{"id":153042,"date":"2026-05-27T15:40:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T23:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/05\/27\/quinn-emanuel-is-having-a-bad-year-for-judicial-benchslaps\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T15:40:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T23:40:06","slug":"quinn-emanuel-is-having-a-bad-year-for-judicial-benchslaps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/05\/27\/quinn-emanuel-is-having-a-bad-year-for-judicial-benchslaps\/","title":{"rendered":"Quinn Emanuel Is Having A Bad Year For Judicial Benchslaps"},"content":{"rendered":"

They say when it rains it pours, and that\u2019s what it feels like when it comes to litigation ethics and Biglaw firm Quinn Emanuel. We recently covered\u00a0Quinn Emanuel\u2019s recent $3 million ethics adventure in federal court<\/a>, a sanctions order where Judge Edward M. Chen accused the firm of a \u201cculture of lawyering that is deeply disturbing.\u201d And turns out there\u2019s more than one judge who takes issue with Quinn Emanuel\u2019s lawyering, because what a Cayman Islands judge put in writing back in January about the firm\u2019s conduct in a high-stakes private equity dispute is, well, not great for the firm.<\/p>\n

\n

Justice Jalil Asif KC of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands issued a 48-page ruling in Unicorn Biotech Ventures One Ltd v ATP III GP, Ltd<\/em> (available below), a high-stakes dispute over a US$2.4 billion life sciences fund. The merits of that dispute \u2014 privilege, discovery, cross-border procedure \u2014 are complicated. What the judge had to say about Quinn Emanuel is a lot more straightforward. The judge has some, ahem, pointed thoughts about an affidavit submitted in the matter by the firm, which he called, \u201cseriously misleading in several important respects.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThe only apparent explanations for it are that it was gross incompetence in the preparation of his affidavit, of a kind that is very difficult to conceive would occur within a well-resourced firm of the stature of Quinn Emanuel, or that it was a deliberate attempt to mislead the court. I am driven to the latter conclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s from paragraph 130. The judge is addressing an affidavit filed by Andrew Berdon, Quinn Emanuel\u2019s lead partner on the matter. And when the judge went looking for a charitable read, he couldn\u2019t get there.<\/p>\n

According to the judge, the affidavit\u2019s problems were multiple \u2014 a mischaracterization of Delaware procedure, a flatly inaccurate account of what happened during the Delaware trial, and a conspicuous omission of emails that would have directly undermined the GP\u2019s central argument against the opposing party. On the last point, the judge was blunt:<\/p>\n

\n

I cannot see how Mr Berdon was not aware that his affidavit is seriously misleading.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What makes the timeline particularly hard to explain away is that opposing counsel called out the affidavit as misleading in open court on November 28th of last year, with Quinn Emanuel attorneys watching the hearing remotely. The judge communicated his ruling on December 1st. Mr. Berdon swore the affidavit on December 2nd, unchanged from the draft he had approved on November 27th.<\/p>\n

\n

There has been no communication from Mr Berdon, Quinn Emanuel or anyone on their behalf since that hearing, some 7 weeks ago, responding to [opposing counsel\u2019s] complaints or suggesting that Mr Berdon or Quinn Emanuel accept that there were any errors in Mr Berdon\u2019s affidavit.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The judge also found that Quinn Emanuel hadn\u2019t shared key exculpatory emails with their own Cayman co-counsel or their lead KC, leaving those lawyers to stand up in court and argue a version of events the judge found to be plainly wrong. Justice Asif was careful to say he didn\u2019t think Cayman counsel would knowingly have misled the court, meaning the problems came from Quinn Emanuel\u2019s side of the operation, and the Cayman lawyers were left holding the bag.<\/p>\n

Justice Asif also included this gut-punch, \u201cIf Mr Berdon were an attorney-at-law in the Cayman Islands, it is likely that he would face a disciplinary complaint in relation to these matters. As he is not, I simply record my extreme dissatisfaction with his conduct and that of Quinn Emanuel in the respects that I have set out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The firm, for its part, has a very different take than the judge. A Quinn Emanuel spokesperson provided this statement:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe respectfully but categorically disagree with Justice Jalil Asif KC\u2019s remarks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We are a firm of nearly 1,300 litigators practicing in 33 offices around the world.\u00a0\u00a0In the average month, we have more than 2,300 active cases. Every year,\u00a0we try thousands of cases in courtrooms and tribunals all over the world \u2013 cases that are among the toughest and hardest fought. \u00a0<\/p>\n

In the\u00a0Natera<\/em>\u00a0case, we have learned from Judge Chen\u2019s findings, which arise out of the actions of a handful of lawyers. We are proud of our firm\u2019s record of strong ethical compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

You can read the entire benchslap below.<\/p>\n

Cayman Ruling 012726<\/a>Download<\/a><\/div>\n
\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Quinn Emanuel Is Having A Bad Year For Judicial Benchslaps<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

