19 Jun 2026
Knights appoints Rachel Khiara and Helen Close as Partners in Oxford
"Knights appoints Rachel Khiara to its Corporate team and Helen Close to Property Litigation in Oxford; they will work on partnership and LLP, M&A and private equity matters, and on property disputes and telecoms respectively."
Rachel Khiara joins Knights’ Corporate practice as a Partner. A corporate law expert with extensive experience advising on LLP and partnership law, SRA regulatory matters, and M&A and private equity transactions in the legal sector, her practice focuses on supporting professional services businesses, fund managers and family-owned enterprises on partnership and LLP structures, including governance, profit and equity sharing arrangements and partner exit provisions. She also advises on complex, high-value and cross-border matters, including alternative business structures and other commercially sensitive, time-critical issues.
Helen Close joins Knights’ Property Litigation team as a Partner. A highly experienced property disputes and telecoms specialist, she advises on commercial real estate and telecoms disputes and risk management strategy and has significant experience resolving matters through arbitration, mediation and litigation. Her background includes advising corporate occupiers, landlords, private individuals and public sector bodies across a broad range of property matters, and she has substantial expertise in the Electronic Communications Code and telecoms litigation. Her previous in-house role was Litigation Counsel for Cornerstone, giving her insight and connections in the telecoms sector and supporting her work helping landowners navigate telecoms disputes while protecting wider real estate interests.
Both appointments bring further senior expertise to Knights’ Oxford teams, each joining the firm at Partner level.