Founding Partner
Christopher D. Kercher
Trial & appellate litigation · New York
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.”
Recognition
Legal Services Innovation Award
The American Lawyer — 2025 Industry Awards, for the AI & Data Analytics Group led by Chris Kercher
The American Lawyer — Musk / Tesla, Delaware Supreme Court (2026)
Innovator of the Year, Finalist
Legalweek Leaders in Tech Law Awards (2026)
The American Lawyer — Desktop Metal trial team (2025)
Financial Times — Innovation in Digital Tools, North America (2025)
Law360 (2016)
Press
“The Law Firm of the Future May Look Less Like a Pyramid — and More Like an Obelisk”
“The Former Quinn Emanuel Partner Building His Own Firm for the AI Age”
“Quinn Emanuel Vet’s AI-Native Firm Zeros in on Litigators’ Value”
“Quinn Emanuel Vet Launches AI-Powered Firm for High-Stakes Cases”
“Quinn Emanuel AI Litigation Pioneer Launches NYC Boutique”
“Big Law Goes All In on AI” — on building a litigation platform on Claude
“Claude for the Legal Industry” — featured testimonial
“Claude for Legal Launches, May Reshape the Legal Tech World”
“The Problem with ‘Human in the Loop’ AI”
“AI Turbocharges Litigation Powers”
Podcasts
“An AI System Built by Litigators, for Litigators”
“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”
“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”
“Winning at Trial With AI”
Speaking
Stanford Law School, 2025
1L Spotlight Panel — “The Reality of AI in Big Law”
“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
Emailing the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please hold confidential information until we confirm we can receive it.