Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP has continued to expand its presence in Washington D.C. with the addition of three more partners to join its D.C. office, which first opened last September. Since prominent white-collar defense lawyer William Burck came aboard in January to co-manage the Washington D.C. office with partner Jon Corey, the firm has further augmented its litigation capabilities by adding Derek Shaffer, Jeff Gerchik, and, most recently, David Orta as partners.
Derek Shaffer has litigated a wide range of complex matters, particularly those involving governmental bodies and unsettled questions of constitutional and statutory law. He also helped to launch and run the Stanford Constitutional Law Center as its inaugural Executive Director, leading student teams in constitutional litigation and academic projects. Shaffer joins Quinn Emanuel from Cooper & Kirk PLLC where he was a partner.
Prior to joining Quinn Emanuel, Shaffer served as lead attorney or otherwise played central roles in many high-profile trial and appellate matters. To date, he has represented six States and handled cases before numerous tribunals, including the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. courts of appeals and district courts, state supreme courts, administrative tribunals and the NCAA. Shaffer graduated first in his Class of 1996 from the College of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University. He then graduated first in his Class of 2000 from Stanford Law School as its Nathan Abbott Scholar, before clerking for Chief Judge Douglas Ginsburg on the D.C. Circuit.
“Derek’s accomplishments speak for themselves. A lawyer of his acumen will offer great advantages to our clients with matters that touch upon constitutional law issues,” said Quinn Emanuel’s managing partner John Quinn. Co-Chair of the firm’s Washington D.C. office Jon Corey added, “We feel lucky to have gained Derek for his academic approach, in addition to all his trial experience, especially for our national appellate trial practice.”
Jeff Gerchick is an intellectual property litigation specialist who has litigated scores of U.S. district court cases as well as International Trade Commission Section 337 investigations. He joins Quinn Emanuel from the Washington DC Office of Kenyon & Kenyon LLP, where he was a partner.
Gerchick, who has an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Michigan, has litigated patent infringement cases covering a wide range of technologies, including wireless and wired networking, cellular mobile communications, computer hardware and software, consumer electronics, digital audio formats, and automotive technologies. In the past, he has represented consumer electronics and telecommunications companies such as Sony, Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications (now Sony Mobile Communications), Barnes & Noble, and automotive companies such as Toyota. Mr. Gerchick is also co-author of one of the leading treatises on Section 337 investigations, Unfair Competition and the ITC.
“Jeff is a very experienced patent trial lawyer. We tried a case with Jeff and saw him in action. He adds more depth to the firm’s already deep bench of IP trial lawyers.” said firm managing partner John Quinn. Mr. Gerchick said: “I like to try cases. Quinn Emanuel tries more patent cases than any other firm. I have seen first-hand how they work. It is a natural fit.”
David Orta comes to Quinn Emanuel as an international arbitration specialist, making him the third such international arbitration specialist to join the firm in the last nine months. He was previously a partner in the Washington D. C. office of Arnold & Porter LLP.
Orta, an experienced trial lawyer and arbitration advocate, devotes the majority of his time to representing clients in international disputes. He has represented clients in arbitrations under the auspices of many different arbitral forums including the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), UNCITRAL, the ICC and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR/AAA). Fluent in Spanish, he has been particularly active representing Latin American companies and countries in investment treaty and commercial arbitration disputes and also has handled matters relating to Central and Eastern Europe, the Caribbean and Africa. Chambers Global, Chambers Latin America and Global Arbitration Review have all recognized Orta for his international arbitration work. Orta also regularly participates in conferences and seminars on subjects of international law and has published in the field. He is affiliated with various arbitral associations and institutions around the world.
“Our plan is to establish a top tier international arbitration practice and to do so quickly. We want to have well regarded international arbitration advocates in the major arbitrations centers. Washington is such a center and David is an important part of that plan,” said John Quinn, the firm’s managing partner. However, Quinn signaled that the firm’s expansion of this practice area would not stop with the addition of Orta. “Within the coming months we will be adding well known international arbitration specialists in other major arbitration centers, including London.” Of his move Orta said “I have always admired Quinn Emanuel and its spectacular track record of successes for its clients. I look forward to working with my new colleagues at Quinn Emanuel and to being an integral part of the firm’s expansion of its international arbitration practice.”
After these recent additions, Quinn Emanuel’s Washington DC office will have grown to 24 lawyers, including 8 partners. Jon Corey, the co-managing partner of the office, made it clear the office will continue to expand. “We expect to be adding more lawyers who can provide our clients with high value, scarce services.”