Staveley ditches West End law firm Fladgate for US heavyweights Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in Barclays dispute

PCP Capital Partners, the investment firm founded by Amanda Staveley, has ditched West End law firm Fladgate as its advisers in its £1.2bn court battle against Barclays.

It has instead appointed Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, a prestigious US-based firm which specialises in business litigation and arbitration.

Staveley changed representation due to the high stakes in the case, City A.M. understands, and Quinn Emanuel’s track record in banking disputes – earlier this year, for example, it led a class action for investors against banks including Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

Read more: Amanda Staveley’s legal row with Barclays to reach crunch point this week

“We are delighted to have appointed leading global litigation firm, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, to take PCP’s case against Barclays to a successful conclusion at trial in January,” said Staveley.

“[Co-managing partner] Richard East and his team are world class, experienced litigators with an enviable track record.”

PCP claims it should have received fees from Barclays for the role it played during crucial financings at the height of the financial crisis. The firm advised Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who contributed more than £3bn to the raise which helped the bank avoid a taxpayer bailout.

Read more: Barclays brands financier Amanda Staveley’s $1bn claim as “misconceived”

Barclays is seeking to delay the case, which is set to go to trial in January, as it believes it could prejudice separate criminal proceedings being brought against it by the Serious Fraud office.

“We have been recently informed that Barclays intend (again) to seek a stay of the civil trial. We consider this to be entirely misconceived and our clients will be strongly resisting this application,” said East.

Read more: The Serious Fraud Office’s Barclays probe: Everything you need to know