Emily Kapur’s practice focuses on representing crypto and financial services clients in complex litigation involving the novel issues raised by new technology, as well as classic disputes such as broken M&A deals. With an Economics PhD and an extensive record at ten trials, Emily also specializes in expert witness strategy, helping top academics and business experts translate their work into accessible presentations compelling to judges and juries.
Emily has devoted a substantial portion of her practice to crypto litigation since 2017, including in matters involving 11-figure damages. She has achieved successful results for crypto clients around the world in disputes in state and federal court and arbitration in California, New York, and Delaware, including base layer protocols, DeFi companies, investors, and exchanges. Emily’s matters have included defending securities class action suits; representing crypto companies in bankruptcy; litigating commercial disputes among crypto companies; pursuing plaintiff-side actions to address malfeasance and employment disputes; and advising crypto projects analyzing litigation and regulatory risks.
Emily also has substantial experience with bespoke valuation, accounting, and M&A disputes, including playing a leading role in the Twitter v. Musk litigation, taking another broken deal dispute to trial, and working on three cases arising out of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy.
In all of her cases, Emily employs her unique background and deep understanding of the economics of trading markets to help clients not only win at trial, but identify creative business solutions. In 2022, Law360 recognized her as a Rising Star in Fintech, and she regularly lectures and publishes on new legal issues arising in crypto and other financial litigation.
Before joining Quinn Emanuel, Emily served as an expert witness and helped direct expert-witness strategy for high-profile litigation matters. She received her B.A. from Stanford University, her M.Sc. from the London School of Economics, where she was a Marshall Scholar, her PhD from Stanford University, and her J.D. from Stanford Law School.
- Stanford University
(Ph.D., Economics, 2017) - Stanford Law School
(J.D., 2015)- Stanford Law Review:
- Articles Editor
- Articles Editor
- Stanford Law Review:
- London School of Economics
(M.Sc., Economics, 2011) - Stanford University
(B.A., Economics, 2008)
- The State Bar of California
- United States District Court:
- Northern District of California
- Central District of California
- Named a "Rising Star" in Fintech by Law360’s Top Attorneys Under 40, 2022
- New York Law Journal: “Lessons From Early Crypto Token Securities Class Actions”, (September 2022)
- Firm Memorandum: “Are Stablecoins Securities?”, (July 2021)
- Firm Memorandum: “’That Is Not An Opinion’: How to Sue Short Sellers”, (June 2021)
- Firm Memorandum: “US Outlook: CLO Litigation Arising From The 2020 Downturn”, (April 2021)
- Firm Memorandum: “NFTs: Legal Risks from ‘Minting’ Art and Collectibles on Blockchain”, (March 2021)
- Firm Memorandum: “SEC Commissioner Proposes Securities Laws ‘Safe Harbor’ for Crypto Tokens”, (February 2021)
- Plourde-Cole, Futter, Kapur, “Latest ETF Rejection Further Entrenches SEC's Bitcoin Rift”, Law 360 (June 3, 2020)
- Speaker, “Law Firm Goals for the Blockchain Space in 2020,” Stanford Journal of Blockchain Lar & Policy Governance Summit, April 6, 2020.
- Lecture, “Hot Topics in Crypto Litigation,” Stanford University The Future of Finance Course, February 24, 2020.
- Lecture, “Stablecoins: The Promise & Perils,” The Hoover Institution Economic Policy Working Group, June 11, 2019.
- Speaker, “Economic Insights into Cryptocurrency and the Blockchain,” Women in Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Panel, March 7, 2019.
- Emily Kapur and John B. Taylor, “A New Tool for Avoiding Big-Bank Failures: ‘Chapter 14’,” The Wall Street Journal. 11 March 2016, A15.
- “The Next Lehman Bankruptcy,” in Making Failure Feasible: How Bankruptcy Reform Can End “Too Big to Fail”, edited by Kenneth E. Scott, Thomas H. Jackson, and John B. Taylor, 175-241. Hoover Institution Press: 2015.