Law, disrupted

Michael Nosanchuk, a former taxi driver and sustainable farmer, discusses his unique journey to becoming a successful lawyer in the premier art disputes practice. Topics include cultural fluency from driving a cab, patience and perseverance from farming, and the importance of storytelling in the legal profession.

Yixuan Zhu, an associate in Quinn Emanuel's Beijing office, discusses her unique journey studying law in both China and the US. She shares her experiences conducting high stakes investigations in China, representing KKR in a trial, and playing a role in expedited multi-billion dollar litigation in Delaware Chancery Court. Yixuan also talks about opening law firm offices in Shanghai and Beijing, her transformative experiences in hiking, and the importance of cross-cultural communication.

John is joined by Eric F. Grossman, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Administrative Officer of Morgan Stanley.  They discuss the current legal issues facing General Counsel at major international institutions including how generative AI and machine learning will impact legal services and how companies interact with their clients; when companies should speak out on social issues; and the current regulatory push regarding financial disclosures, antitrust concerns and climate related issues.  They also discuss ESG efforts including the impact of such efforts on employee morale, the capital commitments necessary to transition to sustainability and the importance of accuracy in disclosing ESG commitments.  They also discuss cryptocurrencies, including building the infrastructure and trading and the relatively slow adoption of blockchain.  Finally, they discuss areas of increasing legal risk, including risks facing businesses built on business models that assumed low interest rates and the opportunities for distressed asset investors and bankruptcy practitioners.Podcast Link: Law-disrupted.fmHost: John B. Quinn Producer: Alexis HydeMusic and Editing by: Alexander Rossi

Tom Montagu-Smith, an expert in international litigation, discusses the unique DIFC court system in Dubai, where foreign lawyers and judges resolve disputes. They talk about writing the rules, jurisdictional issues, interesting cases, and the growth of financial free zones in other countries. They also explore the comparison between DIFC court and Singapore International Court, diverse lawyers practicing in DIFC, and challenges in enforcing judgments.

John is joined by Cyril Shroff, Managing Partner of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, India's largest full-service law firm. They discuss the unique characteristics of the Indian judicial system, including the broad jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, the overwhelming backlog of cases, the need to improve the infrastructure of the judiciary, and the importance for litigants to obtain interim relief. They also discuss the increasing role arbitration plays in resolving significant business disputes, particularly arbitration in Singapore, London and the UAE. Finally, they discuss the key growth areas for business litigation in India, including environmental litigation, data disputes, including generative AI and privacy cases, and corporate governance disputes.Podcast Link: Law-disrupted.fmHost: John B. Quinn Producer: Alexis HydeMusic and Editing by: Alexander Rossi

John is joined by Richard East, Founder and Senior Partner in Quinn Emanuel's London office.  They discuss Richard’s extensive experience litigating in the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) court, including Richard’s experience winning the only case that has gone all the way from beginning through trial and judgment in the ADGM. They discuss the ADGM Court’s unique features as a common law English court within the Abu Dhabi court system, the broad jurisdiction rules, which allow companies present in the ADGM to sue and be sued by foreign defendants, and the extremely modern digitized court facilities that allow parties to present their case efficiently through electronic transmissions. They also discuss the NMC Healthcare case, where Quinn Emanuel’s actions in the ADGM Court played a crucial role in protecting the company from creditor claims and facilitating a restructuring that allowed the company to emerge and trade as a solvent group.Podcast Link: Law-disrupted.fmHost: John B. Quinn Producer: Alexis HydeMusic and Editing by: Alexander Rossi

John is joined by Luke Nikas, Partner in Quinn Emanuel's New York office and Co-Chair of the firm's Art Litigation and Disputes Practice. They discuss the intersection between art, the law and art disputes more generally. The also discuss the Knoedler Art Gallery case, where Luke represented the President of the Gallery,  and the legal and factual issues that surround authenticity disputes. They also discuss the relationship between collectors, dealers, gallerists and art advisors. Podcast Link: Law-disrupted.fmHost: John B. Quinn Producer: Alexis HydeMusic and Editing by: Alexander Rossi

James Bremen, partner in Quinn Emanuel's London office and Chair of the Construction and Engineering Practice, joins John to discuss complexities of construction litigation and arbitration, including litigating alleged breaches, project schedule impacts, termination decisions, multiple parties and jurisdictions, selection of professionals, and importance of record keeping and expert witnesses.

John is joined by Christopher Bogart, Chief Executive Officer, Director and Co-Founder of Burford Capital and Derek T. Ho, Partner at Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, P.L.L.C.  They discuss how Derek obtained a $16 billion judgment, the largest ever in the United States that has not been overturned on appeal, against Argentina on a claim for breach of contract.  They also discuss the role Burford played in financing the litigation.  In the 1990s, when Argentina wanted to privatize its nationally owned oil company YPF, it faced investor skepticism due to its troubled history of nationalizing private companies.  To address those concerns, it structured the YPF offering to include a right of shareholders to have their shares repurchased by Argentina at an agreed upon price if Argentina ever retook control of YPF.  In 2012, Argentina retook control of YPF, but refused to repurchase the remaining public shares at the agreed upon price.  John, Christopher and Derek discuss the role Burford played from the outset of the case, Argentina’s assertion of foreign sovereign immunity, and Argentina’s other defenses.  They also discuss the summary judgment process and ruling, the three day bench trial composed entirely of expert witnesses, and the status of post-trial motions and appeal.Podcast Link: Law-disrupted.fmHost: John B. Quinn Producer: Alexis HydeMusic and Editing by: Alexander Rossi

John is joined by Richard V. Sandler, partner at Maron & Sandler and author of Witness to a Prosecution: The Myth of Michael Milken. Richard is the personal attorney and life-long friend of Michael Milken.  He represented Michael in the 1986 federal investigation and prosecution off Drexel Burnham Lambert, and its High Yield and Convertible Bond Department, a department Michael created and was head of. Michael was the most successful and innovative financier of his time and Drexel, an upstart investment bank, was the most successful securities firm on Wall Street, thanks to Michael. Led by Drexel, the high yield bond market grew rapidly from the end of the 1970’s from $70 billion to over $2.2 trillion dollars in 2022.John and Richard discuss the highlights of what happened in the case, the tactical decisions and key turning points, and the lessons to be drawn from this historic prosecution.   Podcast Link: Law-disrupted.fmHost: John B. Quinn Producer: Alexis HydeMusic and Editing by: Alexander Rossi