CS
Charles Stone
Senior Partner, Commercial Litigation
Biography
Charles Stone co-founded Mercer & Stone in 1987 alongside Edmund Mercer QC, and has led the firm's Commercial Litigation practice ever since. He became sole Senior Partner in 2014, on Edmund's retirement.
Charles has led the firm's largest commercial fraud and contractual disputes for close to four decades, including the successful defence of a global investment bank against a £340m fraud claim at trial in 2023. He is known for a deliberately unshowy courtroom style that clients often mistake, at first, for a lack of aggression.
Philosophy
"What do clients underestimate about commercial disputes?"
That the decision to litigate is a business decision, not a legal one. Clients often arrive wanting to know if they'll win. The more useful question is almost always whether winning is worth what it will cost — and that's a conversation we have before we discuss the law.
Representative Matters
Recent Insights
Recent thinking from Charles.
Insight
Litigation Is a Business Decision Before It's a Legal One
Insight
Our View on Settlement
Insight