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The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has brought in an attorney from the same law firm that’s representing Elon Musk and New York City Mayor Eric Adams for two of its commission lawsuits.Â
Last week, NAR made some changes to its legal counsel lineup by removing all attorneys from Cooley LLP — including lead attorney Ethan Glass — from the Moehrl and Gibson home seller commission suits.
One of the replacement attorneys is Michael D. Bonanno, a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, who is the chair of his firm’s antitrust investigations practice.
This is not the first time Bonanno has worked with NAR. He has previously worked with the trade group on antitrust suits involving Top Agent Network, ThePLS.com, REX Real Estate and the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as the Batton homebuyer commission lawsuit.Â
Another lawyer from Quinn Emanuel, William Burck, is representing NAR in the Sitzer/Burnett suit and is defending NAR’s settlement agreement in the appeals filed against its final approval. Attorneys from Cooley are also still involved in this appeal.Â
Based in Los Angeles, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has more than 1,200 attorneys. According to a Reuters report in February 2025, it charges clients up to $3,000 per billable hour.Â
In addition to Glass, the Cooley attorneys impacted by NAR’s change across both suits include Beatriz Mejia, Deepti Bansal, Elizabeth Wright, Samantha Strauss, Georgina Inglis and Sarah Topol.
In the Gibson case, Bonanno is joined by attorneys from Crowell & Moring LLP, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP, and Schaffer & Associates. In the Moehrl suit, NAR’s counsel also includes attorneys from ArentFox Schiff LLP and Schiff Hardin LLP.Â
Glass, as well as other attorneys from Cooley, are currently representing Compass in its antitrust lawsuit against Northwest MLS that was filed in late April.
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