Quinn Emanuel Just Got a $3 Million Ethics Lesson. A Judge Made Them Write It Themselves. - Above the Law

A federal judge imposed $3 million in sanctions on Quinn Emanuel for conduct during representation of Natera Inc. in a pharma advertising case. The court adopted a special master’s recommendation and characterized the behavior as a disturbing culture rather than an isolated mistake. The attorneys allegedly turned a blind eye to the truth, failed to exercise diligence, violated duties of candor to the court, and then attempted to justify those actions without a basis. The conduct included propagating misleading statements from an expert witness. The firm must pay nearly $3 million in compensatory damages and a $100,000 punitive fine. Individual lawyers face additional sanctions and required completion of an eight-hour legal ethics course.

"The conduct of the firm and its litigation team, Chen wrote in adopting a special master's recommendation, "implicates a culture of lawyering that is deeply disturbing." Not a rogue associate. Not an isolated lapse in judgment. A culture. "At virtually every juncture in this misadventure," Chen wrote, "these attorneys turned a blind eye to the truth, deliberately failed to exercise diligence, violated their duties of candor to the Court, and then attempted to justify it - without basis.""

"The firm and its "entire litigation team" allegedly engaged in a pattern of conduct that included propagating misleading statements from an expert witness. This wasn't a one-time mistake that spiraled. According to Chen, it was a sustained failure at every turn. The court treated the behavior as repeated misconduct rather than a single error in judgment."

"Quinn Emanuel must pay nearly $3 million in compensatory damages to plaintiff, plus a $100,000 punitive fine. Silicon Valley partners Andrew Bramhall and Brian Cannon are on the hook for additional sanctions of up to $58,000 each. San Francisco associate Elle Wang faces a $28,000 sanction. And two other Quinn Emanuel Silicon Valley lawyers, managing partner Victoria Maroulis and partner Margaret Shyr, may face additional sanctions, with Judge Chen deferring on their cases for now."

"But the most striking part of the order isn't the dollar figures. It's that Bramhall, Cannon, and Wang must each complete an eight-hour legal ethics course. And the firm must "

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