Sidley Austin LLP > Palo Alto, United States > Firm Profile

Sidley Austin LLP Offices

Sidley Austin LLP
1001 PAGE MILL ROAD, BUILDING 1
PALO ALTO, CA 94304
CALIFORNIA
United States
Visit website 1 650 565 7000 1 650 565 7100

Sidley Austin LLP > The Legal 500 Rankings

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

Sidley Austin LLP has a strong track record and market reputation in shareholder activism, both domestically and internationally, and is ‘full of skilled attorneys‘ who work on high profile activism matters for household name clients such as The New York Times Company. The team includes two specialist activism and takeover defense practitioners in Derek Zaba, who splits his time between Palo Alto and New York, and Kai Liekefett in New York, with the pair referred to as ‘great lawyers who have a very good practice representing public companies defending against activist investors’, and are well supported by Jessica Wood in New York, who has represented a wide range of public companies against shareholder activism.  Leonard Wood in Houston was promoted to partner in January 2023, and is a key team member experienced in takeover defense, with specialist expertise in investor pressure connected to ESG issues.

Practice head(s):

Kai Liekefett; Derek Zaba

Other key lawyers:

Beth Berg; Jessica Wood, Leonard Wood

Testimonials

‘Full of skilled attorneys.’

‘Derek Zaba and Kai Liekefett are great lawyers who have a very good practice representing public companies defending against activist investors.’

‘Deep experience and leadership in area of activism defense. A practice singularly focused in this area and with partners who are respected in the industry.‘

Key clients

The New York Times

Hasbro, Inc.

Box, Inc.

Alkermes, Inc.

Zendesk, Inc.

Momentive Global Inc.

SpartanNash Company

US Foods Holding Corporation

Peloton Interactive

LivePerson, Inc.

TreeHouse Foods, Inc.

Comtech Telecommunications Corp.

CytoDyn, Inc.

Blucora, Inc.

Quotient Technology Inc.

NiSource, Inc.

UBS Puerto Rico Family of Funds

Medallion Financial Corp.

UpHealth, Inc.

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.

Work highlights

  • Representing The New York Times in its activism campaign defense against ValueAct Capital Partners.
  • Represented Hasbro in its successful proxy contest against hedge fund Alta Fox.
  • Represented Box in its successful proxy contest defense against Starboard Value, which was Starboard’s first defeat in a proxy contest in nearly a decade.

Environment > Environment: litigation

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

Finance > Structured finance: securitization Tier 2

Insurance > Insurance: non-contentious Tier 2

International Trade > Trade remedies and trade policy Tier 2

Dispute resolution > International arbitration Tier 3

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

Environment > Environment: regulatory Tier 3

Environment > Environment: transactional Tier 3

Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings

Finance > Structured finance: derivatives and structured products Tier 3

International Trade > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions Tier 3

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

With the May 2022 arrival of David Lashway, John Woods, Jennifer Seale and Jonathan Wilan from Baker McKenzie LLP, Sidley Austin LLP’s Washington DC-centered practice has deepened its expertise in the data privacy and cybersecurity space. The team is called upon to advise leading technology companies and public companies on global and critical malware and ransomware matters that require international regulatory engagement, law enforcement coordination, breach notifications and SEC disclosures. Practice co-heads Alan Charles Raul and Lashway advise clients on global regulatory compliance, data breaches and crisis management with the former focusing on issues concerning national security, constitutional and administrative law. Lashway is also known for his expertise in advising on incident responses to critical infrastructure attacks, national-level misinformation-related issues and data due diligence assistance as part of corporate transactions. Colleen Theresa Brown is the key contact for emerging technology issues, working on the full range of mandates. Clients in the financial sector rely on Woods’ advice concerning global responses to data integrity attacks. Seale brings experience in handling complex cybersecurity investigations. Clayton Northouse departed the firm in April 2022.

Practice head(s):

Alan Charles Raul; David Lashway

Other key lawyers:

John Woods; Jennifer Seale; Jonathan Wilan; Colleen Theresa Brown

Testimonials

‘The team has deep expertise in privacy and cybersecurity and provides great guidance across the board. They have a long history on working with these issues and provide expert guidance on short notice.’

