Founding Partner

Christopher D. Kercher

Trial & appellate litigation · New York

chris@kercherlitigation.com

Chris Kercher is the founding partner of Kercher Law and a trial and appellate litigator focused on bet-the-company disputes. His practice spans corporate control and M&A, securities and financial markets, partnership and governance disputes, digital-asset disputes, and complex business litigation — from initial strategy through trial and appeal.

Chris’s representations have included securing a Delaware Supreme Court victory for Elon Musk and Tesla’s directors; winning an order requiring the completion of a nine-figure merger following a two-day trial for Desktop Metal; defending Citadel Securities against antitrust claims arising from the 2021 “meme-stock” trading events; representing Elon Musk in litigation over the acquisition of Twitter; and obtaining a post-trial judgment allowing Mirae Asset to terminate a multibillion-dollar hotel acquisition. He also represented the Lehman Brothers estate and its unsecured creditors in derivatives and clearing disputes that recovered approximately $4 billion.

Before founding Kercher Law, Chris practiced for more than 17 years at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, where he became a partner and founded the firm’s AI & Data Analytics Group. He previously practiced at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Chris built the first dedicated AI litigation practice at a major U.S. law firm, work recognized with The American Lawyer’s 2025 Legal Services Innovation Award. He is also a Lecturer in Law at Stanford Law School, where he teaches “A Litigator’s Guide to AI.”

View track record

Recognition

Legal Services Innovation Award

The American Lawyer — 2025 Industry Awards, for the AI & Data Analytics Group led by Chris Kercher

Litigators of the Week

The American Lawyer — Musk / Tesla, Delaware Supreme Court (2026)

Innovator of the Year, Finalist

Legalweek Leaders in Tech Law Awards (2026)

Litigators of the Week

The American Lawyer — Desktop Metal trial team (2025)

Innovative Lawyers

Financial Times — Innovation in Digital Tools, North America (2025)

Rising Star

Law360 (2016)

Press

Business Insider, 2026

“The Law Firm of the Future May Look Less Like a Pyramid — and More Like an Obelisk”

The American Lawyer, 2026

“The Former Quinn Emanuel Partner Building His Own Firm for the AI Age”

Bloomberg Law, 2026

“Quinn Emanuel Vet’s AI-Native Firm Zeros in on Litigators’ Value”

Original Jurisdiction, 2026

“Quinn Emanuel Vet Launches AI-Powered Firm for High-Stakes Cases”

Law360 Pulse, 2026

“Quinn Emanuel AI Litigation Pioneer Launches NYC Boutique”

Fortune, 2026

“Big Law Goes All In on AI” — on building a litigation platform on Claude

Anthropic, 2026

“Claude for the Legal Industry” — featured testimonial

Artificial Lawyer, 2026

“Claude for Legal Launches, May Reshape the Legal Tech World”

Fortune, 2025

“The Problem with ‘Human in the Loop’ AI”

Financial Times, 2025

“AI Turbocharges Litigation Powers”

Podcasts

Law, disrupted — April 2026

“An AI System Built by Litigators, for Litigators”

Law, disrupted — January 2026

“A $1.6 Billion Public Market Clawback Case”

Law, disrupted — December 2025

“A Chinese Client’s Fight for Corporate Control Across Delaware, Texas and Nevada”

Legal Speak — July 2025

“How Christopher Kercher Is Leading Quinn Emanuel’s ‘AI Voyage’”

AI and the Future of Law — July 2025

“Building an AI-Forward Law Firm: Lessons from Quinn Emanuel”

Law, disrupted — May 2025

“Winning at Trial With AI”

Speaking

Stanford Law School, 2025

1L Spotlight Panel — “The Reality of AI in Big Law”

Harvard Law School, 2025

“Using AI Tools in Legal Practice” — featured speaker

Writing

Columbia Law — Blue Sky Blog, 2021

“SPAC Litigation Risks” — co-author

Columbia Law — Blue Sky Blog, 2020

“COVID-19 M&A Litigation in Delaware” — co-author

Contact

Discuss a matter.

chris@kercherlitigation.com
Kercher Law PLLC
85 Fifth Avenue, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10003

Emailing the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please hold confidential information until we confirm we can receive it.

Kercher Law · Card No. 01

Christopher D. Kercher

Use Flip to stats to turn the card over, or use the left and right arrow keys. Use Enlarge card for a closer look. Press Escape to close.

Christopher D. Kercher baseball card: a black-and-white portrait, Kercher Law monogram, and name on a vintage gold and forest-green card.
01 / 02Portrait