Quarles earned a
B.S.,
cum laude, from
Denison University in 1968. He went on to attain his
Juris Doctor,
cum laude, from
Harvard Law School in 1972. Upon graduation, Quarles undertook a clerkship with Judge
Frank A. Kaufman of the
United States District Court for the District of Maryland, and was appointed an assistant special prosecutor on the
Watergate Special Prosecution Force, where he specialized in campaign finance issues. After leaving the Watergate special prosecutor's office, Quarles joined
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, where he rose to be a senior litigation partner, handling major appellate cases nationwide. Quarles is admitted to practice in the
District of Columbia, State of
Maryland, and the
Commonwealths of Massachusetts and
Virginia. Quarles joined the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, a former colleague at Wilmer Hale, in May 2017. Quarles's appointment was praised by his former Watergate colleague,
Richard Ben-Veniste, who stated that there is "nothing comparable to the kind of pressure and obligation that this kind of job puts on your shoulders" and that Quarles's experience "gives him the confidence to know how to do it and how to do it right". ==See also==