Quinn, Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan v. Kurtin CA2/5

I. INTRODUCTION

Defendant, Todd Kurtin, appeals from an arbitration and judicial award of attorney’s fees in favor of plaintiff, the law firm of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP. Plaintiff represented defendant, a sophisticated businessperson, in litigation against a former business partner. Plaintiff and defendant entered into a contingency agreement concerning that representation. The agreement required binding arbitration if a dispute arose from the parties’ relationship. The agreement also provided that plaintiff, if it prevailed, could recover compensation for the work by its employees in defending or prosecuting that dispute in arbitration or litigation. The dispute resulted in an arbitration award in favor of plaintiff which included attorney’s fees incurred by its attorneys. The trial court confirmed the award. And the trial court granted plaintiff’s request for fees incurred while litigating the confirmation proceedings. Defendant only challenges the attorney fee awards returned by the arbitrator and the trial court. Defendant contends the arbitration award violates a fundamental public policy against pro se lawyers recovering their fees. In a similar vein,…