Quinn Emanuel is bolstering its team in the £36 billion Mariana dam disaster case against mining giant BHP, with Richard East, the founding and senior partner of its London office, joining the case. The litigation has become one of the largest and most complex in the UK, with hundreds of millions in litigation funding at stake.
East will work alongside fellow Quinn partner Justin Michaelson, reinforcing the firm’s presence in the case. This move comes as the litigation is increasingly marked by a bitter boardroom civil war, with an ousted founder waging an existential proxy battle and hundreds of thousands of disaster victims awaiting redress.
The case has turned into a fierce territory war among law firms in London, with Quinn Emanuel was initially brought into the fold via a ‘strategic partnership’ with claimant firm Pogust Goodhead (PG), funded by litigation backer Gramercy to work through the gargantuan damages phase following liability findings against BHP. However, a 17-member Client Committee voted to ditch Pogust Goodhead and Quinn Emanuel in favor of US firm Bailey Glasser International and litigation specialist Hausfeld in August.
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Tom Goodhead, the ousted co-founder and former CEO of Pogust Goodhead, who originally built the case, is backing Bailey Glasser International’s bid. Pogust Goodhead has refused to go quietly, taking the matter to the English High Court to challenge the Client Committee’s authority to terminate retainer agreements or dismiss Quinn Emanuel. A critical hearing is scheduled for October 5-6.
Richard East’s deployment is seen as a clear message that Quinn Emanuel has no intention of being sidelined by claimant infighting. East stated 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.
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,” Michaelson said. They view the move as a sign that Quinn Emanuel intends to treat the case as a long-term battle, rather than just complex damages arithmetic.
