Practice Areas
Michael Carlinsky serves as Co-Managing Partner of the firm and as the Global Head of Complex Litigation and Co-Chair of Insurance Litigation at Quinn Emanuel. He has consistently been ranked among the top litigators and trial lawyers in the United States by multiple leading global publications.
Recently, Lawdragon named him one of the “100 Managing Partners You Need to Know” in their 2025 ranking of firm managing partners selected for their roles in founding, growing, leading and innovating at their law firm. Benchmark Litigation inducted Carlinsky into their “Hall of Fame” in 2025 and named him "General Commercial Litigator of the Year" for 2022. He was a finalist for Commercial Litigator of Year multiple other years. The New York Law Journal named him one of three Finalists for 2022 “Lawyer of the Year.” Chambers USA 2021 to 2025 ranks him Band 1 for Commercial Litigation and Band 2 for National Trial Lawyers, describing him as “a tremendous litigator,” who is “fearless and confident” and whose “advice is incredibly thoughtful and well developed.” Additionally, Chambers depicts him as a “dogged lawyer” who is “very charismatic and personable.” Prior Chambers’ rankings dubbed Carlinsky “the Maserati of lawyers,” having the force of a “freight train” in court, and “a master strategist” praised for his “unique ability to see the big picture and craft and work toward results on a broad scale involving a huge constellation of matters.” Carlinsky is “held in high esteem by peers, who consider him to be one of the top trial lawyers in the country,” “an excellent and ‘tough litigator’ whose deep trial capabilities see him act for clients in high-value commercial and securities-related cases,” and has “strong gut instincts” as well as an ability to “recognize pressure points in cases and get things done,” according to Chambers, which added that he is “not afraid to try cases” and is “a tenacious lawyer with serious street smarts.”
Carlinsky has been named one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America” every year since 2015 by Benchmark Litigation, which referred to him as “Quinn’s big gun,” and has received awards from numerous other legal publications. Chief Justice Janet DiFiore recently appointed him to the New York Supreme Court Commercial Division Advisory Council.
Carlinsky’s practice is international in scope, encompassing work for multinational companies, public and private companies, hedge funds, asset managers, private equity firms, partnerships and individuals in all types of litigation, with a particular emphasis on complex commercial litigation, business-tort litigation, securities litigation, insurance-related litigation, mergers and acquisitions litigation, shareholder derivative suits, litigation involving financial products and instruments, internal corporate investigations, corporate governance matters, Delaware Court of Chancery litigation, non-compete and trade secret litigation, and intellectual property disputes. Carlinsky has recovered more than $4 billion dollars in verdicts, awards, and settlements for his clients, even though his practice is substantially defense-side.
He also has a significant practice representing Brazilian and other companies located in South America in litigation matters and internal investigations.
