Knights has strengthened its Leeds office with the appointment of experienced competition lawyer, Charlie Markillie, as Partner. Ranked as a ?Leading Associate? in Legal500 and an ?Associate to Watch?
in Chambers 2025, Charlie brings over 15 years of experience advising clients on all aspects of UK and EU competition law, including merger control, commercial agreements, and trade practices. m He joins Knights from Eversheds Sutherland, where he built a reputation as a trusted advisor to major UK and international clients across sectors including retail, aviation, agriculture, food and drink and financial services. Charlie has led on numerous high-profile clearance processes involving both the UK Competition and Markets Authority and European Commission.
He also brings extensive experience in investigations and compliance work, including face-to-face training and dawn raid preparation. During secondments with Cathay Pacific and HSBC in Hong Kong, Charlie delivered major compliance programmes and gained vital experience of what it is like to advise from ?the other side of the table?. As well as competition law, Charlie provides extensive experience in securing clearances for mergers and acquisitions concerning relations to Foreign Direct Investment (?FDI?) regimes around the world, including under the new UK National Security and Investment Act 2021.
Charlie?s arrival also strengthens Knights? regulatory offering in Leeds, where he joins Partner Tori Lethaby, a specialist in data protection and privacy law. Together, they bring a powerful combination of expertise for businesses navigating today?s complex regulatory landscape, offering support on everything from GDPR and data sharing to competition law risks, FDI and compliance training.
Knights Group Holdings plc is a United Kingdom-based holding company. The Company provides diversified legal and professional services on a national scale. The Company offers services across banking, commercial, corporate, data protection, debt advisory, dispute resolution, employment, housing and regeneration, immigration, investigations, licensing and gambling, personal services, personal services, real estate, regulatory, residential property, restructuring and insolvency, tax services, and others. It is focused on the United Kingdom markets outside London and operates from over 26 offices located in Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Carlisle, Cheltenham, Chester, Exeter, Kidderminster, Kings Hill, Leeds, Leicester, Lincoln, Manchester, Newbury, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Solihull, Stoke, Teesside, Weybridge, Wilmslow, Worcester and York. The Company invests in various sectors, including aviation, and technology, media and telecommunications.
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