R. Brian Timmons

R. Brian Timmons is the Global Head of Complex Litigation and Chair of the Private Investment Fund Litigation Practice for Quinn Emanuel. A highly regarded trial lawyer with a national litigation practice, he has tried many cases to verdict in multiple locations throughout the United States, including New York, Delaware, and California. He has also represented clients in legal proceedings and arbitrations in venues throughout the world. Clients praise him for his brilliance, highly strategic style, tenacity, judgment, and skill in the courtroom.

He has earned widespread professional recognition and many awards, underscoring the quality of his work. For example, he was selected as one of the “Best Attorneys of America” by Rue Ratings and  among the “top 1% of attorneys in America” for Complex Litigation by Premier Lawyers of America, named Litigator of the Year in 2020 by the American Institute of Trial Lawyers, elected to the Irish Legal 100 and selected as one of the 500 Leading Litigators of America by Lawdragon. Brian has also been named a “Recommended Lawyer” by Legal 500 USA in Dispute Resolution: Securities Litigation: Defense in 2024. And he is perennially recognized by the Los Angeles Magazine as one of Southern California’s “Super Lawyers.”

He has represented clients from nearly every industry and in nearly every litigation setting. He specializes, however, in complex disputes involving finance, accounting, or corporate governance. His practice includes commercial litigation, partnership disputes, M&A litigation, accounting firm liability cases, securities and commodities litigation, creditors’ rights, avoidance and other bankruptcy-related litigation, market manipulation, SEC enforcement actions, structured financial product litigation, including ISDA disputes, battles for corporate control, boardroom and breach of fiduciary duty disputes, and trade secret and employee mobility litigation. He regularly represents investment funds and their managers, financial institutions, public and private corporations (both foreign and domestic), creditor committees, litigation trusts, audit committees, boards of directors, family offices, and high net worth individuals, including well-known celebrities.

Mr. Timmons was born and raised in rural Idaho and attended Duke University on a football scholarship. He studied finance and economics at the London School of Economics, was a Teaching Fellow at Harvard College, and graduated from Harvard Law School with honors, where he also served as the Managing Editor of an academic law journal. He has been published in The Wall Street Journal and Newsweek. Brian currently serves on the Harvard Law School Leadership Council and is engaged in a variety of pro bono matters. Before joining Quinn Emanuel, he participated in the federal indigent defense panel program and was a partner at Latham & Watkins.