Bored by $1,000-an-Hour Pay, a Lawyer Hunts Wall Street Scores
Bloomberg Law profiles lawyer Dan Brockett, who ditched a job representing the world’s biggest banks for $1,000 an hour, and started earning his keep by suing the very companies that used to pay his bills — working on a contingency.
“On a recent weekday at his firm, Quinn, Emanuel Urquart & Sullivan LLP, Brockett said he couldn’t be happier that he made the switch to what he calls ‘success-based’ billing,” writes reporter Matt Robinson. “The 61- year-old senior litigation partner, wearing jeans and a sweater, pointed to a framed photo of a $250 million legal fee award that hung like a trophy over the desk of his office on Manhattan’s Madison Avenue.”
The profile shows how Brockett worked with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, developing a network of sources across Wall Street who send disgruntled bankers his way. If the cases are successful, some of those whistleblowers can see pay days of as much as $30 million.