Quinn Emanuel Pauses Partner Distributions and Adjusts Draws

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan founder John Quinn confirmed Monday that the firm has delayed partner distributions that were originally scheduled for April until July to respond to the economic uncertainties of the coronavirus pandemic.

The firm has also adjusted the size of partner draws for April, May and June. The changes will be revisited in July.

“We’re focused on building up our cash reserves, given who knows what the future holds,” Quinn said.

One source familiar with the changes said that all partners would receive draws of $30,000 per month starting in June. Quinn would not comment on the specific size of the draws, but emphasized that reductions were not universal.

“Some people are getting less than before, while some are getting more,” he said. “It’s not true that all are getting reduced.”

The next round of distributions had been scheduled for June 15, but that date has been pushed back to July, to coincide with the Internal Revenue Service’s new deadline for first and second quarter estimated taxes.

But partners at the firm who have seen their compensation dip are still in the dark about whether July distributions will return their compensation to where it stood prior to the COVID-19 crisis, with Quinn saying only that the issue would be revisited that month.

Quinn emphasized that the changes were not motivated by financial distress, saying that the temporary decreases applied primarily to more senior, highly paid partners. He added that the firm has not laid off or furloughed any employees and does not intend to.

On the whole, the firm’s financial performance has been strong, according to Quinn, who said that he had been hopeful that the firm’s litigation-centric business model would shield it from the worst.

“We’ve been gratified,” he said. “It’s like the whole economy went off the cliff. We didn’t know what this was going to mean for us.”

With regard to collections, there has been some slowdown in the speed at which bills get paid, but Quinn added that it has not had a “material” impact on the business.

The firm brought in $1.25 billion in revenue in 2019, with its top line as well as profits per partner and revenue per lawyer largely flat from the previous year.

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