Sidley Austin LLP > New York, United States > Firm Profile

Sidley Austin LLP > The Legal 500 Rankings

M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism Tier 1

Clients appreciate the ‘extremely nuanced‘ advice from the team at Sidley Austin LLP, which handles the gamut of shareholder activism matters for board members. One client dubs leadership duo Kai Liekefett and Derek Zaba ‘two of the best lawyers in America‘, lauded for ‘their ability to see around all dangerous corners and guide corporate strategy to the most successful outcome‘. Liekefett is based in New York and focuses exclusively on shareholder activism and takeover defense. In two decades of practice, he has worked in the UK, Germany, Hong Kong, and Japan, and is one of the most prolific advisors on proxy contests, including a high percentage of the market’s late-stage contests. Zaba, who is based at the Palo Alto office, also fully dedicates his practice to shareholder activism and has quickly established himself as one of the go-to lawyers in the field. Beth Berg (Chicago) is a senior figure with broad corporate law expertise, younger partners Leonard Wood (Houston) and Jessica Wood (New York) are also active in the shareholder activism space, and the New York office was further bolstered in January 2024 by the promotion to partner of Reuben Zaramian, who focuses on shareholder activism and corporate governance.

Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)

Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco) Tier 3

Environment > Environment: transactional Tier 3

Finance > Structured finance: securitization Tier 3

Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection) Tier 3

The privacy and cybersecurity team at Sidley Austin LLP leverages its data breach incident response experience to offer proactive breach counseling, compliance advice and support in government investigations. The Washington DC-based team is co-headed by David Lashway and Alan Charles Raul; Lashway is noted for his cybersecurity expertise, including crisis management, misinformation and trade secret theft, while Raul advises a range of tech, telecom, software and financial clients experiencing major cyber and privacy incidents, bolstered by his experience in government work. Colleen Theresa Brown is a go-to for litigation and regulatory defense, alongside assessing the privacy and cyber risk in data-heavy acquisitions. John Woods is recommended for cyber resilience advice and data governance matters. Sean Royall departed the team in August 2023.

Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings

Latin America: International firms > City focus - Miami Tier 1

Sidley Austin LLP’s launch of a Miami office in July 2022 saw the arrival of the well regarded Juan Delgado and a team, featuring managing associate Axel Miranda, from Morrison Foerster. Prior to becoming part of the firm’s significant move into Miami, the pair already had a track record in Latin America venture capital and emerging company transactions, including investments by SoftBank Latin America Fund; notably, following Delgado’s arrival, the firm was appointed to SoftBank’s outside counsel panel. The team is also noted for corporate restructurings and M&A transactions, with their past experience (prior to joining the firm) including advising SoftBank on a $48m Series B financing for Colombian e-commerce platform Laika, with participation from Delivery Hero, JAM Fund and FJ Labs, and angels Carlos Garcia (Kavak), Emil Michael (Uber) and Pedro Garay (GBM). Further afield, the practice is also active in Brazil, Mexico and other smaller markets in the region.

Latin America: International firms > Compliance and investigations Tier 3

Sidley Austin LLP has a fine reputation in Latin America, including for corporate crime investigations and engagement with US government agencies. It has a long track record in FCPA investigations and is also recognised for sanctions cases. The firm is home to a number of former federal prosecutors and former officials from the DOJ and SEC. The team frequently represents clients in headline investigations by the DOJ and SEC. The Latin America corporate crime team includes New York partners Timothy Treanor and Michael Mann, along with Dallas partners Paige Holden Montgomery and David Silva; Treanor is a former federal prosecutor and is especially active in anti-corruption and white-collar defence work in Latin America, and led the team that represented CONCACAF in the DOJ’s global investigation into corruption in world football.

Latin America: International firms > Corporate and M&A Tier 4

Sidley Austin LLP is best known for cross-border M&A, fund formation and energy deals. With the launch of a Miami office and the arrival of Juan Delgado and a team from Morrison Foerster in July 2022, the firm is now a considerably more significant player in venture capital and emerging company transactions in the region – in part as a result of its appointment as a panel firm for SoftBank Latin America Fund. The firm continues to be active in Latin America fund formation, including growth capital and impact investment funds. It also remains prominent in oil and gas transactions in Brazil. In addition to Brazil, Mexico and Colombia are key jurisdictions for the practice – although it is also active in a number of other smaller markets in the region. New York partner Alyssa Grikscheit is a leading figure in fund formation in Latin America; while Boston partners Alexander Temel and Daniel S Rawner are noted for M&A and private equity. Miami-based managing associate Axel Miranda  is another key figure for venture capital and emerging company transactions. Since publication, Alexander Temel has moved to Paul Hastings LLP.

Latin America: International firms > Projects and energy Tier 4

Sidley Austin LLP’s Houston office is well connected to the Latin America region, particularly in the oil and gas, offshore and renewables segments. It also has strong LNG and renewables expertise in its New York and Washington DC offices. The firm remains especially active in the development of Brazil’s offshore oil and gas sector, along with mining projects in the jurisdiction and solar projects in Chile. A fluent Spanish and Portuguese speaker, Brian Bradshaw is a seasoned practitioner in the oil and gas, LNG and power sectors across the region. Timothy Chandler is a fluent Portuguese speaker and specialises in Brazil-related oil and gas, power, mining and infrastructure transactions.

Latin America: International firms > International arbitration

Sidley Austin LLP remains active in both investor-state and commercial arbitrations, most notably in the energy, construction, financial services, mining and real estate sectors. In state representation, the firm has acted for the Republic of Peru in a series of cases, and also has successfully defended the Republic of Colombia. New York and Singapore-based partner Tai-Heng Cheng has represented a number of Asian clients in cases against Latin American states, while New York partner Simon Navarro handles a mix of commercial and investor-state work, particularly in representing Spanish and European clients in energy disputes against Latin American entities. Former (international arbitration) senior managing associate María Carolina Durán and counsel Courtney Hikawa left the firm in August and October 2023, respectively.

Singapore > International arbitration

The practice at Sidley Austin LLP has ‘great experience in investment arbitrations‘, acting on high-value, cross-border mandates. Blue-chip clients, governments, and multinational corporations all rely on the expertise of the team in many industries, including life sciences, energy, technology, and shipping. The ‘extremely talented, charismatic, and brilliant‘ New York-qualified Tai-Heng Cheng leads the team, and is a ‘very effective advocate who reads the tribunal well‘. Jennifer Lim  and Meera Rajah  are other key names in the team.