‘Alan Raul has long time deep expertise on cybersecurity and privacy laws stemming from a background in administrative law.

‘Colleen Brown is an excellent privacy attorney working closely with the financial services industry and providing expert advice.’

Key clients

WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.

WW

AT&T

Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association

Stonepeak

Clearlake Capital Group L.P.

nCino, Inc

Work highlights

  • Represented a technology company in a highly sensitive cybersecurity matter regarding the Cyclops Blink malware by a Russian threat actor.
  • Advising AT&T on a broad range of privacy and cybersecurity issues, including advising on communications, satellite and cable privacy, location data privacy, and general privacy under the FTC and Telecom Acts, as well as under state (such as CCPA and CPRA) and international laws.
  • Advising SIFMA on financial privacy, cross-border, cybersecurity, and emerging technology issues.

Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions Tier 3

Energy > Energy transactions: oil and gas Tier 4

Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings

Finance > Project finance Tier 4

Healthcare > Life sciences Tier 4

Insurance > Advice to insurers Tier 4

Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional Tier 5

M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)

Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices

Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort

Investment fund formation and management > Mutual/registered/exchange-traded funds

Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: transactions

Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional

Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)

Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings

India > Foreign firms

Manoj Bhargava leads Sidley Austin LLP’s India group, which draws on the firm’s broader resources and international reach to provide a full-service offering with a notable emphasis on capital markets, banking and finance, and private equity. Bhargava, in Singapore, leads the capital markets practice and advises on high-value IPOs as well as equity and debt capital markets offerings. Also in the core Singapore team is Parthiv Rishi, who is recommended for his private equity expertise, while Palo Alto’s Andrew Harper has a broad corporate practice with a focus on advising US firms operating in the Indian market.

Practice head(s):

Manoj Bhargava

Other key lawyers:

Parthiv Rishi; Andrew Harper

Testimonials

‘Manoj Bhargava heads this practice. I draw lots of comfort from Manoj. He is solution-oriented and not only identifies problem areas but also tries to find solutions for the problems.’

‘The team at Sidley are very experienced in India. They know the market well and have a great global network to leverage. They are always responsive and really try to go the extra mile for us.’

‘Parthiv Rishi is a great partner to work with. He is approachable and easy to deal with, responsive, hands on, manages and leverages his team and the Sidley network well and can be counted on to get deals done and find solutions to complex matters or difficult issues. He is very good technically but also commercial and applies good judgment when needed. He is versatile and has experience across the investment lifecycle. He always delivers and I go to him when things are complex or difficult.’

‘Manoj Bhargava and his team have been absolutely proactive in not only identifying legal matters for discussions, but also suggesting practical legal solutions for the same. Proactive, solutions oriented and understand the client’s business.’

‘Key strengths include the attention to detail, solution-oriented approach to working and the direct involvement of the senior partners on the transaction.’

‘Manoj Bhargava as the senior partner from the Sidley team is a stand-out professional. His ability to maintain long-term relationships, his hands-on approach to the transaction and his ability to deliver well within timelines makes him a cut above the rest of the competition.’

Key clients

ChrysCapital

KKR

Lightspeed India Partners

Apollo Capital Management

Jungle Ventures

EE Capital

Dream Sports Inc.

Rephrase.AI

Zuddl

QX Global

Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited

Axis Capital Limited

IIFL Securities Limited

Jefferies India Private Limited

J.P. Morgan India Private Limited

ICICI Securities Limited

BofA Securities India Limited

Morgan Stanley India Company Private Limited

BNP Paribas

Edelweiss Financial Services Limited

Work highlights

  • Acted as international counsel to the lead managers in India’s largest IPO in 2023 to date – the INR43bn IPO of equity shares of Mankind Pharma Limited, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in India.
  • Represented Kotak Mahindra and Jefferies on the US$430m QIP of equity shares of Macrotech Developers Limited, the first-ever, purely secondary QIP of equity shares in the history of Indian capital markets.
  • Represented ChrysCapital in the highly complex acquisition of Xoriant Corporation, a digital product engineering, software development, and technology services firm.