They say when it rains it pours, and that\u2019s what it feels like when it comes to litigation ethics and Biglaw firm Quinn Emanuel. We recently covered\u00a0Quinn Emanuel\u2019s recent $3 million ethics adventure in federal court<\/a>, a sanctions order where Judge Edward M. Chen accused the firm of a \u201cculture of lawyering that is deeply disturbing.\u201d And turns out there\u2019s more than one judge who takes issue with Quinn Emanuel\u2019s lawyering, because what a Cayman Islands judge put in writing back in January about the firm\u2019s conduct in a high-stakes private equity dispute is, well, not great for the firm.<\/p>\n

\n

Justice Jalil Asif KC of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands issued a 48-page ruling in Unicorn Biotech Ventures One Ltd v ATP III GP, Ltd<\/em> (available below), a high-stakes dispute over a US$2.4 billion life sciences fund. The merits of that dispute \u2014 privilege, discovery, cross-border procedure \u2014 are complicated. What the judge had to say about Quinn Emanuel is a lot more straightforward. The judge has some, ahem, pointed thoughts about an affidavit submitted in the matter by the firm, which he called, \u201cseriously misleading in several important respects.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThe only apparent explanations for it are that it was gross incompetence in the preparation of his affidavit, of a kind that is very difficult to conceive would occur within a well-resourced firm of the stature of Quinn Emanuel, or that it was a deliberate attempt to mislead the court. I am driven to the latter conclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s from paragraph 130. The judge is addressing an affidavit filed by Andrew Berdon, Quinn Emanuel\u2019s lead partner on the matter. And when the judge went looking for a charitable read, he couldn\u2019t get there.<\/p>\n

According to the judge, the affidavit\u2019s problems were multiple \u2014 a mischaracterization of Delaware procedure, a flatly inaccurate account of what happened during the Delaware trial, and a conspicuous omission of emails that would have directly undermined the GP\u2019s central argument against the opposing party. On the last point, the judge was blunt:<\/p>\n

\n

I cannot see how Mr Berdon was not aware that his affidavit is seriously misleading.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What makes the timeline particularly hard to explain away is that opposing counsel called out the affidavit as misleading in open court on November 28th of last year, with Quinn Emanuel attorneys watching the hearing remotely. The judge communicated his ruling on December 1st. Mr. Berdon swore the affidavit on December 2nd, unchanged from the draft he had approved on November 27th.<\/p>\n

\n

There has been no communication from Mr Berdon, Quinn Emanuel or anyone on their behalf since that hearing, some 7 weeks ago, responding to [opposing counsel\u2019s] complaints or suggesting that Mr Berdon or Quinn Emanuel accept that there were any errors in Mr Berdon\u2019s affidavit.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The judge also found that Quinn Emanuel hadn\u2019t shared key exculpatory emails with their own Cayman co-counsel or their lead KC, leaving those lawyers to stand up in court and argue a version of events the judge found to be plainly wrong. Justice Asif was careful to say he didn\u2019t think Cayman counsel would knowingly have misled the court, meaning the problems came from Quinn Emanuel\u2019s side of the operation, and the Cayman lawyers were left holding the bag.<\/p>\n

Justice Asif also included this gut-punch, \u201cIf Mr Berdon were an attorney-at-law in the Cayman Islands, it is likely that he would face a disciplinary complaint in relation to these matters. As he is not, I simply record my extreme dissatisfaction with his conduct and that of Quinn Emanuel in the respects that I have set out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The firm, for its part, has a very different take than the judge. A Quinn Emanuel spokesperson provided this statement:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe respectfully but categorically disagree with Justice Jalil Asif KC\u2019s remarks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We are a firm of nearly 1,300 litigators practicing in 33 offices around the world.\u00a0\u00a0In the average month, we have more than 2,300 active cases. Every year,\u00a0we try thousands of cases in courtrooms and tribunals all over the world \u2013 cases that are among the toughest and hardest fought. \u00a0<\/p>\n

In the\u00a0Natera<\/em>\u00a0case, we have learned from Judge Chen\u2019s findings, which arise out of the actions of a handful of lawyers. We are proud of our firm\u2019s record of strong ethical compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

You can read the entire benchslap below.<\/p>\n

Cayman Ruling 012726<\/a>Download<\/a><\/div>\n
\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Quinn Emanuel Is Having A Bad Year For Judicial Benchslaps<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They say when it rains it pours, and that\u2019s what it feels like when it comes to litigation ethics and Biglaw firm Quinn Emanuel. We recently covered\u00a0Quinn Emanuel\u2019s recent $3 million ethics adventure in federal court, a sanctions order where Judge Edward M. Chen accused the firm of a \u201cculture of lawyering that is deeply […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":153028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-153042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_5243-1-scaled-e1623338814705-620x568-n271XD.jpg?fit=620%2C568&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153042\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}