William Urquhart of Quinn Emanuel.

A. William "Bill" Urquhart, a name partner of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, died Oct. 4, due to complications stemming from a bone marrow transplant. He was 72.

Urquhart joined Quinn Emanuel in 1988, two years after his former Cravath, Swaine & Moore colleague John Quinn established the litigation-only firm with fellow partners Eric Emanuel, David Quinto and Phyllis Kupferstein. He quickly became the firm's unofficial recruiter-in-chief. In Urquhart's 31 years with Quinn Emanuel, it grew from a 15-lawyer litigation boutique to an Am Law 50 firm with more than 800 lawyers in 23 offices worldwide.

"That's really all because of Bill—the firm's growth and projection," Quinn said in an interview Monday. "I mean, he was such a visionary and so good at not just having a vision, but accomplishing what he imagined."

Urquhart was actively working at Quinn Emanuel until three weeks ago when he went to the hospital for the bone marrow transplant, Quinn said.

"He really was the heart and soul of the firm," Quinn said, particularly praising Urquhart's people skills. "He had such a good understanding of people and knew what to say, to anyone, to inspire them. And to help them be the best they could be."

Urquhart's recruiting prowess was perhaps best displayed in the firm's hiring of then-Stanford Law School Dean Kathleen Sullivan—a hire that ultimately resulted in Sullivan becoming the first female name partner at an Am Law 100 firm.

In a statement, Sullivan said Urquhart "had remarkable legal insight and a gift for seeing around corners to spot the next legal trend."

"He ensured that we handled the world's largest patent disputes and most significant financial litigation," she added.

Urquhart, a Long Island-native who attended Fordham University on a track scholarship, graduated from the university's law school, after taking night classes to earn his J.D. His litigation clients included IBM, Hughes Aircraft, Johnson Controls, CNA, Nokia and Qualcomm.

"Unlike a lot of litigators, he didn't relish being overtly adversarial," Quinn added. "He was great at resolving disputes and bringing people together."

In a statement released by the firm, Qualcomm general counsel Don Rosenberg called Urquhart "a brilliant strategist, a fierce advocate, an enabler of conflict resolution" and "so much more."

"Those of us who had the good fortune of touching and being touched by Bill have had our lives enriched and our souls blessed," Rosenberg said.

Following Urquhart's death and the retirement of Emanuel at the end of last year, Quinn and Sullivan are the only two name partners who remain at the firm.