The Legal 500

Within Corporate tax, tier 5

Sidley Austin LLP has expertise in funds work and financial services, and advised a major US corporate client on a novel and complex structured financing for UK subsidiaries, with significant tax implications. It also assisted a number of clients on the UK tax aspects of various structured finance and restructuring transactions. Drew Scott is recommended.

Within EU and competition , tier 6

Sidley Austin LLP recently promoted David Went to partner and also welcomed Timothy Cowen as a partner in the London office, previously chief counsel for competition law and public policy at BT. Stephen Kinsella OBE, who divides his time between the London and Brussels offices, is head of the firm’s EU competition practice.

Within Financial services, tier 5

Sidley Austin LLP is noted for complex cross-border matters. The team advised a US-based hedge fund trade association on the AIFM Directive, the proposed EU Regulation on Short Selling and Credit Default Swaps, and MiFID. John Casanova is recommended; and Leonard Ng ‘shows a highly professional approach’.

Within M&A: upper mid-market and premium deals, 250m+, tier 8

At Sidley Austin LLP, practice head Tom Thesing provides ‘practical yet sophisticated advice and guidance, and is a highly effective negotiator’. The team acted on 16 deals for the likes of the Aon Corporation and FLIR Systems. Thesing acted for Cornerstone on the acquisition of Protego Real Estate investors.

Within Commercial litigation Commercial litigation

Within International arbitration International arbitration

Within Corporate restructuring and insolvency, Sidley Austin LLP is a third tier firm,

Sidley Austin LLP has beefed up its offering, promoting the ‘knowledgeable and detailed’ Phillip Taylor to partner, and transferring Marc Wassermann from the international finance group to focus solely on restructuring work. Key mandates included acting for the Regus Group in relation to the restructuring of its UK and Irish business, including the administration of Ready Offices UK. The ‘enthusiastic and energetic’ Patrick Corr is a ‘class act’, and is often able to ‘achieve consensus amongst parties with divergent interests’.

Within Debt capital markets, tier 4

Sidley Austin LLP’s Stephen Roith, formerly of Clifford Chance, provides a ‘quality service on challenging transactions; his technical knowledge is excellent’. Also recommended are Mark Wiltshire; David Howe, who is ‘courteous, robust and clear’; Mark Walsh; and Dorothee Fischer-Appelt, who joined from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

Within Derivatives and structured products, Sidley Austin LLP is a third tier firm,

Sidley Austin LLP has ‘a smaller team than some firms, but the quality of the key individuals is very high’. Elizabeth Uwaifo, Paul Matthews, Howard Waterman and Matthew Dening advise numerous international banks on complex structured credit derivatives, with Dening noted as ‘first class, with very good attention to detail’.

Within High yield, tier 4

Sidley Austin LLP’s team now has three partners, following Stephen Roith’s move from Clifford Chance in 2010. Bart Capeci is also recommended.

Within Investment funds, Sidley Austin LLP is a third tier firm,

Sidley Austin LLP’s primary expertise lies in hedge funds, and the group acted on several new funds in 2010 and 2011. Clients include James Caird Asset Management and Trafalgar Asset Management. Highly experienced team head Bruce Gardner is recommended.

Within Securitisation, Sidley Austin LLP is a second tier firm,

Sidley Austin LLP is a major player in private placements, and ‘very good to deal with’, with high levels of involvement from partners who ‘always deliver what they promise’. Graham Penn represented the sponsors on the restructuring of €1.35bn of debt partly securitised in the Fleet Street 2 CMBS; and John Woodhall advised Swiss Re as counterparty in the first cat bond to transfer longevity divergence risk to the capital markets. Synthetic securitisation specialist Paul Matthews is also highly recommended.

Within Insurance and reinsurance litigation, tier 5

Sidley Austin LLP bolstered its team by recruiting Martin Membery, formerly head of insurance at Pinsent Masons LLP. Dorothy Cory-Wright has been advising a Bermudian reinsurer, Pulsar Re, on the provisional liquidation of Lehman Re. Other clients include Lonmar Global Risks and Magnetar Capital.

Within Insurance: corporate and regulatory, tier 4

Sidley Austin LLP provides a ‘superb level of service, responsiveness, business acumen and industry knowledge’. Martin Membery, ‘one of the finest insurance and regulatory lawyers’, and Matthew Griffith, who has ‘very strong industry knowledge’, joined from Pinsent Masons LLP in April 2010. Clients include Aon, Aviva, CAN and Prudential.

Within Insurance: insolvency and restructuring, Sidley Austin LLP is a second tier firm,

Sidley Austin LLP’s Nigel Montgomery, Martin Membery and Matthew Griffith are recommended, and continue to attract substantial instructions from clients seeking their ‘well-thought-out, excellent advice’. The team advised Allianz (France), Allianz IARD, Delvag Luftversicherungs-AG and Nurnberger Allgemeine Versicherungs-AG on four solvent schemes of arrangement.

Within Commercial property Commercial property: hotels and leisure

Within Property finance, Sidley Austin LLP is a second tier firm,

Sidley Austin LLP’s ‘top-notch’ structured finance practice is particularly recommended for high-value restructuring and cross-border matters. It advised Santander on a loan secured on an office development in Manchester, and also advised on the first post credit crisis UK RMBS issuance to be sold to US investors. Key clients include Barclays Capital, Citi and Pirelli Real Estate Fund. ‘Experienced’ practice head Graham Penn is recommended, as are Mark Menhennet and Nick Brittain.

Within Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, tier 4

Sidley Austin LLP’s cross-practice group focuses on key pharma clients, notably Cephalon, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer. Recently promoted partner David Went is recommended for corporate advice; William Long and Brett Rowland for regulatory advice; and Dorothy Cory-Wright for litigation and product liability work.

Within Sport, tier 6

Sidley Austin LLP’s ‘first-rate’ team advised a Premier League football club in a dispute with a major sponsor. Ken Daly, who heads the European practice, is well regarded.