There is a growing trend of litigation-focused law firms setting up in the City, which includes Quillon Law, a City-based firm set up by partners Mark Hastings and Michael Barnett.
“I always felt that there was a gap in the market for litigation-only firms that operated at the premium end of the market, with a distinct focus on high-end commercial litigation, large commercial fraud cases, and banking litigation,” Hastings told City A.M.
Hastings and Barnett, having both worked alongside each other for several years at Addleshaw Goddard, established the firm during the pandemic.
Hastings noted: “If you look at the New York market which is a highly developed legal market, they have around 100 litigation-only firms, whereas in London, we still only have a few at the high end.”
“They say what happens in America happens here eventually.”
“I do believe that you will get an increasingly developed litigation-only sector in London,” Hastings added.
How does a litigation-only firm keep itself competitive in a busy market? By focusing on litigation, unlike others in the market, these firms do not have a transactional practice that can occasionally refer clients to its litigation practices.
Hastings stated: “It is very much a benefit that we don’t have a transactional practice rather than any kind of hindrance.”
He explained the London Commercial Court in London is a magnet for litigation from all over because it offers a guarantee of impartiality and fairness. He pointed out that the large commercial fraud work gravitates to London and it always has and it tends to come from referrals as opposed to from within a firm.
He added: “Why wouldn’t you operate on a platform where you’ve still got your market and at the same time you’re not going to be beset by conflicts that you see at the larger firms.”
He noted that larger firms face hard conflicts, such as not being able to act against institutional banking clients, as well as soft conflicts, such as internal hurdles to jump through just to get a Norwich Pharmacal Order against the bank.
Hastings also points out that being a litigation-focused firm: “You have the freedom to decide rates and charging structures and the freedom to take a view on the development of a case.”
Quillon Law currently has five partners: one of counsel, a consultant, three associates and two junior lawyers.
Hastings stated that the firm is growing and is expected to have doubled in size by the end of the year. “We’ve got three juniors who are under contract to join us. We’re in the process of making another senior hire. It’s growing and that’s very rewarding.”
On the market, Hastings noted that there is a huge amount of civil fraud litigation around the world. “More often or not, these are litigated in London.”
He stated: “The number of high-value cases in the Commercial Court at this moment in time in the fraud space is probably greater than anything I’ve ever seen in my career.”
“Boutiques like Quillion Law are perfectly positioned to be involved in these cases. It is certainly a good time to be a commercial fraud litigator,” he added.