US: Quinn, Emanuel lawyer perfects ‘success-based’ billing

Bloomberg Law profiles lawyer Dan Brockett, who quit a job representing the world’s biggest banks for $1,000 an hour, and started earning his keep by suing the very companies that used to pay his bills — working on a contingency.

“On a recent weekday at his firm, Quinn, Emanuel Urquart & Sullivan, Brockett said he couldn’t be happier that he made the switch to what he calls ‘success-based’ billing,” writes reporter Matt Robinson. “The 61- year-old senior litigation partner, wearing jeans and a sweater, pointed to a framed photo of a $250 million legal fee award that hung like a trophy over the desk of his office on Manhattan’s Madison Avenue.”

The profile shows how Brockett worked with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, developing a network of sources across Wall Street who send disgruntled bankers his way. If the cases are successful, some of those whistleblowers can see paydays of as much as $30 million.

Brockett has become a kind of securities watchdog-for-hire, a role that could grow even more prominent in the anti-regulatory era of President Donald Trump. He is feared on Wall Street and envied by his peers, who also question some of the aggressive tactics he uses to snag clients. Brockett says he has won 90% of his cases, counting settlements.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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