Rachel Epstein is a partner in Quinn Emanuel’s New York Office and Co-Chair of the firm’s Trademark, Copyright, and Trade Secret practices. She is an experienced litigator with a focus on complex commercial litigation and international arbitration across all industries, including: technology, entertainment, insurance, energy, and financial institutions. Rachel has an active trial practice as both plaintiff and defense counsel, and has had leading roles in numerous trials and arbitrations, including intellectual property, licensing, technology, and media and entertainment disputes. Rachel also regularly counsels clients in employment matters. Prior to joining Quinn Emanuel, Rachel clerked for Hon. Terence T. Evans on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
- NRG Energy
- Jackpot.com
- Spotify
- IBM
- Ambac Assurance Corp.
- Tilray
- Ant Financial
- Alibaba
- The John Gore Organization
- Currently defending Spotify in music licensing case brought by EMS Music, which holds mechanical copyrights in certain of recording artist Eminem’s recordings.
- Currently defending Ambac Assurance Corp. against claims brought by 18 plaintiffs alleging civil RICO fraud relating to financing of and financial guarantee insurance for military housing developments.
- Currently defending IBM against employment-related class action.
- Currently representing Tilray in trademark licensing case arising from rights to Bob Marley branded products.
- Jackpocket, Inc. v. Lottomatrix (d/b/a Jackpot.com): Lead trial counsel in successful defense of Jackpot.com against trademark infringement, dilution, unfair competition, and related claims in Southern District of New York. After trial, judgment was entered in favor of Jackpot.com on all counts. See Jackpocket, Inc. v. Lottomatrix NY LLC, et al., 2022 WL 17733156 (SDNY Dec. 7, 2022).
- Beijing Neu Cloud Oriental System Technology Co. v. IBM: Successfully represented IBM and IBM China against dual actions in the Southern District of New York and New York state court raising trade secret and related claims. Both cases were dismissed with prejudice on motion to dismiss. See Beijing Neu Cloud Oriental System Technology Co. Ltd. v. IBM et al., 2022 WL 16838190 (SDNY Nov. 9, 2022).
- Braeburn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Camurus AB. (International Chamber of Commerce). Successfully represented Braeburn at arbitration hearing in case arising out of licensing agreement for the development and commercialization of drug product intended for the treatment of Opioid Use Disorder. Obtained full award in favor of Braeburn in case that earned Quinn Emanuel “Arbitration Team of the Year” at the British Legal Awards 2021.
- Toys R’ Us Bankruptcy: Co-lead trial counsel for Toys R’ Us’ solvent Asian affiliates in bankruptcy adversary proceeding relating to jointly-developed IT infrastructure and software ownership; post-trial, the parties reached a court-approved settlement.
- Beta Operating Co., LLC v. Aera Energy, LLC: Won summary judgment, affirmed twice on appeal, that performance bonds may be substituted for cash under Debtors' chapter 11 plan in order to secure plugging and abandonment liabilities regarding offshore oil platforms. See Beta Operating Co., LLC v. Aera Energy, LLC (In re Mem'l Prod. Partners LP), 581 B.R. 206 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Jan. 19, 2018) aff’d 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 186242 (S.D. Tex. Oct. 31, 2018) aff’d 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 1523 (5th Cir. Jan. 14, 2020).
- Reading International v. Stomp (AAA): Won an arbitral award, subsequently confirmed by the New York Supreme Court, for Reading International’s Liberty Theatres, Inc. enjoining the producers of the show STOMP from moving the show to another theatre and awarding Liberty its attorney’s fees and costs.
- Toshiba Corp. v. Shenzhen MTC Co., Ltd. (ICDR): Won an $80 million arbitral award, later confirmed by the New York Supreme Court, for Toshiba in an international arbitration hearing against a Chinese licensee for breach of a patent license agreement.
- Successfully represented Grupo México in multiple cases in New York state court with respect to claims brought by Credit Agricole relating to financing of an energy project in Mexico.
- Bouchet v. Baltimore Ravens: Successfully represented the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens at the trial and appellate levels with respect to copyright claims arising from the Baltimore Ravens former logo.
- Employment Litigation & Counseling
- Real Estate Litigation
- Mergers & Acquisitions Litigation
- Litigation Representing Plaintiffs
- Bankruptcy & Restructuring
- Cannabis Litigation
- Securities Litigation
- Copyright Litigation
- Trade Secret Litigation
- Trademark, Trade Dress, Unfair Competition/False Advertising, and Publicity Rights Litigation
- Internet Litigation
- International Arbitration
- Partnership and Founders Dispute Litigation
- Columbia Law School
(J.D., 2009)- Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
- Wesleyan University
(B.A., English, 2004) - Barnard College at Columbia University
(2000-2002)
- The State Bar of New York
- United States District Courts:
- Southern District of New York
- United States Courts of Appeals:
- Second Circuit
- Fourth Circuit
- Law Clerk to the Hon. Terence T. Evans:
- United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, 2010-2011
- Recognized by Lawdragon 500 as a Leading Litigator in Complex Commercial Litigation, inc. IP, Licensing, Trademark, Employment, 2023, 2024, 2025
- Ranked by Legal 500 USA as a Recommended Lawyer in Intellectual Property: Copyright, 2023, 2024
- Ranked by Legal 500 USA as a Recommended Lawyer in Intellectual Property: Trade Secrets (Litigation and non-contentious matters), 2023, 2024
- Ranked by Legal 500 USA as a Recommended Lawyer in Intellectual Property: Trademarks: Litigation, 2023, 2024
- Ranked by Legal 500 USA as a Recommended Lawyer in Media and Entertainment Litigation, 2022
- Co-Chair of Quinn Emanuel's Trade Secrets practice group, rated Tier 1 by Legal 500 USA, 2022