Atty. Michael J. Quirk
Michael Quirk practices in the areas of consumer rights, class action, mass tort, and appellate litigation. He currently represents people and families in Flint, Mich., who were impacted by toxic lead in the city’s contaminated water crisis in In re Flint Water Cases: Carthan v.
Profile Summary
About Michael J. Quirk at a glance
Michael J. Quirk is a Member based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, practicing at Motley Rice LLC. They have 25+ years of legal experience, licensed to practice since 2001. Their practice focuses on litigation, consumer, and health care. Admitted to practice in District of Columbia (2001) and Pennsylvania New York U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First, Third, Fourth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circu (2006). Educated at University of Michigan Law School (J.D., 1999) and Rutgers University (M.A. The, 1996). Active member of Associations •American Association for Justice •National Association of Consumer Advocates, Board of Directors Co-Chair (Board Member since 2015) Issues Committee. Serands clients in Philadelphia, PA and the surrounding metropolitan area.
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About
- Michael Quirk practices in the areas of consumer rights, class action, mass tort, and appellate litigation
- He currently represents people and families in Flint, Mich., who were impacted by toxic lead in the city’s contaminated water crisis in In re Flint Water Cases: Carthan v
- Snyder
- women injured by defective transvaginal mesh devices in In re Pelvic Mesh Litigation
- payday loan borrowers in Pennsylvania allegedly paying unjustifiably high interest charges to lenders seeking to evade liability through misuse of Indian tribal immunity in Williams et al. v
- MacFarlane Grp, Inc. et al
- and student loan borrowers who faced collection actions on a defunct for-profit trade school’s institutional loans alleged to be fraudulent in Gonzalez et al. v
- New Century Financial Services, Inc. as assignee of Med-Com Career Training, Inc. d/b/a Drake College of Business
- among other cases
- Prior to joining Motley Rice, he was a partner in two Philadelphia law firms, where he was lead appellate counsel for prevailing plaintiffs in cases involving expert admissibility on causation of a rare and fatal lymphoma by prescription drugs, liability and qualified immunity in a police-on-police shooting, retaliatory employment discrimination under Title VII, women’s breast cancer caused by hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drugs, and enforceability of mandatory arbitration clauses barring class actions in payday lending and other consumer contracts
- He also was lead or co-lead trial court counsel for plaintiffs in cases against Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase among others allegedly involving predatory Option Adjustable Rate Mortgage (Option ARM) loans that drained the equity from borrowers’ homes, against rent-to-own companies charging allegedly unlawful interest or add-on fees to low-income consumers, and against credit card issuers for allegedly unlawful charges
- Michael also has represented public interest, consumer rights and public health organizations as amici curiae in support of consumers and other plaintiffs
- Previously, he was a staff attorney and Equal Justice Works fellow with Public Justice, P.C., a national public interest law firm, and was Supreme Court Assistance Project fellow with the Public Citizen Litigation Group, both in Washington, D.C
- A frequent public speaker, Michael has contributed to discussions of class actions and other legal matters
- Michael serves as co-chair of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, a nationwide, non-profit association of more than 1,500 private and public sector and legal services lawyers, law professors, and law students whose primary focus is representation and protection of consumers
- Public Justice, a national public interest law firm, awarded Michael its Access to Justice Award in 2003 for his work as co-counsel in helping win unanimous U.S
- Supreme Court decision in Sprietsma v
- Mercury Marine, defeating federal preemption and preserving access to justice for a wrongful death claimant
- Published Works •Consumer Class Actions, Ninth and Tenth Editions (National Consumer Law Center 2016, 2020) (co-author) •Consumer Arbitration Agreements: Enforceability and Other Topics, First through Seventh Editions and annual supplements thereto (National Consumer Law Center and Public Justice Foundation 2001-2015) (co-author) •New Jersey Mass Torts & Class Action Treatise (New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education 2015) (peer-review editor) •National Association of Consumer Advocates, Standards and Guidelines for Litigating and Settling Consumer Class Actions, 299 F.R.D. 160 (3d ed. 2014) (drafting committee member)
- 255 F.R.D. 215 (2d ed. 2006) (committee member and co-drafter) Awards, Accolades & Recognitions Public Justice Foundation 2003 Access to Justice Award Blog Posts July 6, 2023 Social media’s grip on teen mental health by: Laura K. Stemkowski January 8, 2021 Clicking with caution: Cybersecurity data breach risks are higher than ever Causes, Not Just Cases by: Jodi Westbrook Flowers August 12, 2020 Denied business interruption insurance payouts due to COVID-19 losses, some business owners may find justice in civil courts Causes, Not Just Cases by: John A. Baden IV News April 27, 2026 How Civil Litigation Helped Build Safer Workplaces-and Why It Still Matters by: Jacob R. Stout November 24, 2025 Can You Sue a Drug Company? by: Motley Rice
Practice Areas Explained
Michael J. Quirk's Areas of Practice
Each practice area below reflects the types of cases Michael J. Quirk handles, with a brief overview of what that area of law covers.
Civil litigation attorneys for breach of contract, business disputes, civil rights, and class action lawsuits.
Michael J. Quirk is one of 454,532 litigation attorneys indexed nationally. Browse litigation attorneys in Pennsylvania →
Consumer protection attorneys for fraud, lemon law, debt harassment, and deceptive trade practices.
Michael J. Quirk is one of 50,607 consumer attorneys indexed nationally. Browse consumer attorneys in Pennsylvania →
Health care attorneys for HIPAA, Medicare, Medicaid, regulatory compliance, and medical licensing matters.
Michael J. Quirk is one of 66,735 health care attorneys indexed nationally. Browse health care attorneys in Pennsylvania →
Jurisdictional Context
Why local counsel matters in Pennsylvania
Practicing law in Pennsylvania. Legal matters in Pennsylvania are governed by state-specific rules of civil and criminal procedure, statutes of limitations, and substantive law. Cases originating in Philadelphia are typically filed in the local municipal court or the appropriate Pennsylvania state district court, depending on subject matter and amount in controversy. An attorney licensed in Pennsylvania brings working knowledge of local procedural deadlines, judicial practices in this andnue, and the substantive law that applies to cases brought here. Out-of-state attorneys generally cannot represent clients in Pennsylvania courts without local counsel or pro hac vice admission.
Looking for additional Pennsylvania attorneys? Browse all attorneys in Philadelphia or all attorneys in Pennsylvania.
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