four or five", East says. But he’s already thinking about 2026. "Work tends to taper off after trial. So we’re out there again, trying to generate the next pipeline."
The other looming priority: AI. "We’ve got to make sure we’re using these tools to improve efficiency", East says. Smaller litigation firms may be able to leverage AI for faster, cheaper work, so Quinn is investing in document review and legal research tools that go beyond basic keyword searches. "Now, you can ask the software: what’s the best evidence for this proposition? And it will find the documents and the witness statements", he explains.
Even after 17 years, East isn’t slowing down. "We don’t have a revenue target", he says. "But I look at Herbert Smith Freehills and think - why shouldn’t we be doing what they do, or more? We could do that with another 10 partners and 30 associates."
For East, the job is far from finished.
"You’ve got to keep aiming for the top. You can’t sit on your hands and pat yourself on the back. We'll continue to look for lateral opportunities. We'll continue to promote people internally. We'll continue to hire great associates and we'll continue to knock on people's doors and see if we can win work."
| Firm | London office since | Known for in London |
|---|---|---|
| Baker McKenzie | 1961 | Finance, capital markets, TMT |
| Davis Polk | 1972 | Leveraged finance, corporate/M&A |
| Gibson Dunn | 1979 | Private equity, arbitration, energy, resources and infrastructure |
| Goodwin | 2008 | Private equity, funds, life sciences |
| Kirkland & Ellis | 1994 | Private equity, funds, restructuring |
| Latham & Watkins | 1990 | Finance, private equity, capital markets |
| Milbank | 1979 | Finance, capital markets, energy, resources and infrastructure |
| Paul Hastings | 1997 | Leveraged finance, structured finance, infrastructure |
| Paul Weiss | 2001 | Private equity, leveraged finance |
| Quinn Emanuel | 2008 | Litigation |
| Sidley Austin | 1974 | Leveraged finance, capital markets, corporate/M&A |
| Simpson Thacher | 1978 | Leveraged finance, private equity, funds |
| Skadden | 1988 | Finance, corporate/M&A, arbitration |
| Weil | 1996 | Restructuring, private equity, leverage finance |
| White & Case | 1971 | Capital markets, arbitration, energy, resources and infrastructure |
| Law firm | Type | First-year salary |
|---|---|---|
| White & Case | US firm | £32,000 |
| Stephenson Harwood | International | £30,000 |
| A&O Shearman | Magic Circle | £28,000 |
| Charles Russell Speechlys | International | £28,000 |
| Freshfields | Magic Circle | £28,000 |
| Herbert Smith Freehills | Silver Circle | £28,000 |
| Hogan Lovells | International | £28,000 |
| Linklaters | Magic Circle | £28,000 |
| Mishcon de Reya | International | £28,000 |
| Norton Rose Fulbright | International | £28,000 |
This is a condensed version of our full length interview with Richard East on The Non-Billable Podcast. View the episode page here.
Law Firm | Trainee First Year | Trainee Second Year | Newly Qualified (NQ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A&O Shearman | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Clifford Chance | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Linklaters | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Slaughter and May | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
Law Firm | Trainee First Year | Trainee Second Year | Newly Qualified (NQ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A&O Shearman | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Clifford Chance | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Linklaters | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Slaughter and May | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
Law Firm | Trainee First Year | Trainee Second Year | Newly Qualified (NQ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashurst | £57,000 | £62,000 | £140,000 |
| Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner | £50,000 | £55,000 | £115,000 |
| Herbert Smith Freehills | £56,000 | £61,000 | £145,000 |
| Macfarlanes | £56,000 | £61,000 | £140,000 |
| Travers Smith | £54,000 | £59,000 | £120,000 |
| Firm | Merger year | Known for in London |
|---|---|---|
| BCLP | 2018 | Real estate, corporate/M&A, litigation |
| DLA Piper | 2005 | Corporate/M&A, real estate, energy, resources and infrastructure |
| Eversheds Sutherland | 2017 | Corporate/M&A, finance |
| Hogan Lovells | 2011 | Litigation, regulation, finance |
| Mayer Brown | 2002 | Finance, capital markets, real estate |
| Norton Rose Fulbright | 2013 | Energy, resources and infrastructure, insurance, finance |
| Reed Smith | 2007 | Shipping, finance, TMT |
| Squire Patton Boggs | 2011 | Corporate/M&A, pensions, TMT |
Law Firm | Trainee First Year | Trainee Second Year | Newly Qualified (NQ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashurst | £57,000 | £62,000 | £140,000 |
| Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner | £50,000 | £55,000 | £115,000 |
| Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer | £56,000 | £61,000 | £145,000 |
| Macfarlanes | £56,000 | £61,000 | £140,000 |
| Travers Smith | £54,000 | £59,000 | £120,000 |
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