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08 January 2026
Categories: Movers & Shakers , Profession
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Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan—William Charles

Financial disputes and investigations specialist joins as partner in London

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has appointed William Charles as a partner in London, bolstering its litigation and investigations capability. He joins from Milbank, where he was a partner in the litigation and arbitration group, specialising in complex commercial litigation and regulatory investigations.

Charles advises private equity and credit firms, asset managers, financial institutions and corporates on high-value business disputes, as well as acting for financial services firms and individuals in regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings. His recent work includes defending a high-profile private equity and debt investment claim cited by The Lawyer as one of the Top 20 cases of 2025.

Charles said he had ‘enormous respect for Quinn Emanuel’, adding that the firm’s ‘unwavering focus on business disputes and investigations’ made it ‘an opportunity I simply had to take’. He said he was looking forward to working in a ‘dynamic, highly talented environment’.

London senior partner Richard East said the hire would have ‘a significant impact’ on the firm’s ambition to become ‘the number one litigation firm in the City’, while founder and chairman John B. Quinn said Charles’ ‘track record for winning important cases’ made him ‘a great fit’ for the expanding London practice.

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Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

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Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

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