Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges is set to appear before the House of Lords, less than a year after the US firm's launch in the City.

The US litigation leader is due to appear in the House of Lords for two days at the beginning of July representing a group of investment funds seeking to retrieve money following the collapse of the $27bn (£17.9bn) structured investment vehicle Sigma Finance.

Quinn Emanuel partner Sue Prevezer QC, who joined the firm last May from Bingham McCutchen, is leading the case. She was previously a barrister with top commercial set Essex Court Chambers before spending a year with Bingham.

The appointment demonstrates the impact Quinn Emanuel has made in the City since the firm launched in London in April last year with the intention of picking up financial litigation work that bigger firms were reluctant to take on.

Prevezer said: "For us it is an important case. Being a new start-up in London – for us to get to the House of Lords, in under a year, is fantastic."

The Sigma dispute has generated roles for several other firms and has made a quick progression through the courts since the first hearing in November 2008.

Lovells has been advising Ernst & Young as receiver, with Mayer Brown, Dechert and Jones Day all acting for different parties keen to retrieve funds.

The House of Lords hearing will determine which of the parties, if any, will be successful.