Mr John O'Quinn > Kirkland & Ellis LLP > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile

Kirkland & Ellis LLP
1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C., 20004
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
United States
John O'Quinn photo

Position

John O’Quinn’s practice focuses on litigation, including intellectual property disputes, commercial litigation, regulatory matters, and other complex litigation matters at the trial and appellate levels. He has argued over seventy appeals in courts throughout the country, including more than forty in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. For each of the past five years he has been named in the IAM Patent 1000, particularly for his work in the Federal Circuit. His work has also been recognized in the National Law Journal, the Legal 500, the Financial Times, and in Law360, where he was named a “Rising Star” in appellate litigation. John has been to trial multiple times, where he has examined expert and fact witnesses. Representative clients include Abbott, Charter Communications, Cisco Systems, C.R. Bard, IBM, Motorola, POET LLC, and Teva Pharmaceuticals.

Education

Harvard Law School, J.D., 2001 magna cum laude, Fay Diploma (graduated first in class), Sears Prize (awarded to the two students with highest GPA in second year), Editor-In-Chief, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, M.S., Chemical Engineering Practice, 1998, National Science Foundation Fellowship; University of Oxford, UK, M.Sc., Environmental Change and Management, 1997 with Distinction, Fulbright Scholar; North Carolina State University, B.S., Chemical Engineering; B.A., Multidisciplinary Studies, 1996 summa cum laude, Valedictorian, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Student Body President, 1995-1996.

Lawyer Rankings

United States > Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)

Historically a strong player in appellate matters, Kirkland & Ellis LLP has established an impressive record of involvement in major cases at the federal courts of appeals, state appellate courts, and the US Supreme Court. In Washington DC, former Deputy Associate Attorney General John O’Quinn is noted for his expertise in IP and regulatory-related cases; he is representing Safeway in False Claims Act litigation alleging that defendants’ pharmacies misrepresented their usual and customary prices. George Hicks splits his practice between Washington DC and Dallas; he recently secured a win in the Eleventh Circuit for BP Exploration & Production in one of the first appeals addressing the ‘Back-End Litigation Option’ process established by the Deepwater Horizon medical settlement agreement. In New York, Jay Lefkowitz is recommended for his broad trial and appellate experience; he recently secured appellate victories for New Mountain Capital portfolio company, Ciox Health before the Ninth and Seventh Circuits. Washington DC-based William Burgess additionally stands out for his emphasis on patent and regulatory-related appeals. The firm saw some significant changes to its appellate practice in 2022: Paul Clement and Erin Murphy left to launch a new boutique and several attorneys followed, including Bartow Farr and Harker Rhodes.