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Quinn Emanuel founder John Quinn is stepping down from managing the firm he built over 40 years, handing leadership to co-managing partners William Burck and Mike Carlinsky. Across the Atlantic, Morrison Foerster hired three tech transactions lawyers in London from Morgan Lewis and Baker McKenzie, bringing its lateral count to 10 in the city over the past year. And billing rates keep climbing: Wells Fargo says clients still aren't pushing back.

On the client side, KKR's largest retail private-credit fund took a $560 million Q1 loss as defaults jumped to 8.1%, Apollo is in talks to sell its $3 billion MidCap BDC, and Broadcom is negotiating a $35 billion financing package with Apollo and Blackstone for AI chip development. Brent crude topped $103 after Trump rejected Iran's peace offer, and CPI data drops Tuesday with economists expecting a sharp 0.6% monthly rise.

Now, on to what matters for your practice today.

Today’s Talking Points

-Quinn Emanuel's founder steps back from management / MoFo adds tech trio in London

-Billing rates keep rising with no client pushback in sight

-KKR private credit fund takes $560M loss / Apollo looks to sell $3B MidCap BDC

-Broadcom's $35B AI financing deal / Apple-Intel chip manufacturing agreement

-Inspire Brands files for $20B IPO / Cerebras raises IPO target on 20x oversubscription

-Ace Hardware hit with nationwide price-fixing antitrust suit

-Oil above $103 as Trump rejects Iran peace offer / Consumer sentiment at record low

-CPI Tuesday / Trump-Xi summit this week / Bessent in Tokyo for BOJ coordination

Talent Strategy

What today's moves tell us:US firms continue to build specialist benches in London, with tech transactions and disputes as key areas of investment

-Morrison Foerster hired three tech transactions lawyers in London: Mike Pierides joined from Morgan Lewis alongside Oliver Bell, who steps up to partner at MoFo. Will Holder arrives from Baker McKenzie, where he was a partner. The hires bring MoFo's lateral count to 10 in London over the past year.

Operational Strategy

A leadership transition at the world's largest litigation-only firm, and a signal that rate pressure on clients remains mild.

Quinn Emanuel founder John Quinn is stepping down from managing the firm after 40 years, retaining a non-executive chair title while focusing on business development. Co-managing partners William Burck and Mike Carlinsky will take the reins. Quinn co-founded the firm in 1986 and built it into the world's largest litigation-only operation, known for high-profile clients including Elon Musk and Alec Baldwin. His departure from active management is one of the more closely watched leadership moves in Big Law.

On pricing, Wells Fargo's Les Starck noted that law firm billing rates continue to climb without meaningful client resistance. Standard realization would need to decline outside its normal 1-2 percentage point range before firms see real pushback. For now, the rate environment remains firm.

Practices

Cracks in private credit are widening, with losses mounting and fund managers racing to manage liquidity.

KKR's largest private-credit fund held by individual investors took a $560 million loss in Q1, equivalent to about 10% of net asset value. Defaults jumped to 8.1% from 5.5% in December. Separately, Apollo is in talks to sell MidCap Financial Investment Corp., its $3 billion private-credit BDC. The broader picture: PE firms are turning to dividend recaps in Europe as exits stall, banks are winning more business as private credit shrinks, and retail investors are cooling on PE as jitters spread. The Fed, for its part, described private credit redemption risks as manageable.

A mix of large-cap deal activity and IPO momentum across sectors from restaurants to defense and AI chips.

Inspire Brands, the PE-backed owner of Dunkin', Buffalo Wild Wings, Arby's, and Jimmy John's, filed confidentially for an IPO targeting a ~$20 billion valuation. AI chipmaker Cerebras Systems is raising its IPO price range to $150-$160 per share after receiving over 20x in demand, positioning it as 2026's largest global IPO. Franco-German tank maker KNDS revised its European IPO valuation downward to ~$23 billion. In M&A, UK product testing firm Intertek rejected a third improved $12.1 billion takeover offer from EQT and will pursue a spinoff instead. A consortium led by CVC is reportedly close to taking a stake in Standard's life insurance business as the UK pensions risk transfer market heats up.

Major chip supply-chain deals and AI infrastructure spending continue to shape the tech landscape.

Apple and Intel reached a preliminary chip manufacturing agreement as Apple seeks to diversify supply beyond TSMC. Broadcom is in talks with Apollo and Blackstone for a $35 billion financing package to fund AI chip development. Anthropic signed a $1.8 billion cloud deal with Akamai, the largest in Akamai's history. And hedge fund TCI dumped its entire $8 billion stake in Microsoft, citing concerns that AI could disrupt existing software products.

A new price-fixing case targeting a major US retailer.

Ace Hardware was sued in Chicago federal court, accusing the retail giant of running an illegal nationwide scheme with thousands of its affiliated member stores to fix prices, driving up costs for consumers. The case could draw significant antitrust attention given Ace's scale and cooperative structure.

Where the Work Sits

The KKR fund losses and Apollo's BDC sale talks point to growing restructuring and workout mandates in private credit. As defaults rise, lenders and fund managers will need counsel on distressed debt, portfolio dispositions, and investor redemption mechanics. The Fed's signal that redemption risks remain manageable may limit systemic exposure, but individual fund-level advisory work is picking up.

The IPO pipeline is generating capital markets work across sectors. Inspire Brands' restaurant IPO, Cerebras' AI chip listing, and KNDS' defense offering each carry different regulatory overlays, from SEC disclosure to CFIUS review to European defense procurement rules. Intertek's rejection of EQT and pivot to a spinoff adds corporate governance and M&A advisory work. CVC's move on Standard's pensions business brings insurance regulatory and fund formation work.

The Apple-Intel chip deal and Broadcom's $35 billion financing involve supply-chain structuring, licensing, and cross-border regulatory review. Anthropic's $1.8 billion Akamai deal and TCI's exit from Microsoft generate technology transactions and shareholder advisory work. The Ace Hardware antitrust suit opens class-action and competition work tied to franchise and cooperative pricing structures.

The Iran conflict, rising oil prices, and stalled peace talks are driving sanctions, trade compliance, and energy regulatory work. The Trump-Xi summit this week could shift tariff and export control mandates depending on outcomes around rare earths, AI, and the Board of Trade framework.

Global Markets

Energy prices, sticky inflation, and stalled peace talks are setting the macro tone for the week ahead.

Brent crude topped $103 a barrel after President Trump rejected Iran's peace counteroffer, which included demands for reparations, sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, and an end to American sanctions. Iran launched fresh drone attacks against the UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar over the weekend. S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs on Friday, capping a sixth straight week of gains, but weekend Iran escalation clouds the Monday open. U.S. consumer sentiment fell to a record low of 48.2 in May. Nonfarm payrolls rose 115,000 in April, well above the 62,000 consensus.

Bank of America and Goldman Sachs pushed back rate-cut expectations as higher energy prices keep inflation elevated. Traders now expect rates to stay unchanged through 2026. Pimco says the Iran war could prompt the Fed to raise rates. The ECB is expected to hike rates twice this year, according to a Bloomberg survey. Treasury Secretary Bessent is in Tokyo to coordinate with Japanese policymakers on BOJ policy and bond volatility before the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing later this week. CPI data drops Tuesday, with economists expecting a 0.6% monthly increase, the largest since 2022.

That’s the rundown. See you next where law meets the markets.

-The BigLaw Markets Team

*DISCLAIMER: BigLaw Markets analyzes publicly available information, filings, press releases, and news stories published by reputable media sources to deliver newsletters that highlight the drivers of demand for legal services.