US judge to reassess Quinn Emanuel’s legal fees after appeals court deems them extraordinarily high

Judge Kathryn Davis of the US Federal Claims Court is set to rule on Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan's US$185 million fee for securing a US$3.7 billion judgment in 2020 for a class of insurers under an Obamacare provision.

Last year, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned the fee award, calling it "extraordinarily high" and directing Judge Davis to reassess the amount. Reuters reported that at a recent hearing, Quinn Emanuel's Adam Wolfson defended the US$185 million fee, which is 5 percent of the US$3.7 billion judgment, arguing it was minimal compared to awards in similar cases.

However, insurers, including UnitedHealthcare and Kaiser, have criticized the fee as "astronomical." Moe Keshavarzi of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton, representing the insurers, urged Judge Davis to approve a fee between US$11 million and US$23 million. Court papers indicated that the US$185 million fee equates to over US$18,000 per hour for Quinn Emanuel’s work, while top partners at the firm typically bill between US$1,500 and US$2,000 an hour.

Quinn Emanuel defended the fee, citing the "substantial risk" and 10,000 hours invested in the case. The insurers countered, claiming Quinn Emanuel used "inflated and unproven hours" to justify the fee request, questioning the plausibility of such a high number of hours.

Adding to the complexity, Quinn Emanuel disclosed it had already distributed the US$185 million within the firm, citing no order to withhold the funds. The firm also secured insurance on the award to defend its right to the full amount.

In related legal fee news, attorneys at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd requested US$66.5 million for their work on a US$350 million securities class action settlement with Google parent Alphabet. A federal judge in Chicago approved a US$94 million fee for three law firms pursuing an antitrust lawsuit against 17 US universities.