Quinn Emanuel is rolling out the heavy artillery in the UK’s largest-ever group litigation.
The litigation powerhouse has drafted Richard East, the founding and senior partner of its London office, into the sprawling £36 billion Mariana dam disaster case against mining giant BHP.
The Mariana litigation has turned into one of the fiercest law-firm territory wars London has seen in years.
East joins fellow Quinn partner Justin Michaelson at the helm of the damages phase, reinforcing Quinn’s presence in a case increasingly marked as much by bitter boardroom civil war as High Court legal drama.
With hundreds of millions in litigation funding on the line, an ousted founder waging an existential proxy battle, and hundreds of thousands of disaster victims awaiting redress.
The Stakes and the Squabble
Quinn Emanuel was initially brought into the fold via a “strategic partnership” with claimant firm Pogust Goodhead (PG), funded by litigation backer Gramercy to navigate the gargantuan damages phase following liability findings against BHP.
However, East’s deployment lands directly amidst a fierce tug-of-war for control of more than 400,000 Brazilian claimants:
- The Rebellion: In August, a 17-member Client Committee voted to ditch Pogust Goodhead and Quinn Emanuel in favor of US firm Bailey Glasser International (BGI) and litigation specialist Hausfeld.
- The Return of the Founder: Backing BGI’s bid is none other than Tom Goodhead, the ousted co-founder and former CEO of Pogust Goodhead, who originally built the case.
- High Court Showdown: Pogust Goodhead has refused to go quietly, hauling the matter before the English High Court to challenge the Client Committee’s authority to terminate retainer agreements or dismiss Quinn Emanuel. A critical hearing is slated for October 5–6.
Sending in the Fixer
Drafting Richard East, one of the City’s most formidable and battle-hardened restructuring and contentious litigation figures, is an unmistakable message that Quinn has no intention of being sidelined by claimant infighting.
East made Quinn’s stance clear, emphasizing that claimant representation cannot afford to wobble as the multi-billion-pound case enters its most technically challenging phase:
“This is a claim of a scale and difficulty that few firms are equipped to see through to the end, and the claimants are entitled to representation that will not falter at the quantum stage,” East said. “I am joining a team that is already deep in preparation, and my focus is on that preparation and nothing else.”
Partner Justin Michaelson reiterated that trial preparations for the 2027 quantum hearings are proceeding uninterrupted, irrespective of what happens at the October representation hearing:
“Richard’s expertise will help immensely and is a measure of the seriousness with which this firm treats that responsibility.”
Bringing in Richard East proves Quinn Emanuel intends to treat this not merely as complex damages arithmetic, but as trench warfare.
