Who are the most famous practicing lawyers in BigLaw?
Either John Quinn or David Boies is the most famous practicing lawyer in BigLaw, according to Bloomberg Big Law Business.
Quinn of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan was named most famous by more than 150 of the publication’s readers. Boies of Boies, Schiller & Flexner was chosen by Bloomberg executives, editors and reporters, the publication reports.
Both Quinn and Boies originally worked at Cravath, Swaine & Moore before starting their own firms.
Boies was cited as a good example of a “clutch” performer in a book by that name; he received lots of press attention opposing Ted Olson in Bush v. Gore and joining with Olson to challenge California’s ban on same-sex marriage.
David Boies (left, in a file photo by Kathy Anderson) and John Quinn (in a photo provided by Quinn Emanuel).
Quinn has been described as “caffeinated, aggressive and brash,” but another facet of his personality was recently on display when he created a new Los Angeles tourist attraction, the Museum of Broken Relationships.
Bloomberg Big Law Business asked its readers to name the most famous practicing lawyer in what was supposed to be a fun poll. Readers were supposed to vote for five lawyers, but some voted for only one lawyer, some voted only for lawyers from their own law firm, and some launched email campaigns for votes.
The top 10 vote getters among readers were, in rank order: John Quinn, Robert Bennett, David Boies, Neal Katyal, Ted Olson, Ralph Ferrara, Kathleen Sullivan, Eric Holder, Rudy Giuliani and Marty Lipton. The top 10 vote getters among the Bloomberg judges were, in rank order: David Boies, Ted Olson, Marty Lipton, Eric Holder, Ted Wells, Paul Clement, Floyd Abrams, Rudy Giuliani, Joe Lieberman and Rodge Cohen.
