Disputes firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has hired William Charles as a partner in London.
Charles, a litigator, joins from Milbank where he was a partner for six years, having joined from Slaughter and May in 2014 after eight years at the firm.
He specialises in complex commercial litigation and regulatory investigations, principally those affecting private equity and credit firms, asset managers, hedge funds, financial institutions and senior executives, as well as energy and technology firms. His preferred clientele is acting for major private equity firms and asset managers in substantial shareholder, post-M&A, civil fraud and other disputes.
He also brings considerable experience acting for a wide range of financial services firms and professionals in regulatory investigations, enforcement proceedings and related disputes. His work in this area focuses on complex, multi-jurisdictional antitrust proceedings, as well as investigations concerning market abuse, AML and financial services conduct rules.
Having seen Quinn Emanuel at first quarters, Charles said it had always impressed him, thanks to its “unwavering focus on business disputes and investigations”, adding it was “an opportunity I simply had to take”.
The move brings the firm’s London partnership to 32 partners, following the recruitment of Andrew Savage from McDermott Will & Schulte in November, and its recent partner promotions round, with the London office being in major growth mode.
Savage – an experienced litigator with strong private equity experience – left McDermott after six years.
Quinn Emanuel’s 12-strong partnership promotions round took effect at the start of January, with five partners based in New York, out of 10 US partners elected overall. Three of the partners were women. London received one new partner in the class of 2026: white-collar crime partner James McSweeney.
McSweeney’s practice includes all aspects of white-collar crime and corporate investigations, and he has experience representing clients in complex commercial disputes before English courts. James joined the firm in 2017 and is qualified as a barrister in England and Wales. Prior to joining Quinn Emanuel, he was an associate at Arnold & Porter for four years, having trained and qualified at Dyers Chambers.
Richard East, Quinn Emanuel’s London senior partner, said: “We are looking to grow our practice and are of the strong belief that, after 17 years in the market, we are now part of the established litigation order. Our London disputes revenues already surpass those at all of the Magic Circle’s UK practices, which is an incredible achievement.”
He added: “The hires of Will and Andrew will have a significant impact upon us becoming the number one litigation firm in the City.”
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